A three-day workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the SDGs was inaugurated today in UNO City, Vienna. The event is co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It brings together a wide range of participants including experts from governments, the private sector, academia, non-governmental organizations and the UN system.
The event supports the preparation of the 5th STI Forum to make an effective contribution to the 2020 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). It comprises technical sessions on effective ways to use of STI to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. It will help to take stock of Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) and 10-Member Group work progress, and to identify key lessons-learnt from the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) since its inception in 2015. Last but not least, it will support strategic planning for the work of the TFM in the coming years.
During his welcome remarks, UNIDO Deputy Director General Mr. Hiroshi Kuniyoshi drew the attention of the participants to the connection that exists between STI, industrialization and development, and stressed that “Moving forward, we should commit to further collaboration. These partnerships should include all relevant actors. Since the private sector develops new technologies and drives innovation, close cooperation with it is essential. We should work on innovative ways how to engage the private sector as a strategic development partner.”
Mr Kuniyoshi noted the importance of sharing knowledge in bridging the gap between developed and developing countries and the need to evenly distribute the ability to mobilize science and technology.
The 5th STI Forum will take place in May 2020 in New York.