Overview
The World is 7 years away from the Sustainable Development Goals and many countries are behind.
In a rapidly changing global economy and technology landscape, achieving inclusive digital transformation of society presents a paradigm shift, especially in developing countries. The world is entering a new digital era where technology such as AI, IoTs, 5G, quantum computing, green technologies, space technologies, and other emerging technologies are changing faster than policy can adapt.
Much can be done to enhance the readiness of our digital ecosystems to ensure a positive digital transformation that accelerates achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is why countries need rethink their approaches to guarantee they can safely navigate a digital world that is increasingly Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) to achieve the SDGs.
Unfortunately, there is a growing digital innovation divide among countries. While many countries continue to struggle, others have appropriate, socially adequate and ready-to-scale innovation that can be transformed into economic opportunities in their quest to create jobs and social economic development.
While events such as the pandemic served as a catalytic boost to digital ecosystems, the underlying gains and principles from this boost are quickly fizzling out, and the challenges of having sustainable and competitive ecosystems remain unresolved.
There is an opportunity to discuss and take stock of the achievement of the SDGs using ICTS, understand the challenges and opportunities to achieve national, regional and global ambitions, and build the capacity to chart a path toward meeting the SDGs.
This is why ITU, in conjunction with the India Mobile Congress , is organizing the Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development Goals event as track during IMC 2023. This hybrid event will take place in New Delhi, India and online. The event will benefit from the frameworks of the newly launched ITU initiative, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development, and ITU’s newly established Global Center in India.
The event is a two-day immersive experience that will take the participants on learning journeys to learn the "why," "what," and "how" of building innovation capacity that ensures that communities are ready for digital futures that are resilient, sustainable and benefit all society.
The following topics will be covered during the forum under the theme: "Readiness for our digital futures":
- Day 1: The event will highlight the inflection point reached with SDGs and the impact emerging technologies and discuss best practices to prepare our ecosystems to accelerate achievement of the SDGs.
- Day 2: The event will bring stakeholders' to experience and build capacity with practical tools and frameworks to understand strategic foresight and how to shape their digital ecosystems to accelerate achievement of the SDGs.
The event is targeted at all stakeholders with a keen interest in digital and its cross-cutting impact among sectors, including digital change-makers, policymakers, the private sector, academics, entrepreneurial support organizations, entrepreneurs, financiers, community development managers, international organizations and media, and United Nations Agencies. It will benefit from the exposure of the deep tech ecosystem, and experts present around the India Mobile Congress.