United Nations University (UNU)

23-24 June 2025 

Samarkanda, Uzbekistan 

SDGs 16, 17  

The Central Asia Digital Governance Forum is a regional initiative that brings together government officials and agencies across Central Asia to advance digital governance capabilities and citizen empowerment. Launched through a partnership between the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan, UNU-EGOV and the International Academy of CIO, CADGov creates a dedicated platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and strategic development in the digital governance sphere. The forum addresses the critical need for robust national and local e-government infrastructures in the region, recognising that governments play a pivotal role in delivering public services and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 

 28-30 April 2025  

Dakar, Senegal  

SDG 6, with interlinkages to SDGs 5, 11, 13, 17 

Convened policymakers, researchers, and regional partners to strengthen national SDG 6 monitoring systems using the SDG-PSS platform, which assesses capacity, finance, policy and institutions, gender, disaster risk reduction and resilience, and integrity. The workshop gathered representatives from 17 African countries, with collaboration from the Ministry of Water and Sanitation of Senegal, AMCOW, and UN-Water.  

Participants engaged in hands-on use of SDG-PSS to map governance gaps, strengthen enabling environments, and accelerate evidence-based policymaking. The event advanced alignment with preparations for the UN 2026 Water Conference, expanded regional cooperation, and improved coherence across ministries and development partners in support of integrated water governance.  

This workshop contributes to ongoing SDG-PSS regional engagement that will continue into 2026 to promote multinational collaboration, knowledge exchange, and improved national readiness to achieve SDG 6.  

16-18 October 2025  

UNU Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan  

SDG 4, 9, 10, 17  

The “4th United Nations Open Science and Open Scholarship Conference”, was convened as a platform to highlight and advance the role of science for implementing the Pact for the Future. The Pact recognizes science as a global public good and calls for inclusive, open science systems to support sustainable development, peace, and human rights. Co-organized by UNU, UN DESA, UNESCO, and the UN Library, the conference aimed to advance Actions 28–33 of the Pact, focusing on equitable access to scientific knowledge and innovation. Key outcomes included mapping national and international progress, strengthening multilateral cooperation, and aligning strategies through a closed-door session on the Pact. The event reinforced open science’s role in achieving the SDGs, particularly in education, innovation, and reducing inequalities, ensuring that no country or community is left behind in the global knowledge ecosystem. 

SDG 6, with interlinkages to SDGs 5, 11, 13, 17  

UNU-INWEH, UNOSD/UNDESA 

Water policymakers, Ministries, Water professionals, SDG coordination units  

Online platform that helps countries assess gaps in water data, financing and institutional capacity to advance SDG 6 implementation. It was designed to help countries improve their data analysis, reporting and progress toward achieving SDG 6 and other water-related SDG targets. It gives country water professionals, managers and policy makers a more precise view of the data that is missing in their national processes and guides them in gathering and analyzing the relevant data, information, and trends. It is a strategic tool to encourage cooperation between agencies and the water research community in a joint policy development process.   
 SDG-PSS consists of the following six components: Capacity Assessment; Finance; Policy and Institutional Assessment; Gender Mainstreaming; Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)/Resilience; and Integrity. These components were chosen as they allow a better understanding of the enabling environment where water and sanitation policies are developed and implemented for achieving SDG 6.   

SDG-PSS is available in six languages:   

English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and Korean.  

SDGs 3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17  

Springer (on behalf of UNU-IAS)  

Policymakers, businesses, scientists, and practitioners  

This book highlights challenges and opportunities for promoting more sustainable businesses while safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems. It draws on 12 case studies from areas where production activities help to maintain biodiversity, while sustainably supporting the livelihoods and well-being of local communities. These cases exemplify innovative solutions to facilitate more sustainable business decisions and actions for socially and ecologically sound outcomes. The book provides inputs to assessments by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), in particular the business and biodiversity assessment. It also adds to the growing momentum in business and finance to commit to halting biodiversity loss and delivering nature-positive solutions.  

English  

SDGs 1, 8, 9, 10, 16  

UNU-EGOV and International Social Security Association (ISSA)  

Global, but particularly ISSA members. 

This report provides a comprehensive look at blockchain, analyzing challenges and benefits – both technical and non-technical – that can support social security institutions in leveraging blockchain. It aims to outline the potential benefits of blockchain adoption in social security institutions, underlining the necessity to understand the context and complexities of blockchain frameworks to foster better service delivery. It also provides insight into the required institutional capacity for responsible blockchain application, as well as scenarios in which other technologies are better suited. The report concludes with insights from different government institutions that are conducting pilot projects and feasibility studies to assess the technology’s potential and challenges. 

English 

SDG 9, 17 

Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador y Mexico.  

The course aims to bridge the knowledge and experience gap for students trained in or currently training in microbiology, molecular biology, biotechnology and related disciplines who are interested in learning how biological discoveries can be translated into commercial products and services. The application of biology to technology development is a multidisciplinary challenge that requires an appreciation of the engineering aspects of process analysis, design and scaling up.  

SDGs 11, 13, 14, 15, and 17. 

11 “Role Model Cities” (champions of restoration), 8 “Pilot Cities” (receiving support for implementation), and other countries or areas.   

SDGs 6,7,9,11, and 17  

Global 

The “World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (WNMBR)” is a global initiative of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 2021. It connects mountain biosphere reserves to promote biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and community resilience in mountain regions. With over 470 mountain biosphere reserves worldwide, the network fosters collaboration among managers, researchers, and local and Indigenous communities. Its dual technical secretariats are hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) and the Valles de Omaña y Luna Reserve (Spain). WNMBR advances knowledge exchange, integrates science and traditional knowledge, and strengthens global efforts to adapt mountain ecosystems to climate change and other environmental challenges 

Project Founding / Core Implementing Partners  

Additional Consortium Partners Added in Phase III  

National Champion / Government Partner Institutions  

Regional Partner Organizations  

SDG 6, with interlinkages to SDGs 5, 11, 13, 17 +  

More than 60 countries are using SDG-PSS or considering the application of the tool to assess the status of SDG 6 at the national level Countries that participated in the 2025 Africa Regional Workshop included:  
Tunisia, Senegal, Republic of Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Togo, Zimbabwe, Zambia  
  

Initial Champion Countries included:  
Ghana, Tunisia, Pakistan, Costa Rica, Republic of Korea  

Previous Regional workshops bringing together other countries were held in: Republic of Korea, Kenya, Brazil, and Cambodia.  

Online platform that helps countries assess gaps in water data, financing and institutional capacity to advance SDG 6 implementation. It was designed to help countries improve their data analysis, reporting and progress toward achieving SDG 6 and other water-related SDG targets. It gives country water professionals, managers and policy makers a more precise view of the data that is missing in their national processes and guides them in gathering and analyzing the relevant data, information, and trends. It is a strategic tool to encourage cooperation between agencies and the water research community in a joint policy development process.   
  
SDG-PSS consists of the following six components: Capacity Assessment; Finance; Policy and Institutional Assessment; Gender Mainstreaming; Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)/Resilience; and Integrity. These components were chosen as they allow a better understanding of the enabling environment where water and sanitation policies are developed and implemented for achieving SDG 6.  

3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17  

All Member States  

The International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) is a global network of organizations working to realize societies in harmony with nature. Established in 2010 by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ) and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), IPSI promotes the sustainable use and management of natural resources based on traditional human-nature interactions. It supports communities in maintaining biodiversity, cultural heritage, and ecosystem services while addressing modern challenges such as environmental degradation and socio-economic change. Through collaboration and knowledge exchange, IPSI advances nature-positive, community-based approaches to sustainable development. 

As its secretariat, UNU-IAS engages more than 300 IPSI  

members worldwide.  

SDGs 11, 13, and 17.  

Argentina, Brazil, Mexico 

Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) supports cities to find joint solutions to become more green, inclusive and sustainable. Our five Urban Labs in cities in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico bring together communities to address local needs and help shift cities towards zero carbon emissions by 2050. Thereby, we aim to contribute to the zero carbon emissions by 2050 target by providing support to cities in transforming their social, technological and political structures towards more sustainable systems in realizing their urban zero carbon goal. Findings on how to develop new strategies for addressing local challenges in urban development and inequality, while at the same time reducing carbon emissions are being collected, analysed and translated into capacity-development ad policy advice to make them available for city-makers worldwide. 

SDGs 10,11,13, and 17 

Global 

UNU-EHS are founding members of this transdisciplinary network connecting people working on migration and human (im)mobility in the context of climate change. It now has 669 members from across the globe. The backbone of the network is its annual conference, which takes place in rotating locations. During its annual conference, climate and environmental mobility experts (mostly researchers, but also from policy and practice) gather for 3 days to present research methods and findings and discuss opportunities for collaboration. EMIC organized the third conference at the Haus der Evangelische Kirche in Bonn. There were 180 participants, of which 128 presented their research, while other participants acted as sessions chairs, keynote speakers or workshop convenors. Through the support of GIZ we were able to fund the attendance of 7 scholars from the global south to attend, present and extend their networks.