Excellencies,Colleagues,Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to join you at this important side event on “Re-building better with STI during COVID-19”.
Let me thank colleagues and friends from UNCTAD and OICT, for co-organizing this meeting.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 2015, the UN Member States launched the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism – or TFM - in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The TFM – which my UNDESA co-convenes with UNCTAD – encourages a new multi-stakeholder way of working. Its aim is to bring governmental decision makers and the entire UN system closer to the private sector, academia and civil society, to more effectively deploy science, technology and innovation – or STI - towards the SDGs.
The TFM engages 43 UN agencies working together under the umbrella of the IATT (Inter-Agency Task Team) – and a multi-stakeholder group of 10 experts appointed by the Secretary General.
Member States also mandated, as part of the TFM, an online platform to be a gateway to ‘existing STI initiatives, mechanisms and programmes within and beyond the United Nations’.
We will be launching this platform, now known as “2030 Connect” today.
2030 Connect has been a team effort.
DESA, as coordinator of the IATT along with UNCTAD, has worked with the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (UN OICT) – and other IATT members – to develop this first phase of 2030 Connect. Our collective ambition is to help exhibit its potential and facilitate concrete next steps for a broader operationalization.
This piece of work is based on the independent technical assessment mandated by the 2030 Agenda.
It seeks to provide a single focal point through which to access the many technology and knowledge resources – both within and outside the UN – that can help leverage STI for the SDGs.
At this initial stage, we are grateful to the many IATT members who have facilitated data exchange between their existing platforms. These are already open to the public, as well as the Online Platform of the TFM.
The colleagues from three of the IATT members – WIPO, UNESCO and ICGEB – have kindly joined us today. They will also share their views on how the 2030 Connect can facilitate the dissemination of knowledge on STI for SDGs, to a wider audience.
We are pleased that this platform is attracting the interest of non-UN entities. And, including those engaged in open access to scientific research. It is important to share the progress made in the operationalizing 2030 Connect, and we look forward to your feedback.
Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen,
STI is one of the principal means of achieving the SDGs.
I assure you that my department, UNDESA, together with our UN partners, remains fully committed to supporting Member States to fulfill the TFM mandate, including through the online platform.
We take note of the strong support by the UN General Assembly in adopting the resolution which calls for voluntary contributions to support the full operationalization of all components of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism – including the online platform that requires a $2 million initial investment and $1.2 million annual operational costs.
We therefore count on the generous support of the international community to help us deliver this critical mandate.
Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen,
With today’s launch, and with your full support, I look forward to a new starting point towards the full operationalization of the online Platform entitled “2030 Connect” in the next phase.
Thank you very much for your support.
It is a great pleasure to join you at this important side event on “Re-building better with STI during COVID-19”.
Let me thank colleagues and friends from UNCTAD and OICT, for co-organizing this meeting.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 2015, the UN Member States launched the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism – or TFM - in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The TFM – which my UNDESA co-convenes with UNCTAD – encourages a new multi-stakeholder way of working. Its aim is to bring governmental decision makers and the entire UN system closer to the private sector, academia and civil society, to more effectively deploy science, technology and innovation – or STI - towards the SDGs.
The TFM engages 43 UN agencies working together under the umbrella of the IATT (Inter-Agency Task Team) – and a multi-stakeholder group of 10 experts appointed by the Secretary General.
Member States also mandated, as part of the TFM, an online platform to be a gateway to ‘existing STI initiatives, mechanisms and programmes within and beyond the United Nations’.
We will be launching this platform, now known as “2030 Connect” today.
2030 Connect has been a team effort.
DESA, as coordinator of the IATT along with UNCTAD, has worked with the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (UN OICT) – and other IATT members – to develop this first phase of 2030 Connect. Our collective ambition is to help exhibit its potential and facilitate concrete next steps for a broader operationalization.
This piece of work is based on the independent technical assessment mandated by the 2030 Agenda.
It seeks to provide a single focal point through which to access the many technology and knowledge resources – both within and outside the UN – that can help leverage STI for the SDGs.
At this initial stage, we are grateful to the many IATT members who have facilitated data exchange between their existing platforms. These are already open to the public, as well as the Online Platform of the TFM.
The colleagues from three of the IATT members – WIPO, UNESCO and ICGEB – have kindly joined us today. They will also share their views on how the 2030 Connect can facilitate the dissemination of knowledge on STI for SDGs, to a wider audience.
We are pleased that this platform is attracting the interest of non-UN entities. And, including those engaged in open access to scientific research. It is important to share the progress made in the operationalizing 2030 Connect, and we look forward to your feedback.
Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen,
STI is one of the principal means of achieving the SDGs.
I assure you that my department, UNDESA, together with our UN partners, remains fully committed to supporting Member States to fulfill the TFM mandate, including through the online platform.
We take note of the strong support by the UN General Assembly in adopting the resolution which calls for voluntary contributions to support the full operationalization of all components of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism – including the online platform that requires a $2 million initial investment and $1.2 million annual operational costs.
We therefore count on the generous support of the international community to help us deliver this critical mandate.
Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen,
With today’s launch, and with your full support, I look forward to a new starting point towards the full operationalization of the online Platform entitled “2030 Connect” in the next phase.
Thank you very much for your support.
File date:
Wednesday, July 15, 2020