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Where are we heading? Visions and projections for the future of the SDGs

The last day of the High-level Segment of ECOSOC will take place the day after the HLPF, allowing for a broadening of the discussion around the 2030 Agenda and the theme. It will enable Member States to look further ahead. The 2019 High-level Segment of ECOSOC will focus on future-oriented trends, projections and scenarios addressing the most relevant issues around the SDGs. The focus on possible scenarios and future trends that will impact the implementation of the 2030 Agenda complements the work of the HLPF, as well as the various intergovernmental and other bodies related to ECOSOC, which examine the current state of implementation and possible solutions for advancement.

The morning session will consider possible scenarios and trends in selected areas and how they impact the implementation of the SDGs, and focus on whether the SDGs will be achieved if current trends continue. The interactive discussion will generate recommendations for policy actions that could be taken to address trends with a negative impact and to accelerate progress. An examination of future trends will also enable the Council to facilitate the link between researchers and policymakers and contribute to policymaking on issues that are not usually considered from a long-term perspective.

The Secretary-General’s report entitled Long-term impact of current trends in the economic, social and environmental areas on the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (E/2019/66) will provide background, and the session could draw on the VNRs presented at the HLPF in identifying specific trends that have a particular impact on the SDGs. The session might also consider longer-term visions such as Africa’s Agenda 2063, the ASEAN Economic Community’s Blueprint 2025, and Europe 2050, as well as the experiences of Member States that have developed long-term national plans.

The session will welcome speakers from Governments and international organizations that have produced long-term planning documents, scenarios or projections for the timeline of the 2030 Agenda and beyond.

This session will have a roundtable format.

Background note is available here

Proposed guiding questions:

  • What transformational changes are crucial for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs?

  • How can future trends and scenarios influence the course of SDG implementation?

  • What do current scenarios tell us about our policy choices and how to accelerate SDG progress?

Chair:

  • H.E. Ms. Inga Rhonda King, President of Economic and Social Council

Keynote speakers:

  • Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (on megatrends)

  • Mr. Cristian Samper, President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society

Moderator:

  • Ms. Gerda Verburg, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of the Scaling-Up Nutrition Movement

Resource persons:

  • H.E. Ms. Li Andersson, Minister of Education, Finland

  • H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing and Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, United Arab Emirates

  • Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP

  • Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President of the World Bank Group

  • Mr. Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary-General of OECD

  • Mr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Acting Deputy Director General, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 

Lead discussants:

  • Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of ESCWA

  • Ms. Marcela Guillibrand De la Jara, Executive Director, Red Voluntarios de Chile (MGoS)

Followed by interactive discussion

Biographies
H.E. Ms. Inga Rhonda King
Seventy-Fourth President of the Economic and Social Council
H.E. Ms. Inga Rhonda King

Seventy-Fourth President of the Economic and Social Council

Her Excellency Inga Rhonda King, who comes to diplomacy from the private sector, has lived and worked in several Caribbean countries, the United States of America, and China. She is a small business owner, business strategist, the author of three books, and a management accountant with more than two decades of professional experience. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and chemistry, is the immediate past chair of the Investment Promotions Agency of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Invest SVG), and a former Honorary Consul for Portugal to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Since becoming Permanent Representative in September 2013, Ambassador King has held several leadership roles which include:

  • Chair/Spokesperson of L69 (2016 - present), the largest reform group for the Security Council Reform of the United Nations.
  • Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council for the period 2017-2018.
  • Chair of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly of the 71st Session (2016 - 2017). At the time of her chairmanship, she was only the second woman to chair this committee in the history of the United Nations.
  • Immediate-past chair of the Island Women Open Network (IWON) (2014 - July 2018). The IWON is tasked with ensuring gender-mainstreaming in the renewable energy sector of Small Island Developing States by building capacity at the grassroots and community level. The IWON is a part of the SIDS DOCK Secretariat platform. SIDS Dock is a UN registered SIDS International Organization.

H.E. Ms. Li Andersson
Minister of Education, Finland
H.E. Ms. Li Andersson

Minister of Education, Finland

Ms. Li Andersson was appointed Minister of Education in Finland in June 2019. She is the chairperson of the Left Alliance party, former chair of her party’s youth organization and current member of the City Council of Turku. She is serving her second term as a Member of Parliament. She was elected in Parliament in 2015. She was born 1987 in Turku.

Before and during her political career, Ms. Andersson has had numerous responsibilities in civil society organisations and trade unions. She has been a steady advocate for human rights, equality, civil society, as well as social and ecological sustainability.

She holds a Bachelor degree in Social Sciences (international law) from Åbo Akademi University, which is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland.

H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi
Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing and Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, United Arab Emirates
H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi

Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing and Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, United Arab Emirates

H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi is the Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing and the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future in the UAE government. Her Excellency oversees multiple strategic projects and initiatives such as UAE Centennial 2071, UAE Vision 2021, the National Agenda, the UAE Government Strategy, the National Strategy for Innovation, Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, Government Performance Management System “Adaa”, Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Program, Mohammed Bin Rashid Government Excellence Award, UAE Government Leaders Programme, Emirates Government Service Excellence Program, Global Star Rating System for Services, Best M-Government Service and Mohammed Bin Rashid Policies Council. In addition, H.E. Al Roumi is the Vice-President of the World Government Summit Organization that holds the World Government Summit annually and brings together governments’ leaders, policy makers, and private sector to explore the future of governments.

H.E. Al Roumi is a member of the Higher National Committee for the Year of Giving, established in 2017 to lead the development of a comprehensive framework for the Year of Giving initiative.

H.E. Al Roumi has extensive experience in management, government policies and strategies as well as leading multiple strategic government initiatives and programs. She held several positions within the Government of Dubai and the Federal Government. She was the Head of Economic Policy at the Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. She was also the Manager of Business Research at Dubai Chamber of Commerce. She led several task forces in developing strategic government policies, including Dubai Strategic Plan “Economic Sector” and the Federal Government Strategy.

The United Nations Foundation has recently announced the selection of H.E. Al Roumi for membership of the Global Entrepreneurship Council (GEC), making her the first Arab member in the council. Her Excellency has also been a member of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum since 2012, a board member of Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation and Deputy Chairman of Board of Trustees of the International Institute for Tolerance.

On March 2017, H.E. Al Roumi has been ranked #36 amongst the 50 greatest world leaders in the 2017 Fortune magazine ranking and became the only Arabic and Muslim character on the list.

H.E. Al Roumi holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration (EMBA) from the University of Sharjah and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University. She is also a graduate of Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development.

Mr. Cristian Samper
President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society
Mr. Cristian Samper

President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society

Dr. Samper is president and chief executive officer of the Wildlife Conservation Society, headquartered in New York. The Wildlife Conservation Society is dedicated to saving wildlife and wild places around the world and runs the world’s largest system of urban wildlife parks, including the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the Queens Zoo. In addition, the Society oversees more than 500 conservation projects in 60 countries around the world.

Dr. Samper is a biologist and international authority on environmental policy. He is known for his work in the ecology of the Andean cloud forests, conservation biology, and environmental policy. He previously served as director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), the world’s largest collection of specimens and artifacts, which welcomes over seven million visitors each year. Prior to that, he was deputy director and staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. His service to the Smithsonian also included assuming the role of acting secretary of the Smithsonian from March 2007 through June 2008.

Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Dr. Samper was the founder and first director of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute, the national biodiversity research institute of Colombia. At the same time, he served as chief science adviser for biodiversity for the Colombian government and participated and collaborated with the creation of the Colombian Ministry of Environment. For his contributions, he was awarded the National Medal of the Environment by the president of Colombia and also received the Order of San Carlos. He also served as chairman of the Subsidiary Body of Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Dr. Samper has served on several boards, including the Harvard Board of Overseers, the American Alliance of Museums, the World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy, and several boards of the CGIAR for agricultural research. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Academy of Sciences of Colombia and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Samper earned a BS in biology from the Universidad de Los Andes, and a MS and PhD in biology at Harvard University, where he was awarded the Derek Bok prize for excellence in teaching. He lives in New York with his wife and two children.

Mr. Liu Zhenmin
UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Mr. Liu Zhenmin

UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Mr. Liu Zhenmin of China as the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs effective 26 July 2017. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Liu was Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of China since 2013. Among his various diplomatic assignments, he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland (2011-2013).

Mr. Liu brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in the diplomatic service, with a strong focus on the promotion of bilateral, regional and global issues. He was deeply involved for 10 years in climate change negotiations including the conclusion of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. He also widely participated in the international activities on the protection of our planet including Antarctica and the oceans. Over the last several years, in various capacities, he has been consistently highlighting and advocating for sustainable development issues.

Mr. Liu started his career at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1982. Since then, he has served the Ministry in various capacities, including as Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs (2009-2011); Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (2006-2009); Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law (2003-2006); and Deputy Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law (1998-2003). He also served in the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland (1992-1995) and in the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (1984-1988).

As Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Liu guides UN Secretariat support for the follow-up processes of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. He also oversees the substantive services to many intergovernmental processes, including the annual meetings of the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly, the meetings of the Economic and Social Council, including its Development Cooperation Forum, and the work of the subsidiary bodies of ECOSOC.

In addition to intergovernmental processes, Mr. Liu oversees DESA’s policy analysis and capacity development work. He also serves as the Convenor of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, and advises the United Nations Secretary-General on all development-related issues, including climate change, internet governance, and financing for development.

Mr. Liu holds a Master of Laws from the Law School of Peking University. He was born in August 1955 in Shanxi Province, China. Mr. Liu is married.

Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin
Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin

Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Dr. Mohieldin, is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. He is the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda.

He was the former Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004-2010, and most recently, served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships. His roles at the World Bank also included Managing Director, responsible for Human Development, Sustainable Development, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, Finance and Private Sector Development, and the World Bank Institute; World Bank President's Special Envoy on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Post-2015 Development Agenda (later, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)), and Financing for Development; and Corporate Secretary and Executive Secretary to the Development Committee of the World Bank Group's Board of Governors.

Mr. Mohieldin also served on several Boards of Directors in the Central Bank of Egypt and the corporate sector. He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2005. His professional experience extends into the academic arena as a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University and as a Visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the USA. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of Durham University Business School. He also holds leading positions in national, regional and international research centers and economic associations.

Mr. Mohieldin holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; a Master’s in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University. He also participated in high-level certification programmes at Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University. In 2018, the American University in Cairo conferred upon him the honorary degree of doctor of Humane Letters “in recognition of renowned attainments and achievements”.

He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of economics, finance and development in English and Arabic.

Mr. Masamichi Kono
Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD
Mr. Masamichi Kono

Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD

Mr. Masamichi Kono was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD in August 2017. His portfolio includes the strategic direction of OECD policy on Environment, Green Growth, Financial and Enterprise Affairs & Anti-Corruption along with representing the OECD at the Financial Stability Board meetings.

Prior to joining the OECD, Mr. Kono was the Vice Minister for International Affairs, Financial Services Agency, Japan (JFSA) and President of the Asian Financial Partnership Center of the JFSA.

In that capacity, he represented the JFSA in various international bodies and meetings, and was responsible for coordinating policies relating to international affairs for the JFSA.

In relation to this work, he served as Chairman of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Technical Committee from April 2011 until May 2012, and thereafter as Chairman of the IOSCO Board until the end of his term in March 2013. He was also the Co-chair of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Asia from July 2013 to June 2015, and Chairman of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board from February 2013 to June 2016.

He has had a long career in financial supervision and the regulation of financial services, both in Japan and in the international arena, since joining the public service in 1978.

Before joining the Financial Services Agency, Mr Kono was Secretary to the WTO Financial Services Committee between 1994 and 1999, as Counsellor of the Trade in Services Division, World Trade Organisation.

He also served for 4 years at the OECD Secretariat in the Economics Department, at the beginning of his career.

From September 2005 to March 2017, he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Hiroshima, Graduate School of Social Sciences (Finance Program). He was also Research Scholar at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), USA from November 2016 to June 2017.

Mr Kono holds a B.A. in law from Tokyo University.

Mr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic
Executive Director, The World in 2050 (TWI2050)
Mr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic

Executive Director, The World in 2050 (TWI2050)

Nebojsa Nakicenovic is Deputy Director General and Deputy CEO, IIASA, and former tenured Professor of Energy Economics, TU Wien.

He is a Member of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts; recipient of the Austrian Grand Decoration in Silver (Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst); recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for the IPCC with several authors; and of the 2005 Sheikh Zayed Environmental Award for Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) also with several authors.

Among other positions, he is Executive Director of The World in 2050; Convening Lead Author of UNEP Gap Report; member of scientific advisory boards including UN Technical Group on Sustainable Development Goal 7; Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; Renewable Energy for the 21st Century; and WIFO; and serves on the editorial boards of eight scientific journals.

Previous positions include the Director of the Global Energy Assessment, UN Secretary General (SG) Special Advisory 10-Member Group on Science, Technology and Innovation; UN SG Advisory Group on Energy and Climate; Convening Lead Author of IPCC; Co-Leader of the Austrian Climate Change Assessment, Co-Chair of the Global Carbon Project, Chair of the OMV Future Energy Fund Advisory Board, Advisory Council of the German Government on Global Change (WBGU).

Ms. Gerda Verburg
Coordinator at Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement
Ms. Gerda Verburg

Coordinator at Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement

Since August 2016, Gerda Verburg (NL) is serving as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, working with the 64 country governments that lead the SUN Movement, united with UN agencies, civil society, business and donors, in a common mission to defeat malnutrition in all its forms.

Prior to her appointment, she served as Chair of the Agenda Council for Food and Nutrition of the World Economic Forum (WEF), 2014; was elected as Chair of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), 2013, and served as Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations Rome-based agencies (FAO, IFAD and WFP) from 2011.

Ms. Verburg was elected as Chair of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 17) in 2008, following her appointment the previous year as Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands.

Ms. Inger Andersen
Executive Director of UNEP
Ms. Inger Andersen

Executive Director of UNEP

Inger Andersen of Denmark is the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Serving as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2015, Ms. Andersen brings a passion for conservation and sustainable development with more than 30 years of experience in international development economics, environmental sustainability and policy-making, as well as in designing and implementing projects and generating on-the-ground impact from working with a small Non-Governmental Organization in Sudan to multilateral and international settings with a constant focus on poverty eradication.

Ms. Andersen has held various leadership positions at the World Bank and United Nations, most recently as Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa Region at the World Bank (2011-2015) and Vice President for Sustainable Development and Head of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research Fund Council (2010-2011).

Throughout her 15-year career at the World Bank, her managerial roles focused on water, environment, and sustainable development with special emphasis on Africa and the Middle East. She further worked at the United Nations for 15 years, starting in the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office (UNSO) working on drought and desertification issues, and was then appointed United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Environment Facility Coordinator for the Arab Region.

Ms. Andersen’s educational background includes a BA from London Metropolitan University North and a MA degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London with specialisation in development economics.

Ms. Marcela Guillibrand De la Jara
Executive Director of Red Voluntarios de Chile (MGoS)
Ms. Marcela Guillibrand De la Jara

Executive Director of Red Voluntarios de Chile (MGoS)

Marcela Guillibrand De la Jara, Translator and Graduate in Spanish and English Languages from Universidad Católica de Chile, and Social Communicator from Universidad Autónoma de México. I have developed my professional career in socio-environmental fields in Nonprofit sector. I have been National Coordinator of Volunteers in Chile and Mexico and I have been leading different projects related to forests and solar youth programs as volunteer in Chile, Germany and Mediterranean for international Non-profit organizations.

I have coordinated different projects in social field in Chile, related to citizen participation, volunteerism and Non-profits organizations expertise.

Alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program for Volunteerism II from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Government of United States (2014) I have participated in the Council of Citizen Participation and Strengthening of Civil Society (2017) and Council of Civil Society of the National Institute of Youth (2019), both initiatives from Government of Chile. I am member of Committee on Volunteering for America Solidaria Organization (2019)

At present, I am leading the National Network Voluntarios de Chile, which is a coalition of Non-profits organizations that include volunteering as citizen participation and as main part of their work in different fields like as education, environment, civic participation and SGDs.

I am interested in ecofeminism and women rights in gineco-obstetric field. Mother of Clemente, vegetarian and seeker of photographs.

Ms. Rola Dashti
Executive Secretary of ESCWA
Ms. Rola Dashti

Executive Secretary of ESCWA

Rola Dashti was appointed Executive Secretary of ESCWA in January 2019. From 2012 to 2014, she served as Minister for Planning and Development of Kuwait, and as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. She has also held key positions in research and development institutions, and has worked for major national and international financial and development organizations.

She won the 2010 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe with Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev. She also received the Clinton Global Citizens Award for 2009, the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award for 2006, and the King Hussein Humanitarian award for 2005.

Ms. Dashti holds a doctorate degree in population dynamics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, a master’s degree in economics and finance from California State University in Sacramento, and a bachelor of science in agriculture economics from California State University in Chico.

Statements
Statements
H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing and Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, United Arab Emirates
Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations
Mr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Acting Deputy Director General, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Ms. Marcela Guillibrand De la Jara, Executive Director, Red Voluntarios de Chile (MGoS)
Presentations
Mr. Cristian Samper, President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society
United Nations