Event title: “Building Bridges through Science Diplomacy: Accelerating progress toward sustainable development”
Date: Friday, 20 September, 16:45 – 18:00 EDT
Location: United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 7; This event will be broadcast live through this
Participation: Eligibility criteria for in-person participation are listed on the dedicated Summit of the Future website
Note to Correspondents:
Organizers:
This side event is a joint effort by numerous organizing partners, each of which brings important expertise, experience, and support. The co-organizers are:
- UN Department of Global Communications Academic Impact initiative
- Science and Policy Solutions for the Planet ImPACT Coalition: , , , ,
Description:
The Summit of the Future (September 2024) is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address the knowledge-action gap in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter, and foster a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives. At the same time, there is growing awareness among Member States and across the UN system of the vital role of science as a critical, cross-cutting tool to support multilevel, multisectoral action across the entire multilateral agenda.
Science, including both natural and social sciences, is an invaluable tool for enhancing evidence-informed decision-making and collective action, and is essential to accelerating progress on shared global challenges, including to advance human rights and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Science also has long been a global enterprise underpinned by universal principles and plays a valuable role in strengthening international relations in support of international peace and security.
Cross-national scientific collaborations support track two diplomacy to help build relationships across borders, achieve common understanding around shared questions, and identify cooperative approaches to global challenges. Science in support of diplomacy and multilateral decision-making is all the more urgent in order to catalyze effective, accelerated, and sustained action on the 2030 Agenda during this time of rapid change, instability, and polycrisis.
This side event therefore highlights and facilitates productive, action-oriented exchange on the vital role of science diplomacy in order to:
- Showcase best practices through case studies where science has strengthened multilateralism to a) respond to global challenges, including as related to human rights and sustainable development; and b) strengthen relations between countries, with examples from diverse geographical perspectives and focused on a variety of relevant issues;
- Position the central role of scientific research, education, and communication in multilateralism;
- Identify and promote concrete opportunities for science to advance diplomatic relations and multilateral decision-making in the UN System, with a particular focus on sustainable development;
- Highlight emerging leadership, recent investments, and groundbreaking support for science diplomacy to address global challenges;
- Galvanize support for deeper engagement between the global science community and multilateral decision-makers to ensure a sustainable future.
The event will be guided by three primary questions:
- How can science serve as a force for diplomacy by catalyzing accelerated progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and facilitating solutions to multifaceted, interconnected problems that transcend national boundaries?
- How can science support international relations, policy formulation, and societal engagement at all levels, amidst unprecedented challenges?
- What options are available for strengthening the relationship between science and diplomacy? What gaps, priorities, best practices, and actionable strategies should be engaged by decision-makers, scientists, and other stakeholders to advance the Sustainable Development Goals through cross-border cooperation and partnership?
The event aims to target an audience of primarily decision-makers from UN Member States, as well as scientists, science outreach and communication professionals, and other stakeholders.
Run of Event
Section 1: The role of science diplomacy in building bridges and advancing sustainable development
Moderator: USG Melissa Fleming, UN Department of Global Communications
- Welcome: USG Melissa Fleming, UN Department of Global Communications
- Opening Remarks: H.E. Ambassador Maritza Chan Valverde, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN
- Keynote Address: Mr. Sir Peter Gluckman, President, International Science Council
Section 2: Science Diplomacy in Action
Moderator: Ms. María Estelí Jarquín, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and ISC
Lightning presentations - Case studies of science diplomacy in action
- Dr. Gihan Kamel, SESAME: Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East
- Mr. Jose Julio Casas, Secretary, Eastern Tropical Marine Corridor
- Ms. Evelina Santa-Kahle, Science Counselor, German Embassy Washington DC Women in Science Diplomacy Association
- Dr. Tara Stoinski, President, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Moderated panel discussion - Implementing science diplomacy for sustainable development, enhanced international relations, and future generations
- Ms. Sandrine Dixson-Declève, President, Club of Rome
- Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough, Senior Scholar and Special Adviser on Arctic Indigenous Peoples, University of Alaska Anchorage
- Dr. Mohammad Hosseini, Global Young Academy
Audience Q&A
Section 3: Close
- Closing Reflections: USG Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of the United Nations University
- Closing Remarks: Dr. Emran Mian, Director General, Digital Technologies and Telecoms, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Featured Speakers
Ms. Melissa Fleming
UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications
Ms. Melissa Fleming leads the UN’s Department of Global Communications, which informs global audiences about the state of the world and engages them to build support for the work and goals of the UN. In this role, Ms. Fleming oversees the Department’s strategic and crisis communications operations, including its multilingual news and digital media services, public outreach programmes, and global campaigns.
H.E. Ambassador Maritza Chan Valverde
Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations
Ms. Maritza Chan Valverde is the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York. In June 2024, she was elected as Chair of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security). Prior to this appointment, Ms. Chan was her country’s Deputy Permanent Representative at its Mission to the United Nations, beginning in 2020. From 2018 to 2020, she served as Head, Political Section, at her country’s Embassy in Washington, D.C. Between 2015 and 2017, she was Coordinator to the Organization of the United States, in San Jose, Costa Rica. Ambassador Chan is an expert on international peace and an advocate for the Women, 探花精选, and Security agenda.
Sir Peter Gluckman
President, International Science Council
Mr. Peter Gluckman is President of the International Science Council. He is an internationally recognized biomedical scientist, and heads Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, University of Auckland. From 2009-2018 he was first Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Ministers of New Zealand. He also was foundation chair of the International Network of Government Science Advice (INGSA).
Dr. Gihan Kamel
The Principal Infrared Beamline Scientist and Team Supervisor, Synchroton-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME)
Dr. Gihan Kamel is the Principal Infrared Beamline Scientist and Team Supervisor at SESAME Light Source, on leave from the Physics Department in the Faculty of Science at Helwan University, Egypt, where she is an Associate Professor in biophysics. Her responsibilities at SESAME involved the Infrared Beamline construction, and currently its operation and development, in addition to assisting the beamline users to run their experiments. Dr. Kamel is participating in the establishment of the first African light source which represents another example of science diplomacy in the African continent.
Dr. Tara Stoinski
President, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Tara Stoinski, PhD is the President and CEO and Chief Scientific Officer for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Prior to taking on the CEO role in 2014, she worked with the Fossey Fund for 12 years in a scientific capacity. Tara has studied gorillas for more than three decades and is the author of over 150 scientific publications and books. She holds degrees from Tufts University, University of Oxford and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Mr. Jose Julio Casas
Secretary, Eastern Tropical Marine Corridor
Mr. Jose Julio Casas is a marine biologist, and former Director of Coasts and Seas for the Ministry of Environment of Panama. He is the current Technical Secretary of the Eastern Tropical Marine Corridor (CMAR) and professor and researcher at the Maritime University of Panama.
Ms. Evelina Santa-Kahle
Science Counselor, German Embassy Washington, D.C. Women in Science Diplomacy Association (WiSDA)
Ms. Evelina Santa-Kahle currently serves as the Science Counselor at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. She holds a degree in Neurosciences and a postgraduate degree in Western Balkan studies. Previously, she worked for the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, focusing on EU research, sustainability, and climate change policies.
Ms. Sandrine Dixson-Declève
President, Club of Rome
Ms. Sandrine Dixson-Declève is co-president of The Club of Rome and divides her time between leading The Club of Rome, advising, lecturing, and facilitating difficult conversations. She is the Executive Chair of Earth4All. Until recently, Sandrine was Chair for the European Commission Expert Group on Economic and Societal Impact of Research & Innovation (ESIR). She has also sat on the European Commission’s Mission on Climate Change & Adaptation.
Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough
Senior Scholar and Special Adviser on Arctic Indigenous Peoples, University of Alaska Anchorage
Dr. Dalee Sambo Dorough is an influential Alaskan I?upiaq leader specializing in human rights law, Indigenous empowerment, and Arctic governance. Dr. Dorough’s career spans numerous leadership roles, including voluntary positions within international organizations such as the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Currently, she is a Senior Scholar and Special Advisor on Arctic Indigenous Peoples at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Dr. Mohammad Hosseini
Member, Global Young Academy, Assistant Professor, Northwest University
Dr. Mohammad Hosseini is an assistant professor of ethics in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago. He collaborates with the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (I.AIM) on research projects about technology ethics, particularly focusing on artificial intelligence. He is a member of the board of directors at the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) and leads the Trust in Science workgroup at the Global Young Academy.
Dr. Emran Mian
Director General for Digital Technologies and Telecoms, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Emran Mian is the Director General for Digital Technologies and Telecoms at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Emran was Director General for Regeneration at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, from September 2021 to July 2023. Prior to this he was the Director of Strategy and then a Director General at the Department for Education.
Before returning to the Civil Service in 2017, Emran ran the Social Market Foundation, an independent public policy think tank that works across a range of economic and social policy issues. Earlier in his career Emran held senior roles at BEIS and Cabinet Office.
Ms. María Estelí Jarquín
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and International Science Council
Ms. María Estelí Jarquín works at the intersection of science and diplomacy, with experience leading the design and implementation of international strategies, negotiating high level agreements, and acting as an intermediary for policy engagement. In 2022, she was appointed as special advisor to the International Science Council and member of their standing committee of Outreach and Engagement. She currently coordinates the international relations of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Previously, she served as Deputy Director of International Affairs at the University of Costa Rica, and consultant in Science Diplomacy to UNESCO. In 2024, she was appointed as one of the experts to contribute to the European Union Science Diplomacy Working Groups to develop a future European framework for science diplomacy.