2021 CG High-Level Seminar on Research Policy, Geneva:“The Coimbra Group Meets the United Nations”
Palais des Nations, Geneva, 21-22 October 2021
The High-Level Seminar on Research Policy took place in 2021 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on the topic “The Coimbra Group Meets the United Nations”.
Jointly organised by the Coimbra Group, the University of Geneva and the UN Library & Archives, this seminar was intended as a forum for informal dialogue on Science Diplomacy, with a specific focus on the impact of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) on research and the contribution of research to the SDGs.
The Rectors and Vice-Rectors for Research and for International of Coimbra Group Universities were joined by heads of UN agencies, government officials, think-tanks impact investors and representatives of other international actors such as the CERN or the World Economic Forum, to discuss the roadmap towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
The keynotes were delivered by Amb. Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva, and by Ms Anna Panagopoulou, Director for ERA & Innovation at the European Commission (DG RTD).
The seminar successfully contributed to:
- Empower universities in bridging/cooperating/increasing their engagement with international organisations through a dialogue between academic research, on one side, and the UN SDG framework and its redefinition towards 2030 on the other side;
- Provide an overview of existing initiatives in the field of science-policy interface with international organisations;
- Offer opportunities to Coimbra Group universities’ Rectors and Vice-Rectors to establish direct contact with high-level decision makers of UN agencies based in Geneva and discuss possible collaborations.
Two roundtables were held dealing with “Leveraging science and knowledge to achieve the SDGs: views of four different stakeholders” and “Strengthening the Interface between Science and Policy”.
The participants also took part in a creative interactive session using futures-thinking which key messages have been captured in a graphic recording visible below.
Presentation Peter Lievens: Sustainability at KU Leuven