Game-changing Transformations, Following the Response to COVID-19
A side event sponsored by IIASA and ISC as part of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), attended among others by H.E. Ban Ki-moon and former President of Ireland H.E. Mary Robinson, addressed the game-changing measures that will help build a more resilient world and summarized key policy insights on how to move forward sustainably.
Summary of identified game-changing transformations, following the response to COVID-19, that will enable the world to practically take a leap towards sustainability. / Picture: © Vindobona.org (Graphic)
How can we reach a sustainable and equitable new normal in a post COVID-19 world?
A webinar hosted by the Permanent Missions of Norway and South Africa to the United Nations, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the International Science Council (ISC) as part of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) tried to answer this question.
The key insights and recommendations that have emerged from these extensive consultations on “Transformations within Reach: Operationalizing a Sustainable and Equitable New Normal” were provided by followind panellists:
- H.E. Dag-Inge Ulstein, H.E. Minister of International Development of Norway
- Phil Mjwara, Director General of the Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa
- H.E. Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and patron of the IIASA – ISC Consultative Science Platform: Bouncing Forward Sustainably Post COVID-19
- H.E. Mary Robinson, Patron of the Institute of Human right and Business, Chair of the Elders, and Chair of the Advisory Board of the IIASA – ISC Consultative Science Platform
- Heide Hackmann, Chief Executive Officer of the International Science Council
- Peter Bakker, President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Albert van Jaarsveld, IIASA Director General
The event was moderated by Heide Hackmann, Chief Executive Officer of the International Science Council and Leena Srivastava, Deputy Director General for Science, IIASA.
The message emerging – which is directed to policy and decision makers – is that we have an extraordinary opportunity to introduce game-changing measures that will help us build a more equitable and sustainable world.
But equally important, the message is also that we have an urgent need to assess what we have learned from the COVID-19 response and to determine what has worked (and thus should be preserved and built on) and what did not (and thus should be avoided).
The key insights and recommendations are meant to suggest a way to achieve this.