Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78)
ISC and its partners will organise the 9th edition of the Science Summit around the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) on 12-29 September 2023.
The role and contribution of science to attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be the central theme of the Summit. The objective is to develop and launch science collaborations to demonstrate global science mechanisms and activities to support the attainment of the UN SDGs, Agenda 2030 and Local2030. The meeting will also prepare input for the United Nations Summit of the Future, which will take place during UNGA79 beginning on 12 September 2024.
The Summit will examine what enabling policy, regulatory and financial environments are needed to implement and sustain the science mechanisms required to support genuinely global scientific collaborations across continents, nations and themes. Scientific discovery through the analysis of massive data sets is at hand. This data-enabled approach to science, research and development will be necessary if the SDGs are to be achieved.
The Science Summit will begin with a Digital Science Plenary on 12-13 September 2023.
SSUNGA78 builds on the successful Science Summit at UNGA77, which brought together over 1600 speakers from all continents in more than 400 sessions.
SSUNGA78 will bring together thought leaders, scientists, technologists, innovators, policymakers, decision-makers, regulators, financiers, philanthropists, journalists and editors, and community leaders to increase health science and citizen collaborations across a broad spectrum of themes ICT, nutrition, agriculture and the environment.
Objectives
▶ Present key science initiatives in a series of workshops, presentations, seminars, roundtables and plenary sessions addressing each of the 17 UN SDGs and the associated targets.
▶ Promote collaboration by enabling researchers, scientists and civil society organisations to become aware of each other and work to understand and address critical challenges.
▶ Promote inclusive science, including increasing access to scientific data by lower and middle-income countries.
▶ Focus meetings will be organised around each of the UN SDGs, bringing key stakeholders together to understand and advance global approaches.
▶ Priority will be given to developing science capacity globally to implement the SDGs.
▶ Demonstrate how research infrastructures work as a driver for international cooperation.
▶ Promote awareness of data-enabled science and related capacities and infrastructures.
▶ Understand how key UN initiatives, including the UN Global Digital Compact, LOCAL 2030, and the UN Summit of the Future in 2024, can provide a basis for increasing science cooperation globally to address global challenges.
Highlights
Two days of meetings on Wall Street at the New York Stock Exchange while highlighting the theme of science contribution to the SDGs and launching a series of meetings with corporate financiers on science funding.
Science and ICT/Digital ministers in the world will be approached for their engagement and support, to have their respective missions at the United Nations host individual meetings and to request the participation of their Prime Minister.
A powerful youth programme for children, teens and students. This includes a space-related initiative currently involving some 60 countries, and this number is; very likely to increase. To inspire the world’s youth to come together and lead regional inter-generation projects to attain the “moonshots” of the 21st century – the first in this series would be the 2030 SDGs.
12-13 September: Digital Science Plenary
12-29 September 2022: Thematic Sessions and Scientific Sessions: approximately 400 sessions are planned: approximately 200 hybrid events will take place in New York City, with the remainder taking place online;
20 Keynote Lectures by eminent scientists and innovative thinkers;
12 Thematic Days, covering soil, biodiversity, indigenous knowledge, materials, clean water
4 Plenary Sessions;
100 Ministers will participate, covering science, health, environment, climate, industry and regulation;
At least 100,000 participants – in person and online.