This year’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit (SDIS), is scheduled to hold between September 20 and 23. The four-day fully virtual Summit is hosted alongside the United Nations General Assembly UNGA).
Summit organisers, the World Economic Forum (WEF), said the Summit will bring together leaders for collective action to shape a new trajectory of accelerated progress, because “For over a year, countries have struggled to address a pandemic that respects no borders, destroys lives and livelihoods, and deepens pre-existing global challenges like inequality, climate change and education.”
WEF in a statement made available to Sustainable Economy, noted that with less than a decade to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Summit will gather global leaders from diverse sectors, disciplines – business, government, and civil society and geographies to discuss these challenges.
“Ensuring the world exits the pandemic stronger than it entered it will only be possible if leaders work together across sectors and borders to share and deploy know-how, innovation and promising approaches and accelerate the recovery,” the statement reads in part.
“It will focus on new technologies, policies and partnerships to advance cooperation, accelerate progress, and highlight tangible solutions to our global challenges.”
For over a year, countries have struggled to address a pandemic that respects no borders, destroys lives and livelihoods, and deepens pre-existing global challenges like inequality, climate change and education.
The SDIS was conceived against the backdrop that in 2020, it was observed that for the first time, the world retreated in its progress towards achieving the SDGs. “As countries struggled to address the COVID-19 pandemic, over 100 million people were pushed back into poverty, the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs were lost and 101 million youth fell below a minimum reading level.”
Summit objective
Leveraging the most promising approaches and methods to advance a sustainable, equitable and inclusive recovery, leaders will work to share and deploy know-how and innovation to exit the pandemic stronger than we entered it. Leaders and experts across sectors will:
- Share new technologies, markets and innovations that coffer tangible solutions to global challenges
- Create innovative policy recommendations, action frameworks and methodologies to advance global cooperation
- Advance partnerships, alliances and consortia that can rapidly accelerate progress on pressing and emerging issues, leading businesses, policy-makers from G7, G20 and other major economies, to raise ambitions, drive action and build momentum for sustainable development.
The meeting will also represent a key milestone in the lead-up to the UN Food System Summit (UNGA, September) and COP26 (November).