Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi, at the G-STIC Conference during World Expo in Dubai
World Expo is focused on knowledge and technologies that are crucial to achieving the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It was therefore the perfect setting for holding the fifth G-STIC Conference, the first one to take place outside of Brussels (Belgium). The G-STIC Conference in Dubai consisted of two parts. The first part took place on the occasion of the 76th United Nations Day from 24 - 27 October 2021. The second part of the G-STIC Conference took place during the Global Goals Week from 17 - 19 January 2022.
We were delighted to welcome 390 speakers and lay on 71 sessions, 4 workshops and 4 innovation tours. Among the many esteemed speakers, we had the honour of receiving H.E. Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi.
Sustainably shaping a post-pandemic world
Time is running out to achieve the 2030 Agenda. As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and focus shifted to keeping people safe in the immediate term, many SDG projects were put on hold. But the 2030 Agenda needs to remain in our sight. Drastic changes still need to be made to get the necessary technological transformations implemented. We are being forced to rethink our values and design a new era of development that truly balances economic, social and environmental progress, as envisioned by the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
Speech by H.E. Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi
H.E. Lazarus Chakwera pointed out the irony of meeting in Dubai, the City of Wonders, to discuss how to tackle some of humanity’s ugliest problems, notably climate change, poverty and disease. The people of Malawi live daily with these challenges, but they are not unique to Malawi.
The global advancements in technology and innovation must be democratized to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs by all nations. Malawi has made great progress by setting up an Academy of Sciences, promoting women and girls in science, engineering, technology, and innovation.
Speech by Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate
Leymah Gbowee shared personal excerpts that led her from a life of low self-esteem and abuse to one of using the power of her voice to transform lives. Education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change any country.
Young people should know the purpose and essence of the education they are receiving. If young people are educated for peace and development, they learn about every single theme within the SDGs: health, justice, climate, water and sanitation, technology and more.
Speech by Mariana Mazzucato, University College London
Mariana Mazzucato (Professor of Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London, and Director & Founder of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose) mentioned that we need to rethink what growth means. We should be directing our efforts at redirecting growth in order to achieve inclusive and sustainable systems.
She also shared insights on how to rethink the relationship between the private and public sectors by building mission-oriented partnerships and ecosystems, innovation, and technology around the SDGs.
Speech by Hans Bruyninckx, European Environment Agency
Hans Bruyninckx (Executive Director, European Environment Agency) talked about fundamentally reconfiguring the core systems of our society. Technology is not the bottleneck. The issues that need attention are governance, economic models, and distributional systems.
As far as climate change is concerned, what we needed was de-coupling of GDP growth and greenhouse gas emissions but this has not happened. This is why we need a broader resource-focused approach to the way we live and operate.
Photos of the conference
