BackgroundIn the 2021 report titled
“Our Common Agenda”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that humanity is facing its most significant collective test since World War II. He proposed a “
common agenda” to achieve an inclusive, sustainable, and equitable world. Csaba Kőrösi, the President of the 77th United Nations General Assembly, suggested that
solidarity, sustainability, and science are key factors in addressing global challenges.
Innovation has been recognized as a crucial element in overcoming these challenges, as exemplified by the fight against COVID-19. However, the prevailing top-down elitist approach to innovation, inadequate incentive structures, and overreliance on traditional methods have led to socioeconomic disparities worldwide. The flaws in the global healthcare system and vaccine distribution further highlight the need for re-evaluating existing innovation and development models.
The Science Summit at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) will host this high-level plenary session, which will be convened by Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS) -Zhejiang University, China. The objective is to analyse, debate, and discuss alternative and emerging innovation models, primarily evolving from economies in the Global South. The aim is to tackle the deficiencies of existing innovation and development models through analysis and discussion. The insights, policies, and perspectives generated from these discussions will be shared with the UN and other policymaking agencies globally to promote more inclusive and credible innovation systems. The workshop aims to advance the discourse on sustainability, equality, and inclusion.
Objectives- Analyse the limitations of the current top-down elitist approach to innovation and its impact on socioeconomic challenges.
- Explore alternative innovation models and development paradigms, particularly those emerging from economies in the global South.
- Discuss the role of governments, policies, and capitalism in fostering innovation and development on a larger scale.
- Examine the tensions within the prevailing producer-based innovation paradigm and its implications for the dominance of the economic system.
- Foster dialogue and debate to advance the discourse on alternative and emerging innovation models, sustainability, equality, and inclusion.
Expected Outcomes - Enhanced understanding of the limitations of the current innovation paradigms and its impact on socioeconomic challenges.
- Identification and exploration of alternative innovation models and development paradigms from emerging economies.
- Policy recommendations for re-evaluating the roles of governments, policies, and capitalism in fostering inclusive innovation and development.
- Insights into addressing the tensions within the prevailing producer-based innovation paradigm.
- Dissemination of the workshop outcomes to the UN and other policymaking agencies to influence global innovation and development agendas.
Follow-up Actions - Publication of a report summarizing the workshop discussions, policy recommendations, and key insights.
- Sharing the report with the UN and other relevant international organizations for consideration and integration into policymaking processes.
- Hosting special issues and co-editing a book on the same theme.
- Scheduling Conferences and participating in other UN high level events.
- Engaging in advocacy efforts to promote alternative innovation systems and foster sustainability, equality, and inclusion
