UNU Macau Calls for Multistakeholder Partnerships to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Macau and the Greater Bay Area

MACAU, 17 May 2021 – In celebration of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, United Nations University Institute in Macau (UNU Macau), the only UN organization in Macau, brought together government, academia, private sector, and NGOs to share their experiences in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), examine the SDGs’ roles in Macau’s strategic development plan, and explore collaborative opportunities particularly in the areas of digital technologies for the SDGs. 

The Summit was opened by the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in China, Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, who represented a delegation of colleagues from UN China in attendance, including UNDP, UNICEF, UNIDO-ITPO, UNOPS and emphasized the UN’s commitment in supporting all stakeholders in safeguarding the progress made and efforts to achieve the SDGs. 

“To leave no one behind, no communities behind, no village behind, there is a need for collaboration and a renewal of multilateralism. Most importantly we must embrace science, technology, and innovation while bringing together the private sector, academia, governments, civil society, the UN families towards a single agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” said Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China.

Even in the pre-pandemic era, we were not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and COVID-19 has worsened the situation, thereby erasing years of social-economic progress. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020, an estimated 71 million people globally were expected to be pushed back into extreme poverty and the persisting digital divide meant remote learning remained out of reach for students who lack access to computers and the internet. 

“There has never been a greater need for multi-stakeholder partnerships than right now when COVID-19 has reversed decades of progress on poverty reduction, healthcare, and education and left the most vulnerable further behind. Everyone in Macau has a key role to play in this Decade of Action towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. I am elated to learn about the innovative and sustainable solutions that our partners have been implementing in Macau: from eliminating single-use plastics and enhancing the cyber resilience of citizens to improving social services and capacity building initiatives. To tackle the impacts of COVID-19 on development progress and build back better, we need to collectively leverage digital technologies while addressing the potential risks and adverse effects,” said Dr. Jingbo Huang, Director of UNU Macau.

Through this summit, UNU Macau hopes to raise awareness about the SDGs and celebrate successes as well as learn from the challenges in implementing the SDGs in Macau. Topics discussed at the summit revolved around the five Ps of the SDGs: People, Prosperity, Peace, Partnerships and Planet. 

UNU Macau has been working with civil society, academic and private sector partners in Macau on strategic projects that promote policy as well as practice-relevant research and capacity building activities in the fields of sustainable community development, social innovation, and civil society cyber resilience. One of our main research projects, the Smart City-zen Cyber Resilience project, funded by the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT), aims to enhance the cyber resilience of citizens in Macau and around the world as well as involve civil society actors in local preparations against cybersecurity threats. This project was designed to help accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and Macau’s development plans.

###

For media enquiries, please contact:

UNU Macau: Tarinee Youkhaw, Communications Manager, UNU Macau at youkhaw@unu.edu

About United Nations University Institute in Macau

The United Nations University Institute in Macau (UNU Macau), formerly publicly known as United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology (UNU-IIST), is a UN global think tank on Information Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). UNU Macau conducts UN policy-relevant research and generates solutions, addressing key issues expressed in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through high-impact innovations and frontier technologies. Through its research, UNU Macau encourages data-driven and evidence-based actions and policies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.