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Thematic review: Report of the STI Forum

The 2030 Agenda launched a UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), which comprises a United Nations Interagency Task Team on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (IATT), a collaborative Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum), and an online platform as a gateway for information on existing STI initiatives, mechanisms and programs. The TFM now facilitates multi-stakeholder collaboration and partnerships through the sharing of information, experiences, best practices and policy advice among Member States, civil society, the private sector, the scientific community, UN entities and other stakeholders.

On 14 and 15 May 2019, the President of the Economic and Social Council convened the fourth annual STI Forum. As a component of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), the Forum is a venue to discuss cooperation in science, technology and innovation (STI) around thematic areas pertaining to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), bringing together all relevant stakeholders to actively contribute in their areas of expertise. The forum provides a venue for facilitating interaction, matchmaking and the establishment of networks between relevant stakeholders and multi-stakeholder partnerships in order to identify and examine technology needs and gaps, including with respect to scientific cooperation, innovation and capacity-building. It also aims to help to facilitate the development, transfer and dissemination of relevant technologies for the Goals and targets.

An objective of the session is to review the key findings and outcomes of the 2019 Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals. In view of the SDG Summit in September 2019 and the expected review of the SDGs this year, the session will take-stock of where we are after more than three years of the TFM and discuss ideas for the way forward and for an effective, science-based, solutions-oriented, multi-stakeholder and collaborative TFM.

The President of the Economic and Social Council has transmitted to HLPF, the Co-Chairs’ summary of the STI Forum. The Co-Chairs of the Forum will begin the session by presenting this Summary.

This session will have an interactive discussion format.

Background note is available here

Proposed guiding questions:

  • What are the key findings and recommendations from the 2019 STI Forum?

  • What international collaborations or mechanisms are needed for exchange of experiences and partnerships on STI for SDGs?

  • How can we mobilize science, technology and innovation to improve the lives of the furthest behind? How could to raise adequate resources for the TFM of the future?

  • What are your three most important recommendations for concrete action, including the ones from stakeholders and Major Groups? What is the best way forward?

Chair:

  • H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale, Vice President of ECOSOC

Presentation:

  • H.E. Ms. H. Elizabeth Thompson, Permanent Representative of Barbados to the UN, and Co-Chair of the 2019 Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals

Moderator:

  • H.E. Ms. Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Co-Chair of the 2019 Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals

Resource persons:

  • Mr. Vaughan Turekian, Co-Chair of the 10-Member Advisory Group to the STI Forum, and Executive Director Policy and Global Affairs National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, US

  • Mr. Paulo Gadelha, Member of the 10 Member Group to the STI Forum, and Coordinator of the FIOCRUZ Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil

  • Mr. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President of the Institute for Global Environment Strategies, Japan

Lead discussant:

  • Ms. Marlene Kanga, President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (MGoS)

Followed by interactive discussion

Biographies
Dr. Vaughan Turekian
Named Executive Director of Policy and Global Affairs, USA
Dr. Vaughan Turekian

Named Executive Director of Policy and Global Affairs, USA

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Vaughan C. Turekian to be the Executive Director of the Policy and Global Affairs Division (PGA), effective May 12, 2018.

Dr. Turekian is currently serving a joint appointment as Senior Director of the Program on Science and Technology for Sustainability (STS), a program within PGA for which he was hired August of 2017. Prior to joining the STS program, Dr. Turekian served as the fifth Science and Technology Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State. In this capacity, he advised the Secretary of State and other senior State Department officials on international environment, science, technology, and health matters affecting the foreign policy of the United States. From 2016 to 2017, he served as a country co-chair, along with the Kenyan Ambassador to the United Nations, for the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, a high-level discussion at the United Nations designed to accelerate progress toward globally agreed upon development targets. In 2018, Dr. Turekian was appointed by the U.N. Secretary General as one of the ten international members to promote the role of science, technology, and innovation for achieving for the 17 SDGs.

Dr. Turekian drew upon his background in atmospheric chemistry and extensive policy experience to promote science, technology, and engineering as integral components of U.S. diplomacy. Previously, he was Chief International Officer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Director of AAAS's Center for Science Diplomacy (2006 - 2015). In this capacity, he worked to build bridges between nations based on shared scientific goals, placing special emphasis on regions where traditional political relationships are strained or do not exist. As Editor-in-Chief of Science & Diplomacy, an online quarterly publication, he published original policy pieces that have served to inform international science policy recommendations. In addition, Dr. Turekian worked at the State Department as a Special Assistant and Advisor to the Under Secretary for Global Affairs (2002 - 2006) on issues related to sustainable development, climate change, environment, energy, science, technology, and health. He also served as Program Director for the Committee on Global Change Research at the National Research Council (2000 - 2002), where he was study director for a White House report on climate change science.

Dr. Turekian holds a B.S. in Geology and Geophysics and International Studies from Yale University and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia where he focused on the transport and chemistry of atmospheric aerosols in marine environments. Dr. Turekian not only brings both technical expertise and over 15 years of policy experience to the position, but also a decorated track-record and steadfast commitment to utilizing our nation's capital science and technology innovation to advance the long-term sustainability and U.S. diplomacy.

H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale
Vice President of ECOSOC
H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale

Vice President of ECOSOC

H.E. Hilale has been Morocco's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York since April 2014. He is a career diplomat who has served in various posts around the world. Before his appointment in New York, he served as the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the UN in Geneva starting in 2008. From 2005 to 2008, he served as the General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. From 1996 to 2001, he served in several diplomatic posts. including as Ambassador to Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia. Before that he served as a Member of the Cabinet of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and a Member of the International Committee of Legal Experts, in charge of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Chemical Weapons. From 1976 to 1991, Ambassador Hilale served in the Moroccan Embassies in Algiers, Monrovia, Addis Ababa and Geneva. Ambassador Hilale graduated from the Mohammed V University in Rabat in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

H.E. Ms. H. Elizabeth Thompson
Former UN Assistant Secretary General and Executive Coordinator for Rio+20 and former Minister for Energy and Environment of Barbados
H.E. Ms. H. Elizabeth Thompson

Former UN Assistant Secretary General and Executive Coordinator for Rio+20 and former Minister for Energy and Environment of Barbados

As presenter of the 2019 HLPF in the session of “Report of the STI Forum” and the Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations, Henrietta Elizabeth Thompson, presented her credentials to UN Secretary General António Guterres today. A former Minister in the Government of Barbados, Ms. Thompson was most recently interim Executive Director of the State University of New York University of the West Indies Centre for Leadership and Sustainable Development from 2016 to 2017. She was Senior Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative in 2014 and 2015, and as Special Adviser to the President of the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, she served as a high level consultant on the post 2015 development agenda to the Executive Office of the Secretary General and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Prior to that, she was an Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as the Rio+20 Conference, from 2010 to 2012. From 1994 to 1999, and again from 2001 to 2008, she held several ministerial posts, including as Minister for Environment, Energy, Housing and Lands, Physical Development and Planning, and Health. Ms. Thompson holds four university degrees, among them a master’s degree in law from Robert Gordon University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Liverpool, both in the United Kingdom.

H.E. Ms. Marie Chatardová
President of Economic and Social Council
H.E. Ms. Marie Chatardová

President of Economic and Social Council

H.E. Ms. Marie Chatardová is the Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, Co-Chair of the 2019 Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals.

As moderator of the 2019 HLPF in the session of “Report of the STI Forum”, until her appointment in 2016, Ms. Chatardová was her country’s Ambassador to France and Monaco, and its Permanent Representative to the International Organization of la Francophonie. Between 2013 and 2016, she also served as Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). A career diplomat, Ms. Chatardová held several positions within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She was Director of Diplomatic Protocol from 2007 to 2010, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Sweden from 2002 to 2007. Prior to that, she was Director of the Communications Strategies Department, from 2000 to 2002, and Unit Chief of the Department for the Coordination of Relations with the European Union, between 1999 and 2000. She also served in the Permanent Mission of Czech Republic to the European Union, between 1995 and 1999, and in the Ministry’s Department of Analysis and Policy Planning, from 1994 to 1995. Ms. Chatardová was awarded Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honor of France in 2016, and Officer of the Order of Saint-Charles of Monaco in 2016. Ms. Chatardová holds a Doctor of Law from Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic.

Mr. Charles Young
Youth and children representatives on ending violence against children
Mr. Charles Young

Youth and children representatives on ending violence against children

Charles Young is a confident, charming and outspoken 23-year-old Jamaican youth ambassador; who articulates well with both his peers and superiors. An ardent champion for child rights, he started his path of advocacy at the age of 15 when he participated in the United Nations Third Sub-Regional meeting in the Caribbean on Violence Against Children. Here, he was one of the presenters who addressed the over 300 participants in outlining the Children’s Declaration on the subject area and to detail areas of highest priority that he believed the government of the Caribbean must focus. With an affinity for films, a love for advocacy and a natural inclination to socialise; Charles has served in many capacities leaving an indelible mark in each portfolio. This includes Chairman of the Children’s Advisory Panel to the Child Development Agency and President of the National Secondary Students’ Council among several other positions. Charles was also the Caribbean’s youth representative at the launch of the UN Global Education First Initiative on a panel comprising of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar and others. Furthermore, he aided the Child Protection and Family Services Agency in establishing Children’s Councils in their residential childcare facilities.

Charles was selected as a Jamaica Youth Ambassador in 2017 and he is currently working on executing a project called ‘No Fear, Just Knowledge’, that tackles violence against children in schools. This was a direct response to his instrumental role in helping to craft the Youth Manifesto to end violence in and around schools.

Charles is currently studying to be a lawyer.

Mr. Kazuhiko Takeuchi
President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan
Mr. Kazuhiko Takeuchi

President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan

Kazuhiko Takeuchi graduated from the Department of Geography, the University of Tokyo in 1974. He obtained M.Agr. and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Agriculture, the University of Tokyo. He has served as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University; an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, a Professor in the Asian Natural Environmental Science Center, and a Professor in the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Science at the University of Tokyo; and as Director and Professor, Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) at the University of Tokyo. He also served as a Vice-Rector and Senior Vice-Rector at United Nations University from 2008 to 2016 and as an Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations from 2013 to 2016. Since 2016, he has served as a Senior Visiting Professor at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). He has been Director and a Project Professor of IR3S at the University of Tokyo since 2017. He took up the position of Chair of the Board of Directors, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in July 2017.

Prof. Takeuchi specializes in landscape ecology, landscape planning, and sustainability science. He engages in research and outreach activities on creating eco-friendly environments for a harmonious coexistence of people and nature, especially focusing on Asia and Africa. Recently, he has been working toward establishing a global foundation for developing the field of sustainability science aiming to build a sustainable society. He is deeply involved in the SATOYAMA initiative, aiming at the restoration and revitalization of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes around the world, and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) initiated by FAO.

Mr. Paulo Gadelha
Member of the 10 Member Group to the STI Forum, and Coordinator of the FIOCRUZ Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil
Mr. Paulo Gadelha

Member of the 10 Member Group to the STI Forum, and Coordinator of the FIOCRUZ Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil

Dr. Paulo Gadelha, MD, PhD, Member of the 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism with the UN Inter-agency Task Team on STI for the SDGs; Coordinator of the FIOCRUZ Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil.

As coordinator of the FIOCRUZ Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Dr. Gadelha is in charge of promoting FIOCRUZ’s strategic engagement with the Agenda’s aspirational principles and goals. His background in technology includes studies of the application of technology in public health, healthcare models, and STI’s history. Dr. Gadelha was FIOCRUZ’s president from 2009 to 2016, leading scientific achievements in biomedical sciences, the generation of scientific and technological knowledge, and health and social development promotion. Previously, he founded and directed “Casa de Oswaldo Cruz”, a FIOCRUZ Institute dedicated to the sociology and history of science and health. Dr. Gadelha served as a member of the National Health Council’s Science and Technology Intersectoral Commission. As President of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health, he chaired the 11th World Congress on Public Health. In 2017, with UN/DESA, he chaired FIOCRUZ’s efforts in organizing the 1st Consultation on Health and STI in the 2030 Agenda’s implementation.

Ms. Marlene Kanga
President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (MGoS)
Ms. Marlene Kanga

President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (MGoS)

Dr. Marlene Kanga is President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), the peak body for engineering institutions internationally representing some 100 engineering institutions and approximately 30 million engineers. WFEO is committed to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through engineering and has initiated partnerships with other international organisations in engineering, representing women, educators and industry, for a global approach for engineering education standards that include the values of sustainable development and to build capacity for more engineers with the right skills in regions where they are most needed.

Marlene is a chemical engineer and an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (UK). She is also a Fellow of the Academy of Technology and Engineering (Australia), a Foreign Fellow of the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Marlene is the 2018 Engineers Australia Professional Engineer of the year and has been listed among the Top 10 Women Engineers in Australia, the Top 100 Women of Influence in Australia and the Top 100 Engineers in Australia. She is a Member of the Order of Australia, a national honour, as recognition of her leadership of the engineering profession.

Statements
Statements
IfáṣínàEfunyemi, from Belize on behalf of the Women’s Major Group
Tetet Lauron from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in the Philippines, other stakeholders, and also affiliated with the Women’s Major Group
United Nations