On 21 September 2023 (local time), during the 78th United Nations General Assembly, The Meeting of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Leadership Council was held in New York, to deepening global understanding and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The meeting was structured around a number of core topics, including a strategic update on the 2030 Agenda, a look ahead to the 2024 Future Summit, a mid-term review of progress on the SDGs, as well as key issues for the SDSN network in the areas of SDGs localization, university engagement and youth mobilization.
Vuk Jeremic, President of the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the 73rd Session of UN General Assembly and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador; Guy Bernard Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy in the Office of the UN Secretary General, Jeffrey Sachs, Chairmen of SDSN and International Academic Committee of Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (TUSDG), John Thwaites, Chairman of SDSN Leadership Council, and member of TUSDG International Academic Committee, Xue Lan, Director of TUSDG and Dean of Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.
Speech by Prof. Xue Lan
Prof. Xue Lan said that the current stage is a critical time to look at the progress of the SDGs - we can make the necessary reflections and adjustments by learning from past experiences and missteps; the mid-term review of the SDGs conducted by the United Nations has also made it clear that we should take an adaptive approach, and continue to learn and adjust during the implementation process. At the same time, we need to focus on the following areas to move forward: 1) the leading role of science and the criticality of technology and innovation, 2) the need for reform in global governance, 3) contributions from academia and industry, 4) the importance of youth education.
Summary by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs highlighted the importance of global and regional high-level meetings for global collaboration and decision-making, as well as the role of integrated frameworks with a global macro perspective, such as China's Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative. We should continue to uphold multilateralism, promote the role of data in policy decision-making and deepen inter-organizational cooperation.
