Ambassador Macharia Kamau of Kenya, Co-chair of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Forum briefed the high-level and political forum (HLPF) on its first meeting, at the UN in New York, on 6-7 June 2016.
Double-edged sword
In introducing his report of the meeting, Ambassador Kamau noted that the meeting room was full of familiar faces who had been involved over the past three years and would now be involved in the “business of implementing the 2030 Agenda.” He made a “caveat statement” about the STI Forum, however, noting that all are in agreement that STI is important and that it is fair to say that what has transpired in the world has been characterized by the changes brought about by STI. Indeed everything we experience has been touched by STI, which can, and ought to be, the “great leveler.” The process is to leave no one, no country, no people, no race, no physically challenged behind. STI can guarantee that this can be done, but it is the great divider: it is the huge engine of inequality. Apart from education and learning, the second most powerful divider is access to, and use of, STI. It is a ‘double-edged sword’, which must be used carefully.
The work of the STI Forum, also co-chaired by Dr Vaughan Turekian, Science and Technology Adviser to the US Secretary of State, was pursuant to General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/1 on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It was attended by over 600 participants, including 350 scientists, technology specialists, entrepreneurs and civil society representatives. It comprised on-line discussions, an exhibitions and side-events, and was a promising venue for STI for SDGs. It is hoped that it will become a showcase for STI.
There are a number of priorities for future work in STI. These include mobilizing solutions for all SDGs to transform livelihoods across the world. More up-front technology is required as well as more attention to social science as it is in the social context that science is best exploited. Otherwise it will be difficult to achieve the full benefits. The focus should be on STI literacy and human skills. The previous day’s conversation on science policy interface at the HLPF presupposes a social context. There is a need to create an enabling environment, commensurate with the ambition of the SDGs. The 2030 Agenda is amazingly ambitious and is going to require incredible investment in STI to get there. Flexibility is necessary as well as the creation of robust scientific ecosystems. ICT tools are also required to learn from each other more effectively and partnerships should be fostered. The urgency means that it must be action oriented as well as an annual endeavour. The STI should build on the previous year for cumulative process and should catalyze and highlight concrete results. They should be a showcase for work with concrete actions, as a multi-year endeavour. STI can leverage better sharing in the world and drive technologies that can transform societies, acting as national policy road maps and sources for multilateral resource mobilization. It is looking for state-of-th-art expertise, with STI education, training and capacity-building, as well as open data and digital platforms. It will be necessary to seek out ways of STI collaboration for the SDGs, across areas of learning, UN agencies etc. There should be collaboration and a sense of “what is possible.”
The UN Inter-Agency Task team (UNITT) is working with a 10-member group, and a proposed on-line platform, including information on activities as they happen. Inter-sectoral sessions to increase engagement are planned. In addition there is the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) which should come together with UNITT and the Forum, as these processes are fundamentally important to implementation of the SDGs.
See also: http://bit.ly/29ZJInP