SDSN and Partners Convene at the 2024 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF)
In July, the SDSN hosted a number of events alongside the UN's High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.
Under the theme ‘Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: The effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions,’ leaders and stakeholders from around the world convened in New York and online to review progress towards the SDGs through presentation of 37 Voluntary National Reviews. This year, research findings and data from the SDSN were mentioned in nine countries’ VNR reporting: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belize, Brazil, Eritrea, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
The SDSN and its partners hosted key events to mobilize greater action and collaboration on a range of sustainable development challenges, including youth engagement, clean energy, data access, and education and training, and to prepare for the 2024 Summit of the Future in September. See below for recordings and brief recaps of the events.
Projecting into the Future: The Importance of Youth as Agents of Change
Hosted by: SDSN and La Caixa Foundation
Date: July 2-3, 2024
Location: New York, NY
This event served as a bridge of cooperation and communication between guests and the students who have developed the 17 awarded projects on SDGs from The Challenge. Throughout one day and a half of various sessions, participants discussed, among other topics, the key role of youth, the importance of taking local action for the SDGs, and the relevance of education for sustainable development.
Amazonian Resilience: Addressing Drought and Water Connectivity
Hosted by: Science Panel for the Amazon
Date: 1:15-2:45 PM ET, July 8, 2024
Location: Scandinavia House, New York, NY
Watch the Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxCg7UqTMVM
The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) hosted an informative and impactful one-hour and fifteen minute panel discussion, aiming to present the latest SPA Policy Briefs (PBs) on Amazonian Droughts and Water Connectivity. It will feature expert Lead Authors from each PB, an Amazonian Indigenous Leader, and a Government Official from the region.
Enhancing Data Strategies for VNR and VLR Digitization - Official Side Event
Hosted by: UN-Habitat and SDGs Today
Date: 8:00 AM ET, July 9, 2024
Location: Online
Watch the Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS7B6PazhzQ&t=2s
In an effort to bolster innovative multistakeholder initiatives utilizing non-traditional data and tools to assess and monitor progress on the SDGs, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network's SDGs Today and UN-Habitat introduced a novel digital tool for Mombasa's Voluntary Local Review in 2023. This tool enables local and national governments to disseminate their data in a more accessible format to citizens and the wider SDGs community through interactive and dynamic presentations of data. This session offered a demo on deploying the tools and various non-conventional data resources that local and national governments can utilize to support data collection, production, and visualization, thereby enhancing the transparency of their efforts and reporting processes.
Science Day 2024 – Driving Science-based Action on the SDGs
Hosted by: SEI, UNDP, SDSN , ISC, and UN DESA
Date: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM ET, July 9, 2024
Location: UNHQ Conference Room 3, New York, NY
Watch the Recording: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1h/k1hzolycjy
This year, during the High-Level Political Forum 2024 (HLPF) country delegations, the scientific community, NGOs, and other key stakeholders reconvene for a second time to continue discussing the role of science in SDG acceleration. Science Day is an initiative co-convened by SEI, UNDP , SDSN , ISC , and UN DESA to position the need for including scientific evidence in the decision-making around the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030.
In its 2024 edition, Science Day continues to offer a space within the HLPFfor decision-makers, scientists, academics, and stakeholders to delve into the intricate systems, strategies, and synergies needed to drive SDG acceleration towards 2030.
Global Energy Interconnectivity and Transition for the SDGs - Official Side Event
Hosted by: GEIDCO, SDSN, UNECE, ESCAP, ESCWA, OLADE
Date: 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET, Wednesday 10 July, 2024
Location: Conference Room 3, United Nations Headquarters, New York, United States
Watch the Recording: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1q/k1qiycx24s
Accelerating the global energy transition and promoting clean, low-carbon electricity development are critical measures in urgently addressing climate change. The top priority is to hasten the worldwide adoption of clean energy and to advance the green, low-carbon development of the electricity sector. This side event summarized the substantial progress and practical cases of the global energy transition. Exchanging experiences from around the world has never been more important.
The Impact of War on Access to Healthcare and Education in Gaza - Official Side Event
Hosted by: the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, UNESCWA, and the SDSN's SDGs Today
Date: 8:00 AM ET, July 11, 2024
Location: Online
Watch the Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJRcbmbPBU&t=3205s
Since the onset of the aggression on Palestine on October 7th, 2023, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) has launched a platform to monitor the direct impact of the aggression using official figures from various data sources. With a particular emphasis on Martyrs (Children & Women), injured, displaced populations, and the availability of healthcare and educational facilities, PCBS has conducted analyses and press releases highlighting the dire conditions faced by communities in Gaza. These efforts shed light on the challenges of accessing healthcare services, education, and other essentials. Collaboration with decision-makers, researchers, UN agencies, and other organizations has been and will stay instrumental in this endeavor. This event showcased data and analyses illustrating the severity of the aggression on the Gazan population. It also delved into the challenges and opportunities associated with generating and accessing data through collaborative partnerships.
Global Race to Decarbonization and Debunking Misconceptions on Key Technologies
Hosted by: GEIDCO, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Climateworks, Columbia Climate School, and UNIDO
Date: 3:00-5:00 PM ET, July 11, 2024
Location: Lerner Hall 569, Columbia University, New York/ Online
Watch the Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn2SpR_q444
Learn More: https://www.unsdsn.org/news/shifting-gears-from-ev-myths-to-science-backed-facts/
One of the best mediums for navigating nuances and developing solutions to the SDGs is to foster open conversation among subject matter experts. Specifically, busting myths about the energy transition opens up the opportunity to find the right steps toward progress. In this interactive debate-style event, panelists took on misconceptions held about large-scale renewables penetration, the speed and scale of their implementation, the limitations of the resource stocks and supply chains needed to replace fossil fuels, and the development of global energy interconnection and power of the grid expansion efforts.
IFLA, UNESCO, and SDSN Position Paper: Creating a Global Knowledge Commons for Mission 4.7.
Hosted by: IFLA, UNESCO, and SDSN
Date: 08:00 AM ET, July 15, 2024
Location: Online
Watch the Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOkmZmjdC6E
More Information: https://sdgacademy.org/creating-a-global-knowledge-commons-for-mission-4-7/
This side event session launched a position paper by IFLA, UNESCO, and SDSN on the importance of partnerships with libraries to create Open Science, Data, Education Resources for use in Education and Training for Sustainable Development. Libraries can be key partners in underwriting a Global Knowledge Commons for the SDGs; ethics, standards, systems, processes, and practices including quality assurance processes, discoverability, interoperability, archiving, preservation, copyright, licensing and rights retention, skills and training, and equity in curation and access. Specific applications on these building blocks include libraries’ contribution (creation, publishing and/or making openly accessible) of content to the global public good to engage in SDG 17 partnerships for distance and open teaching and learning; capacities across nations, parliaments/governments and in low resourced communities, in Citizen Science. The sharing of openly licensed digital content in support of the UN Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) supports the United Nations Secretary General’s Road Map for Digital Cooperation, and Commitment #7 of ‘Our Common Agenda’: “Improve digital cooperation”, actions that effectively contribute to the Global Digital Compact.
Peer Learning and Capacity-Building for Integrated NSDS Implementation and Reporting
Host: Cepei, Science Platform Sustainability 2030, and SDSN Germany
Date: 9:00 - 10:30 AM ET, July 15, 2024
Location: Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 220 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, United States
In line with SDG 17 and building on the first Global Sustainable Development Report’s (GSDR) (2019) four “levers” for transformation – governance, economy and finance, science and technology, and individual and collective action – the GSDR 2023 added a fifth lever, “capacity-building” (GSDR 2023, p. 4). At the same time, political instability, short-term urgencies, and a limited pool of fiscal options curb member states´ investment in integrated NSDS governance and such capacity-building. This side event facilitated peer learning and informed and further stimulated the debate on capacity-building for integrated NSDS governance by drawing upon the results from accompanying research and participants’ insights from different country contexts.
Partnerships in Labor Force Resilience: The Imperative of Education and Upskilling in Digital and Sustainability Skills
Host: BuildSkills and SDSN
Date: 08:00 AM ET, July 17, 2024
Location: Online
More Information: https://sdgacademy.org/partnerships-in-labor-force-resilience-the-imperative-of-education-and-upskilling-in-digital-and-sustainability-skills/
This event delved into emerging trends and resilient solutions in education for sustainable development among youth and professionals moving towards gainful employment, professional development, and vocational training. Upskilling is imperative in lifelong learning, equipping the youth and professionals with the knowledge, competencies, and values to respond to sustainable development challenges in all growing industries. Discussions spotlighted policies and practices aimed at promoting informed educational decision-making and exploring the pivotal role of vocational education and professional training in facilitating transitions to employment. The implementation of such pathways require diverse partnerships and expertise to work alongside policymakers for more effective and localized outcomes.