United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of a group of 10 experts to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism launched at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015.
The Technology Facilitation Mechanism is meant to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Mechanism comprises a United Nations interagency task team on science, technology and innovation, which currently gathers 25 United Nations entities, an annual multistakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation, and an online platform that serves as a gateway for information on existing science, technology and innovation initiatives, mechanisms and programmes.
The 10-Member Group consists of representatives of civil society, the private sector and the scientific community, including TWAS Executive Director Romain Murenzi. They will advise the United Nations Interagency Task Team, in particular on preparations for the annual meetings of the multistakeholder forum and on support for the development and operationalization of the online platform.
The Group consists of both social and natural scientists. They have internationally recognized expertise that covers all stages of the technology and innovation life cycle, from science to research and development to technology deployment.
Full list of Group Members
- Peter Bakker (Netherlands), President and CEO, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Elmer William Jr. Colglazier (United States), Senior Scholar, Visiting Scientist, Center for Science Diplomacy, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Myrna Cunningham (Nicaragua), President, Center for Autonomy and Development of Indigenous Peoples
- Elenita Daño (Philippines), Asia Director, Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration
- Hayat Sindi (Saudi Arabia), Founder and President, Institute for Imagination and Ingenuity
- Paulo Ernani Gadelha Vieira (Brazil), President, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
- Heide Hackmann (South Africa), Executive Director, International Council for Science
- Romain Murenzi (Rwanda), Executive Director, The World Academy of Sciences
- Nebojsa Nakicenovic (Montenegro), Deputy Director, International Institute for Applied System Analysis
- Xiaolan Fu (United Kingdom), Director, Technology and Management Centre for Development, Oxford University
This article was originally a press release from the United Nations and has been modified by TWAS for publication on twas.org. For further information, please access the U.N.'s sustainable development website.