All 193 Member States of the United Nations will convene in New York for the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (starting Tuesday, Sept 12) to discuss and work together on a wide array of international issues covered by the UN Charter, such as development, peace and security, and international law, among others. One of those key issues to be discussed will be the achievement and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From Saturday, September 16 through to Saturday, September 23 there will be myriad events and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD) has a set of events that aim to put the use data to achieve the SDGS and data to Leave No One Behind at the center of the conversations.

UNGA Promo

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 11.30-1.00 PM, TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL, UNHQ**

Knowledge is one of the key tools that humanity has to tackle the most serious threats we face. In an age of extreme climate events, famine and food insecurity, rapid urbanization, population growth, water scarcity and armed conflicts; data innovation from every sector and stakeholder is desperately needed to bring the latest expertise to bear on the world’s most serious problems. 

New technologies and tools are available to shine a light on the most critical problems of our time and illuminate the path to the Sustainable Development Goals.  But to take advantage of these opportunities governments will need to work together with their citizens, with the private sector, with regional bodies and global institutions to ensure that data becomes part of the infrastructure for sustainable development.

This high-level event will signal the political importance of this transformative agenda and share inspiring examples of ambitious, in-country data innovation, showcasing new partnerships, projects, and institutions that are leading the way.

Co-organizers: The governments of Kenya, Colombia, Ghana and Sierra Leone, and GSMA.

SPEAKERS

  • President Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghana
  • Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Belgium
  • Amb. Amina Mohammed, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Republic of Kenya
  • Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific
  • Mats Granryd, Chief Executive Officer, GSMA
  • Bob Collymore, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom
  • Mauricio Ramos, Chief Executive Officer, Millicom
  • Kathy Calvin, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Nations Foundation
  • Eduardo Navarro de Carvalho, CEO Telefonica Brasil
  • Mauricio Perfetti del Corral, Director, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, Colombia
  • Sunil Mittal Bharti, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises
  • Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, Chief Executive Officer, PLAN
  • Claire Melamed, Executive Director, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
  • Lawrence Friedl, Director of Applied Sciences, NASA
  • Moderated by: Femi Oke, International Journalist

UNGA Promo LNOB

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 7.30-9.45 AM, WEST TERRACE, UNHQ**

This event will highlight how using more granular data to shine a light on groups that are frequently excluded, and suffer worse outcomes as a result, is essential to achieve the 2030 Agenda aspiration to Leave No One Behind.

This event will showcase how data disaggregation has impacted policy and improved people's lives and provide a platform to announce the intention to develop a new Charter on Data Disaggregation, supported by several Member States, UN Agencies, and civil society organizations.

Co-organizers: The Governments of Ghana and the United Kingdom, Data2X, Development Initiatives, HelpAge, SightSavers, UNDP, and UNFPA.

SPEAKERS

  • Hon. George Gyan-Baffour, Minister of Planning, Ghana
  • Baroness Elizabeth Sugg, Department for International Development’s Whip in the House of Lords, United Kingdom
  • Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, World Bank
  • Mauricio Perfetti del Corral, Director, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, Colombia
  • Yeama Thompson, Commissioner, Right to Access Information Commission, Sierra Leone
  • Stefan Schweinfest, Director, UN Statistics Division
  • Pedro Conceição, Director Strategic Policy, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP 
  • Laurence Chandy, Director of Data, Research and Policy, UNICEF
  • Emily Courey Pryor, Executive Director, Data2X
  • Rachel Snow, Chief, Population and Development Branch, UNFPA
  • Dominic Haslam, Director of Policy and Program Strategy, Sightsavers
  • Aura Sevilla, Project Coordinator at the Coalition of Services of the Elderly, Philippines
  • Moderated by: Claire Melamed (Executive Director, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data) and Philip Thigo (Senior Advisor Data and Innovation Strategy, Office of the Deputy President, Kenya)

** Registration for these events has been concluded. For more information, please email info@data4sdgs.org