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SDSN Holds Third Global Solutions Forum

By Maëlle Voil

Showcasing talented innovators worldwide.

After two successful editions, the third edition of the Global Solutions Forum (GSF) took place on the 18th of January 2022 in a hybrid format alongside the G-STIC conference in Dubai during the Global Goals Week at Expo 2021.

A group of five selected global innovators from SDSN’s National and Regional Networks presented their breakthrough efforts, from Bangladesh, Cyprus, Thailand, Turkey, Colombia. Boasting new partnerships with both the Global Sustainable Technology & Innovation Community (G-STIC), the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), and PANORAMA - Solutions for a Healthy Planet, a partnership initiative to support peer-peer exchange around solutions, the third edition of the GSF focused on hands-on solutions to build forward better, leaving no one behind.

The event was moderated by Jessica Espey, Senior Advisor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network which also guided a feedback discussion with the Solutions Committee composed by Martha Getachew Bekele, Lead Analyst, East Africa, Development Initiatives (DI), Aissa Traore, Program Officer, IUCN and Michael Shank, Director of Communications, Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance.

The G-STIC conference, which hosted the GSF, was a great success, welcoming 3900 participants from 125 countries and 390 speakers onsite and online.

The following winning solutions were presented:

  • Digital KICK (Knowledge Information Content Kiosk) for supporting SDG in South Asia during the Pandemic, SDSN Bangladesh
    Prof. Syed Munir, Chairman, Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG)
    Mrs. Shahtaj Mahmud, Senior Coordinator Projects & Programs, Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG)
  • Ecopark around the Arroyohondo watershed, Colombia
    Mr. Carlos Eduardo Dominguez Moreno, Consultant and Advisor, Colombian Association for Sustainable Development and Industrial Ecology (ADSEI)
    Mrs. Lina María Aguirre Montoya, Executive Director, Colombian Association for Sustainable Development and Industrial Ecology (ADSEI)
  • Social mediation for conflict resolution, Cyprus
    Stéphanie Laulhé Shaelou, Head, School of Law and Professor of European Law and Reform, UCLan Cyprus and ICLAIM Founder
    Nadia Kornioti, Research Scholar, School of Law, UCLan Cyprus and ICLAIM
  • Localizing SDGs in Thailand: Towards a More Inclusive National Science, Research, and Innovation (SRI) Plan, SDSN Thailand
    Mr. Chol Bunnag, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics Thammasat University
  • Cities 2030: Localization of Sustainable Development Goals in Turkey, SDSN Turkey
    Prof. Dr. Tamer Atabarut, Executive Director, SDSN Turkey
    Dr. Bahar Özay, Manager SDSN Turkey

The Solutions Committee included various suggestions. Aissa Traore remarked on the key role of citizenship empowerment, engaging local communities and indigenous communities, including the role of the business sector on how it can further implement solutions. Martha Getachew Bekele addressed the importance of implementing the principle of Leave No One Behind, including vulnerable ethnic groups and migrants. She also reminded the critical issue of the digital divide in fragile areas. Michael Shank expressed a strong interest in the scalability of the solutions. He also shared how during the pandemic mental health requires particular focus and how cities are going faster than national governments towards a decarbonized future with easier access to leadership to engage the SDGs.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs’ keynote speech addressed three main points from the Global Solutions Forum presentation and discussions. Firstly, our society requires us to be engaged in a new kind of problem-solving, underlining deep transformation, trying to reconcile economic development, social justice and environmental sustainability. He remarked the importance of participation, digital tools and partnerships. Additionally, we are engaged in a holistic challenge, including six main transformations:

  1. Education, skills, innovative capacity
  2. Public health and healthcare facility systems
  3. New technologies on energy decarbonization and circular economy
  4. Sustainable land use
  5. Sustainable urban environment
  6. Digital transformation

The last major point is related to including these issues and problem-solving in academia and schools. Teaching students about new tools and participatory problem solving, involving mayors, city counselors and local schools districts to the discussion.

Finally, Professor Sachs invited the participants to join Mission 4.7, a global initiative to achieve SDG Target 4.7, an initiative by SDSN.