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SDSN at the 2022 UN General Assembly (UNGA)

By SDSN

SDSN hosted a variety of events alongside the 2022 UNGA. Below you'll find summaries and event recordings.

The Lancet COVID-19 Commission Report Launch

September 15, 2022, 11:00am - 12:30pm EDT | Watch the recording
Virtual

Coinciding with this year’s 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), The Lancet COVID-19 Commission, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University convened a launch event where leading public health and global governance experts of the Commission discussed the final report of the COVID-19 Commission and key findings from two years of research. The findings covered the conceptual framework for understanding pandemics set forward by the Commission and the chronology of the COVID-19 pandemic, diagnoses of the various global, regional, and national successes and failures in the COVID-19 response, and urgent steps that should be taken to increase global resilience to future pandemics and other global health shocks.

The Amazon We Want: Science-Based Pathways for a Sustainable, Inclusive, and Resilient Amazon

September 15, 2022, 1:45 - 3:15pm EDT | Watch the recording
In-Person: Scandinavia House, New York, NY

In light of the 77 UNGA focus of “International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development”, the Science Panel for the Amazon ( SPA ) gathered to cover the state of the Amazon since the launch of the landmark Amazon Assessment Report at COP26, what is at stake with the loss of the Amazon, and the Western and Indigenous scientific solutions offered in the report that can catalyze sustainable development in the region and beyond.

Accelerating the rule of law and scaling sustainable development to end deforestation in the Amazon Basin

September 15, 2022, 09:30-­11:00 AM EDT

Bahá’í International Community’s Conference Room on 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120, New York, NY

On behalf of the Igarapé Institute and the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) , this panel explored innovative solutions to end deforestation in the Amazon. The event focused on approaches to accelerate the rule of law and scale sustainable development solutions in the world's largest tropical biome and for the people who live there.

The Amazon as a Bioeconomy Superpower: Investing in Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development

September 16, 2022, 2:00 - 4:00pm EDT | Watch the recording
In-Person: Scandinavia House , New York, NY

The aim of this session was to create awareness on the potential for a bioeconomy of standing forests and flowing rivers in the Amazon, leveraged by investments in science, technology, and innovation as called for in SDG 9. More specifically, this session aimed to leverage the importance of:(i) investing in education, science, research, technology, and innovation; (ii) creating fiscal and financial incentives to engage the private sector and multilateral institutions in innovation and sustainable value chains; (iii) promoting green job creation and capacity building; (iv) investing in rural, urban, and peri-urban sustainable infrastructure.

UNESCO Open Education Resource (OER) Recommendation within Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

[Official Side Event of the UN Transforming Education Summit]

September 17, 2022, 16:30 - 18:00 EDT

In-person: United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY | Room CR4

This session announced actions and investments by stakeholder partners to implement the UNESCO OpenEducation Resource (OER) Recommendation in support of education for sustainable development (ESD).

The International Commission on the Futures of Education recognizes that OERs are also essential for supporting educators, students and young professionals on their ESD teaching and learning journeys.

This session demonstrated the importance of creating Diamond OERs that are hosted in Findable,Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) Open Educational Resources Repositories (OERRs) that can be used in ESD and training at any stage of life, in any corner of the planet. Our initiative is to create education resources for sustainable development that are free, openly licensed, easily accessed and can be repurposed. This global repository of quality OER is essential if education is to be truly a Global Public Good.

Diamond Open Access refers to scholarly digital materials and platforms, shared under Creative Commons licences, that do not charge fees to either creators or users of content. Diamond partnerships work together to create and deliver content (owned under a creative commons license) to serve a fine-grained variety of multilingual, and multicultural communities of educators and practitioners.

It is an ambitious large scale initiative that includes governments, members of Mission 4.7, UN AcademicImpact, the UN Headquarters’ Library (network), OER Dynamic Coalition, UNESCO, the InternationalFederation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Creative Commons, and the Private Sector. Each partner adds unique value to a multi-stakeholder ‘Diamond’ partnership that can implement the OERRecommendation in practical terms. Our approach builds in sustainability, incentives and quality standards across the stakeholder partnership. Our gender, age, stakeholder and geographic diversity of partners, that includes youth representation, is excellent.

Ministerial Panel: Transforming Education for Prosperity, People and the Planet

September 18, 2022, 12:00 - 1:00pm EDT | Watch the recording
Virtual

To contribute to the UN Transforming Education Summit, Mission 4.7 convened Ministers of Education who joined a special Ministerial Panel to highlight their work and commitment towards making SDG 4.7 a reality. The panel showcased the good practices in countries that are leading the global conversation on transformative education.

The event began with keynote addresses by Mission 4.7 Patron and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education and Mission 4.7 Co-Chair Stefania Giannini.

Participating ministers included:

  • Hon. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education, Ghana
  • Li Andersson, Minister of Education, Finland
  • Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, Belize (TBC)
  • H.E. Niki Kerameus, Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Greece (TBC)
  • Hon. Agnes NyaLonje, Minister of Education, Malawi

The panel was moderated by Dina Buchbinder, Founder and President of Education for Sharing, and member of the Mission 4.7 Education Task Force.

Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University Professor, SDSN President, and Mission 4.7 Co-Chair, delivered concluding remarks.

Deepening the Impact of Education for Sustainable Development through Social Emotional Learning and Happiness

September 18, 2022, 1:00 - 2:00pm EDT | Watch the recording
Virtual

The Global Happiness Council Education Policy Briefs give us the space to re-imagine education to support psychosocial well-being of learners and educators as a foundation for effective teaching and learning.

The panel “Deepening the Impact of ESD through Social Emotional Learning and Happiness” took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and the inaugural Transforming Education Summit, convened in response to the global crisis in education. The panel was co-hosted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), The World Happiness Report and Wall’s Ice Cream.

Panelists discussed the Education Brief of the Happiness Council to encourage countries and Ministers of Education to urgently prioritize strategies within education that take a more holistic approach and focus on learner mental health, well-being, and skills for resilience. The discussion also built on the topics shared in the Ministerial Panel in the previous session as well as recent research produced by the World Happiness Report in partnership with Wall’s Ice Cream. The panel discussed opportunities and holistic strategies to impact the resilience, mental health and wellbeing of every child and learner.

By bringing together policy interventions, practical strategies and evidence-based approaches, the event explored how social connection is a key driver for happiness and improved well-being, and a crucial player in achieving SDG 4.7.

Agenda

Opening Remarks: Jeffrey D. Sachs – University Professor, Colombia, Special Advisor to the UN

Moderator: Alison Bellwood , Founder and Executive Director, World’s Largest Lesson at Project Everyone

Panellists:

  • Dr. Lara Aknin – Editor, World Happiness Report; Professor and Lab Director, Helping and Happiness Lab, Simon Fraser University
  • Lisa Vortsman – Marketing Director, Good Humour (Wall’s Ice Cream)
  • Louka Parry – Founder and CEO, The Learning Future & Founding Member, Karanga

Key panel discussion points included:

  1. What is the role of happiness in development and progress, and why should it be used as an indicator and measure for economic growth?
  2. Social & Emotional Learning: why it matters and how it impacts ESD
  3. What are some effective Social-Emotional-Learning strategies that you have seen being employed in schools that have impacted the lives of the learners?
  4. What is your one key message to the Ministers of Education that they need to consider in their post-pandemic recovery efforts to support children and learners in schools?
  5. What are some of your personal COVID19 lessons on education that you would like to take forward to improve education design and delivery?
  6. What is the role of corporate institutions in supporting education for wellbeing and learner needs?

International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD)

September 19-20, 2022 | Watch the recordings
Virtual

The 10th International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD) took place online from September 19-20, 2022. The event brought together 1,463 participants from 164 different countries to discuss celebrate A Decade of ICSD. The two day conference hosted 42 different sessions across multiple time zones to accommodate our global audience, with 190 oral presenters and 198 poster presenters.

Energy Transition Showcase: Costa Rica, Brazil, and United States

September 21, 2022, 10:00 - 11:30am EDT
Virtual

Land use policies impact every aspect of the transition to zero greenhouse emissions, including: siting of renewable energy, next generation biofuels, reforestation, etc. The complexity of policy choices in this area will require new efforts at RDD&D, new inter-agency planning, and enhanced cooperation. This panel explored these questions, as well as what is needed to enact policy to bring about the energy transition.

Speakers

  • Grace Wu, UC Berkeley
  • Emily Leslie, Montara Mountain Energy
  • Jamil Farbes, Evolved Energy Research