SDSN Holds 2nd Global Solutions Forum

On October 27 and 28, SDSN hosted its second edition of the Global Solutions Forum, a global event focused on the most innovative solutions coming from our national and regional networks. The 2020 edition presented a variety of locally sourced solutions from eight of SDSN's 40 National and Regional Networks. The speakers from the Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Network; Belgium Network; Germany Network; Great Lakes Network; Hong Kong Network; Mediterranean Network; Mexico Network; and Russia Network, all experts in science, tech, or public policy, highlighted concrete efforts to achieve sustainable development with 7-minute rapid-fire expositions. More like TED talks than doctoral dissertations, each presentation packed challenges and discoveries into 420 seconds of stories, images, and insights.

Learn more about the event, the speakers, and the solutions presented at globalsolutionsforum.org.

Day 1 of the Global Solutions Forum was kicked off by Jack Sim, a leading social entrepreneur and sanitation advocate who broke the taboo around toilets by bringing the sanitation crisis to the global media spotlight. Known for his unique efforts in combining humor and serious facts to advocate for improved sanitation conditions globally, Sim has mobilized a global movement involving governments, policy makers, UN agencies, international civil society, thought leaders and activists to work together in addressing the sanitation crisis.

A highly successful businessman with over 20 years experience in entrepreneurship, Sim, at the age of 40, decided to devote the rest of his life to social work. In 1998, he established the Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS). This was soon followed with a global body on sanitation – the World Toilet Organization (WTO) in 2001. Today, WTO is a growing network of 235 organizations in 58 countries.

At the GSF, Jack spoke about the need to connect the right ideas, and the power of personal dedication. You can watch his whole speech here.

Mr. Leong Cheung started the Solutions Presentations at the Global Solutions Forum presenting the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project (“JCAFC”). The solution was launched to take a proactive role in response to the challenges and opportunities of aging populations and aims to proactively build Hong Kong into an age-friendly city to help older people extend their healthy and active years of life and enjoy more fulfilling lives. Learn all about this innovative solution in Leong's full presentation here.

Following SDSN Hong Kong was Natalia Paramonova from SDSN Russia. She is the Founder of the Ecocup Green Film Festival, a solution that fights misinformation and myths on climate change, energy, and the environment with an engaging format for science-based data and information.

The film festival combines green documentary online film screenings all over the world with talks with scientists, politicians, business people and activists to disseminate information and facilitate conversation across all groups of society. You can learn all about ECOCUP in Natalia's full presentation here.

Third came Tahl Kestin, Network Manager, SDSN Australia, NZ & Pacific, presenting the solution from her network, the SDGs in Action Initiative.

The initiative is looking at how the SDG framework can be used for better and more ambitious planning and decision making on sustainable development by governments, businesses, communities, universities, and others. Its collecting and showcasing case studies of innovative projects and extracting transferable learnings, aiming to be a source of inspiration and capacity building for others across all sectors in our region and beyond.

Next up was Dr François Xavier Ndungutse, Director of Development, UHTGL Goma, presenting the solution from SDSN Great Lakes: Professionalizing the Pig Value Chain in DRC.

By professionalizing the pig value chain, this project aims to lift smallholder livestock farmers out of poverty, provide an additional source of nutrition and create jobs in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The solution addresses SDGs 1 and 2 and you can re-watch François' presentation here.

Day 2 of the Global Solutions Forum started with Vera Meynen, Associate Professor, University of Antwerp, presenting the solution from SDSN Belgium: Connected Multipurpose Collaborative Clusters for an Integrated Ecosystem to Leverage Cross-Value-Chain Carbon Neutrality.

Large knowledge networks are difficult to align and manage, risking to lose scientific progress due to lack of detailed insights and effective communication. To achieve success, Vera and her team created multipurpose well-connected and integrated clusters that are small but, through their connection, keep an integrated view and leverage impact towards a carbon neutral industry and society by balancing all aspects.

Simone Cresti, Network Manager at the SDSN Mediterranean, presented the solution from SDSN Mediterranean: Prima Observatory on Innovation [POI]. While innovation is considered one of the most important drivers of change for sustainable development, small enterprises in the agri-food sector often struggle with access to the latest information. POI offers companies the opportunity to engage and adopt technological, organizational and social innovation. The IT platform gathers best practices from high-performing companies, research and academia, innovators, and other professionals.

Like that, companies can learn new practices, get to know new products, understand the relevance of sustainability as core of the business and benefit from specialized and scientific support of researchers and innovators.

Next came Dr. Luis Zambrano González, Researcher at the Institute of Biology, UNAM, presenting the solution from SDSN Mexico: The Chinampa-Refuge to Conserve Axolotls in a Sustainable Xochimilco.

Habitat restoration is crucial to conserve native species such as the axolotl in Mexico City. It can be achieved by recovering chinampería, the traditional and sustainable agriculture in Mexico's valley. The "chinampa-refuge" model promotes a symbiotic relationship between the axolotl and chinampería, increasing economic benefits for local farmers and helps return to sustainable agriculture, reduce land-use change to urban areas, maintain the wetland ecosystem, native species, and local culture.

The refuge re-establishes the internationally recognized activity carried out since ancestral times in the Xochimilco wetland.

Last but not least, Anne Ellersiek presented the solution from SDSN Germany: Dialogue of the Scientific Advisory Councils.

Politicians often argue that science itself is not in agreement. To foster debate across the various scientific advisory boards of the Federal Government, government agencies and ministries on cross-cutting issues, the Science Platform Sustainability 2030 and SDSN Germany have established an innovative dialogue.

Jeffrey Sachs, President of the SDSN, closed the Global Solutions Forum with an inspiring keynote speech highlighting the importance of bridging silos and the creation of meaningful partnerships.