Call for Session Proposals at Science Summit at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) 12-29 September 2023

SUBMISSION CLOSED

Sessions proposals submission for UNGA79 September 2024 will open 1st October 2023

How it works?

Sessions are proposed by the convener. As convener you will organise the session by submitting the abstract and organizing the speakers that will participate in the session. Where you present yourself as speaker, the data for the convener and one speaker are the same.

By way of guidance, please consider the following:

– You may find it helpful to look at the agenda for the Science Summit at UNGA77 which took place in New York and online from 13-30 September 2022. Here you can view session abstracts and speaker profiles;

– Typically, sessions should last 2h30m. However this can be modified if needed;

– All sessions should be gender balanced and inclusive. Inclusive can mean many things: in this context, it means trying to include at least one speaker from each inhabited continent. The organisers are happy to support this objective if needed by providing suggestions and contacts;

– The broad summit objective will be to advance awareness of the contribution of science and innovation to the SDG agenda. You may wish to focus on a specific SDG or a horizontal aspect of the SDGs, such as enabling partnerships. Also address possible issues and priorities for the UN Summit of the Future planned for 2024.

– Proposals are invited for sessions on all aspects of physical, natural and social sciences. We also support sessions on related themes and topics, including financing science and research, the impact of data protection and other regulations, frugal innovation, the contribution of women in science and in particular, the inclusion of women in science policymaking, showcasing leadership from emerging economies, amongst others;

Key policy and programme developments include:

You may propose a physical session in New York, a hybrid session which will include virtual participation; or a fully virtual session. We welcome all formats.

The organizational model requires conveners to arrange their own meeting venue in New York. This ensures that the Summit participation remains free for all. We provide guidelines on how to organise a meeting venue, so please ask. In 2022, 47 UN Permanent Missions collectively hosted 82 sessions. In addition, due to Covid restrictions, it was not possible to convene any meeting in the UN HQ in 2022. This will be possible in 2023 but does require that a request to your nation’s Permanent Mission is made as soon as possible in 2023. Please check with us to find out if your county hosted a session in 2022.

We encourage all participants who will need one to apply for a Visa to enter the US as soon as possible. We are happy to provide a letter of invitation to support your visa application, so let us know.

If you have any questions or suggestions, or if you want to discuss your proposal ideas, please contact:

Email: info@sciencesummitunga.com