UN launches new online technology platform to support SDGs
The United Nations has launched a new online technology exchange platform to help leverage science, technology and innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Professor Xiaolan Fu played a key role in development of the platform.
2030 Connect is intended to act as a gateway for information on existing STI initiatives, mechanisms and programmes within the UN and beyond. Professor Fu led the independent technical assessment which informed the design and development of the platform.
The platform was launched at the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2020 on 15 July.
2030 connect is one component of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), launched in 2016, which also comprises a UN inter-agency task team on STI and an annual multi-stakeholder forum. Professor Xiaolan Fu was previously a member of the group of 10 high-level advisors to TFM, the only academic member.
Professor Fu participated in discussions during the launch event, which focused on how 2030 Connect, the TFM and the UN more generally can contribute to launching and supporting an inclusive international policy dialogue through which national policy-makers in developed and developing countries can make sense of rapid technological change and direct it towards the common good.