Background
The seventh annual Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) will be held from 5 to 6 May 2022. The Forum will be convened by the President of ECOSOC H.E. Mr. Collen Vixen Kelapile who has appointed two co-chairs - H.E. Mr. Kennedy Godfrey Gastorn, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tanzania to the United Nations, and H.E. Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations. As per its mandate, the Forum will be organized by the UN interagency task team on STI for the SDGs (IATT), convened by UN-DESA and UNCTAD, and the 10-Member Group of high-level representatives appointed by the Secretary General.
As in previous years, the theme of the STI Forum will be closely aligned with that of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), to be held from Tuesday, 5 July, to Thursday, 7 July, and from Monday, 11 July, to Friday, 15 July 2022, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, but have an exclusive focus on the role and contributions of science, technology and innovation. The HLPF in 2022 will review in-depth Sustainable Development Goals 4 on quality education, 5 on gender equality, 14 on life below water, 15 on life on land, and 17 on partnerships for the Goals. The upcoming HLPF will take into account the different and particular impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across all Sustainable Development Goals and the integrated, indivisible and interlinked nature of the Goals.
Accordingly, the theme for the STI Forum 2022 will be: “Science, technology and innovation for building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
As a further point of reference, resolution A/RES/76/213 on “Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development” was adopted by the Second Committee of the General Assembly on January 7th, 2022. The resolution contains guidance for the work of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism.
H.E. Mr. Kennedy Gastorn
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tanzania to the United Nations, Co-Chair of the 2022 STI Forum
H.E. Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations,Co-Chair of the 2022 STI Forum
Member States Briefings
1st Meeting (05 May 2022):
2nd Meeting (05 May 2022):
3rd Meeting (06 May 2022):
4th Meeting (06 May 2022):
Announcements
Download the outcome document here
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), with support from UNOSD is organizing a three-day Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to help prepare for the 7th STI Forum in May 2022. The meeting will be held on MS Teams at 7-10am EST, each day from 7th to 9th March 2022.
The meeting will focus on how best to prepare sessions of the 2022 STI Forum by mobilizing STI stakeholders, so as to make an effective contribution to the 2022 HLPF, and more broadly to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. For more details, see here.
Programme
Outcome Document
Pre-Conference Activities
Letters
Concept Notes
Background documents
Ministerial Session 1
Special Event 1
Thematic Session 1
Thematic Session 2
Thematic Session 3
Thematic Session 4
Special Event 2
Roundtable 2
Thematic Session 5
Roundtable 3
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The following science-policy briefs been prepared by TFM stakeholders. They have passed the peer review and were selected for inclusion in the IATT report 2022. The briefs are currently only available under the "documentation" tab, but will shortly be cross-linked here as well. Note: The views expressed in this brief are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its senior management.
- The big picture: science and technology policy, future scenarios and roadmaps
- The big picture – science and technology policy
- Avenues for using Science for Smarter Development, by Susan Schneegans and Tiffany Straza (UNESCO)
- Building Ecosystems for Innovation towards the SDG, by José Ramón López-Portillo Romano (Q Element)
- Expanding Engineering Capacity for Sustainable Development, by William E. Kelly (Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council)
- Engineering Standards for Sustainable Infrastructure, by William E. Kelly (Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council)
- Anticipatory governance of emerging and disruptive technologies with dual-use potential, by Georgios Kolliarakis (German Council on Foreign Relations)
- Carbon Implications of COVID-19, by Kehan He and Zhifu Mi (The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, London, UK)
- Firm-level impacts of automation may be labour-friendly, by Giacomo Domini (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Marco Grazzi (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano), Daniele Moschella (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa), Tania Treibich (Maastricht University)
- Technology and sustainability, by Stephane Louise Boca Santa; Cesar Duarte Souto-Major; Maria Gabriela Mendonça Peixoto; Brenda Carolyne Geraldo Castro; Robert Samuel Birch; José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra (University of Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil)
- Technological changes and their social impacts, by Felipe Fernandez; Raissa Mariana Rita; José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra (University of Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil)
- Circular economy as a strategy in European automotive industries to achieve Sustainable Development: A qualitative study, by Monica Del Angel Hernandez and Venkat Bakthavatchaalam (University of the West of England, UK)
- SDG 15, Solution for the 17 Goals: Nature is transboundary, as are its riches and problems, by Jéssica de Mello Dondoni.
- Visions, scenarios, and roadmaps
- Role of Hydrogen in Attaining Carbon Neutrality - Reality check and rationale for considering hydrogen technologies, by Iva Brikic (UNECE)
- Eliminating multidimensional poverty by providing decent living standards for all, by Jarmo S. Kikstra, Setu Pelz, and Shonali Pachauri (IIASA)
- Closing cooling gaps in a warming world, by Alessio Mastrucci, Bas van Ruijven, Shonali Pachauri (IIASA)
- SCP Policy Design for the Post COVID-19 Society: Envisioning-based Policy Making (EnBPM), by Yasuhiko Hotta (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan), Tomohiro Tasaki (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan), Masahiko Hirao (University of Tokyo, Japan)
- Conceptualizing future scenarios of artificial intelligence – from energy servants to AI servants, by Richard A Roehrl (DESA)
- Enhancing the sustainable development component in the Action Plan of the STI for SDGs Roadmap in Serbia, by Alessandro Rainoldi, Liliana Pasecinic, Monika Matusiak, Angela Sarcina (EC-JRC); Olga Bolibok (expert); Viktor Nedovic, Tijana Knežević, and Lazar Zivkovic (Serbian Smart Specialisation Team).
- Localised Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for SDGs Roadmap in Ukraine: defining the governance and policy frameworks, by Monika Matusiak, Angela Sarcina (EC-JRC); Olga Bolibok (expert); Darya Chayka (Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine); Lyudmila Musina (Ukrainian Institute of Scientific and Technical Expertise and Information).
- Technology upgrading in the UN Global Pilot Programme on STI for SDGs Roadmaps countries: Serbia, Ukraine, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, and India, by Randolph Luca Bruno, Monika Matusiak, Kirill Osaulenko, Slavo Radosevic
- The big picture – science and technology policy
- Issues in emerging science and frontier technologies
- Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and robotics
- Digital Public Goods for an Inclusive Digital Future: A Roadmap Towards 2030, by Anita Gurumurthy, Nandini Chami and Tanay Mahindru (IT for Change)
- Strike Mission: El Salvador, Blockchain Technology, and Sustainable Development, by Daniel Cooper (California State University San Marcos, U.S.A) and Nina Kruglikova (University of Oxford, U.K.)
- TinyML: Applied AI for Development, by Marco Zennaro, ICTP/UNESCO; Brian Plancher, Harvard University; Vijay Janapa Reddi, Harvard University
- Metaverse for UN SDGs – An Exploratory Study, by Amjad Umar (Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and ICT4SIDS)
- Beyond a black-box approach to artificial intelligence policy – a simple guide to definitions, functions and technology types, by Richard A Roehrl (DESA)
- Towards a New Social Contract: Reducing Inequalities through Digital Public Goods and Youth Collaboration for the Sustainable Development Goals, by Mauricia Abdol Tshilunda, Mohammad Atif Aleem, Eileen Cejas, Marta Galambos, Fernando García, Aleksandra Ivankovic, Victoria Lovins, Oumaima Makhlouk, Elliott Mann, Tristan Norman, Juliana Novaes, Aoife O'Mahony, Carolina Rojas, Gustavo Souza (Youth Coalition on Internet Governance; UN Major Group for Children and Youth; Science-Policy Interface Platform; and DESA)
- Biotech, pharmaceuticals and other frontier techs
- Metabolic engineering of plants – Molecular Pharming, by Vinaya Roehrl (University of Oxford)
- Technology in medical cannabis production: Challenges and opportunities for development in Lesotho, by M. Sabrina De Gobbi (International Labour Organization), and Motselisi C. Mokhethi, Regina M. Tetsane, Maseabata Ramathebane, Mpheteli Malunga (National University of Lesotho)
- Rapidly emerging frontier technologies and emerging science issues for the SDGs, By Sukumaran Nair (Centre for Green Technology & Management, India)
- Data systems, big data, and remote sensing
- Big Data and A.I. for the SDGs: Private corporation involvement in SDG data-driven development, policy and decision-making, by Ciarán O’Brien (UCD Centre for Sustainable Development Studies)
- Digital technologies to empirically measure the underpinning of public goods in each locality, by Alexander Dill (World Social Capital Monitor)
- Democratizing Data: Insights and Lessons on Standardization and Interoperability as a Foundation for Humanitarian Action, by Oscar Maria Caccavale, Valerio Giuffrida, Anna Ong and Nynne Warring (World Food Programme, Research, Assessment and Monitoring Division)
- Realising the Potential of Space-Based Data and Services for Sustainable Development, Xing Yi Ang and Luc St-Pierre (OOSA)
- Indigenous Knowledge Research Infrastructure (IKRI): A Tool to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, by Milind Pimprikar (CANEUS); Myrna Cunningham and Gabriel Muyuy (FILAC); Simonetta Di Pippo and Shirish Ravan (OOSA)
- Structuring indicators for the development of a smart city plan, by Rafael de Lima, Valdemiro da Rocha Júnior, Felipe Teixeira Dias, Manoel Honorato Filho, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra (University of Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil); and Robert Samuel Birch (University of Liverpool, UK)
- Lessons learned about the effect of reduced anthropogenic activities on water quality in a large lake system and opportunities towards sustainable management, by Gemma Kulk (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK), Grinson George (ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, India), Anas Abdulaziz (CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, India), Nandini Menon (Nansen Environmental Research Centre, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, India), Varunan Theenathayalan (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK), Chiranjivi Jayaram (Indian Space Research Organisation, India), Robert J. W. Brewin (University of Exeter, UK), Shubha Sathyendranath (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK)
- Environmentally compatible frontier technologies
- Recycling Materials to Transform Construction Industry and Address Climate Change, by Shrish Patel and Alexander Orlov (Stony Brook University, USA)
- Certified biodegradable and biobased materials are targeted enablers for a circular economy and a closed nutrient loop, by Jens C. Otte, Glauco Battagliarin, Afsaneh Nabifar, Andreas Kuenkel (BASF SE, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany)
- Integrated advanced oxidation processes (IAOP) for city water sanitation, by Abraham Avrah, Alexandra Hillesheim and Chaandi Malhotra (Wageningen University, The Netherlands)
- Modular 3D printing construction: towards affordable, adjustable and climate-resilient housing, by Justine van den Bergh, Christle Nieuw, Wietse Slob, Myrka Escalante Suarez, Pia Lou Velema (Wageningen University, The Netherlands)
- Bioplastics from urban organic waste, by Jess Proctor and Ashmita Das (SUNY, USA)
- Circular economy in the clean technology industry and its role in reviving local manufacturing, by Bartlomiej Kolodziejczyk (University of Gothenburg)
- The road to sustainable e-mobility batteries, by Pacome David-Mauduit, Layla Gegout, Emma Jacoby, Anetta Oksiutycz-Munyawiri Gijs Romijn (Wageningen University, The Netherlands)
- Hydrometallurgy for EV batteries, by Atif Ali, Marcellin Manzan Andre Adjoumane (SUNY, USA)
- Bladeless wind turbines, by Tuan Viet Nguyen, The Kiet Tran, Hong Huy Dinh, Ngoc Hai Binh Ho (Van Lang University, Viet Nam)
- Application of solar energy for traffic light system in developing countries, by Hoang Hieu Ha, Thi Ngoc Thuy, Quang Khai Pham, Minh Man Tran (Van Lang University, Viet Nam)
- Innovative and Sustainable Approach to Clean Solar Panel and Increase Solar Energy Generation, by Shrish Patel, James St. John, Alexander Orlov (Stony Brook University)
- Urban aquaponics in the European Union, by Laura van der Doorn, Marieke Heer, Marina Huertas Garcia, Paloma Soriano (Wageningen University, The Netherlands)
- Utilizing urban food forests to improve nutrition, by Angeal Lorene Junbeck, Mary Mackenzie Proud, Pratik Vijay Parihar (SUNY, USA)
- Specific solutions, news and updates
- The Philippines’ advances in emerging frontier technologies, by the Department of Science and Technology, The Philippines
- Utilizing the Technology Readiness Level scale (TRL) for measuring social impact startups. Guatemala’s National Innovation Prize, by Loren Boburg and Carlos Mazariegos (Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Guatemala)
- Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and robotics
- Gender and STI
- Gender dimensions of technology
- Women in Science, by Anelise Leal Vieira Cubas; Milena Kemper; Raissa Mariana Rita; Priscila Cembranel; José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra (Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil)
- Replicating Gender Bias from Above: Earth Observation, Machine Learning and SDG 5, by Anthony Deen, Mateo Rojas Guerrero, Juan Enrique Bonilla Morales, Zinnya del Villar (Data-Pop Alliance)
- Encoding Digital Technologies for a Feminist Social Contract, by Anita Gurumurthy, Anuradha Ganapathy, Nandini Chami (IT for Change, India)
- Leveraging online advertising data for measuring the Sustainable Development Goals: applications for gender gaps and SDG5, by Reham Al Tamime, Masoomali Fatehkia, and Ingmar Weber (Qatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University), Ridhi Kashyap (University of Oxford)
- Women's unique strength in scientific research and social development should be fully emphasized, by Wang Haiyan, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, member of China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) UN Consultative Committee, China Women's Association for Science and Technology
- Gender dimensions of technology
- COVID-19: policy lessons, technology solutions, and national experiences
- Lessons from COVID-19 for policy and the science-policy-society interface
- COVID19: Lessons for a better use of digital technologies, by Maryline Mangenot, MSc Sustainable Development, University College Dublin
- Governing uncertainty in pandemic times: connecting national standards to the world, by Doyoung Lee, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Republic of Korea
- COVID-19 and computational sciences: data variety can be an enabler for good science– if properly utilized, by Mayank Kejriwal, Research Team Leader / Research Assistant Professor, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California
- Specific technologies and solutions
- What can be done about the discarded face mask pandemic? An innovative engineering solution, by Omar Elhawary and Venkat Bakthavatchalaam (University of the West of England, UK)
- COVID-19 Impacts on Community Littering: A Strategy for Mitigation, by Miranda Kemp, Cher Zheng, April (Yueyang) Wu, Paige Flanery (Pratt Institute)
- GreenPath, by Bradley Ahmic, Owen Beitel, Jessica Kayll & Jade Carter (Pratt Institute)
- National and local experiences and news
- The Philippines’ science-based support in the middle of the pandemic, by the Government of the Philippines
- Policy recommendations to reduce food insecurity in New York City, by Judith-Faith Williams Cadet, Kathryn Miller, Skye Prosper, and Xin Xu (Pratt Institute)
- COVID-19 and social conflicts: policies from South Korea’s experience, by Min, Jeehye, Science and Technology Policy Institute, Republic of Korea
- Workplace Well-being, by Yishi Wang, Richa Verma, Sabrina Casilla, Tito Nawat and Lucy Vitale (Pratt Institute)
- Lessons from COVID-19 for policy and the science-policy-society interface
Side Events
4 May
Video recording:
STI Forum: DigitalArt4Climate & Blockchain4Climate
5 May
6 May
Side events are hosted by independent organizers and do not reflect the views of the United Nations.
The Virtual Innovation Exhibit showcases burgeoning innovators who are addressing sustainability issues in local communities, particularly by developing and scaling up innovations that address multiple SDGs and/or that address the needs of vulnerable communities. Innovators will describe their cutting-edge initiatives and share insights from their experience implementing development solutions in areas including economic development, vulnerable populations, environment, agriculture, and space applications across 17 countries. They will discuss opportunities for these new technologies to support sustainable and inclusive recovery from the pandemic towards a brighter future.
This year’s exhibit showcases some of the winners from various competitions and challenges throughout the UN System, including:
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UNOOSA’s Access to Space for All
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UNIDO’s Global Call for Innovative Solutions in Cleantech and Sustainable Land Management
2022 Winners
| TofaraOnline : Digital Marketing and Innovation Consulting Trust – TofaraOnline is a digital Marketing and Innovation Consulting Trust and our main aim is to empower MSMEs and women to adopt digital marketing and emerging technologies for international Trade. |
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| Polycare – Polycare innovates in the fields of construction materials, building processes and architecture. The research led to the invention of a polymer concrete building block, the Polyblock, by substituting filler materials such as precious sands that are important for our ecosystems and replacing cement as a binder with a very high CO2 footprint. |    |
| Kenya Space Agency – Project MIDST seeks to develop technical capacity to assist National and County Government organizations in Kenya to use open source tools and data to enhance the utilization of Earth Observation and related space-related technologies to inform the decision making process. MIDST focus on developing products based on pilot studies together with relevant stakeholders across three areas; forests, urbanization and Floods/Landslides. |
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| Rotamundos – In Rotamundos we are building the new consciousness tourism; a tourism that emphasizes culture, heritage and environment value, supporting local communities and minimizing environmental impacts. Digitalization allows small and independent establishments to obtain tools that help them optimize resources, hyper-connect them and allow them to open up to a borderless market in which to offer their services. |
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| Pebble Labs Inc. – Pebble Labs’ platform technology, Directed Biotics™, delivers safe and effective biological solutions to sustainably protect crop yields and quality by targeting formidable pests and diseases. The key to our Directed Biotics™ technology is delivery: our microbes are precision engineered to safely and effectively provide RNA-based protection against the diseases and pests we are targeting. |  |
| Bondi Bio – Bondi is a pioneer in Solar biomanufacturing - combining cyanobacteria and synthetic biology to capture and convert CO2 into valuable Natural Products: reducing atmospheric carbon and offering an elegant solution for high value compounds and the generation of substantial revenues. |   |
| Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) – CubeSat Quetzal-1, the first Guatemalan satellite, operated 211 days in space. 84,775 of its data packages were received on Earth. Its impact goes beyond the technical information it provided since it opened the aerospace engineering field in Guatemala. |   |
| Roverlabs – Our product(Mono-1), the Low cost 3-D printed myoelectric-hand made locally, will give them the confidence and help to eradicate negative perceptions and bias of the society towards them. |
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| ViaVii – ViaVii is a central hub which provides customers with opportunities to engage in original local experiences and activities. ViaVii utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct sentiment analyses which are then used to personalize offerings and provide each customer with the help they need throughout their unique journey. |
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| RepoSand Glass Recyclers Limited – RepoSand Glass Recyclers is located in Nairobi, Kenya. Our solution addresses two problems: waste glass in minefields and highly-priced construction aggregate. The project reduces environmental waste and benefits waste collectors (bottom of the pyramid community dwellers) by increasing their revenue as it adds to their revenue channels. |
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United Nations Innovation Competitions
Please see below a list of some of the UN-organized innovation competitions and challenges taking places from 2020 to 2022.
The meetings (opening/closing, Ministerial session and Thematic sessions) and special events will be held in a hybrid format and live streamed both on UN WebTV and the Whova platform. All other meetings (Roundtables, pre-events, exhibit, and side events) will only be available on the Whova platform.
To access the 2022 STI Forum virtually through Whova, please register here:
Registered online participants will be able to:
- Browse the interactive programme, view speaker profiles and plan their personal agenda;
- Watch the livestream of all sessions and share comments/questions in the chat box;
- Visit the virtual exhibition booths and ask questions to learn more;
- Check out the various side events taking place from 4 May to 6 May 2022;
- Follow relevant community board topics and participate in the discussions;
- Network virtually with attendees of similar interests and exchange contacts with those they choose;
- Receive event updates such as last-minute session changes from the organizers.
After registration, participants will have full access to the Whova platform via this link: https://2022stiforum.events.whova.com/
Or, you could also get the Whova App to join the Forum on the go!
For more information, including details related to in-person participation in the hybrid sessions, please read the "Participant guide".
To learn more about event access through Whova in general, please refer to the Video Guide for Whova Attendees.
Preparatory briefings to UN Member States and Stakeholders in the run-up to the STI Forum 2022:
First briefing to Member States on 18 January 2022
Briefing to Stakeholders on 1 April 2022
Second Briefing to Member States on 31 March 2022
