First national summit on ‘Foresight and Innovation’

The first national summit on Foresight and Innovation organised by the UNDP Office in Sri Lanka will be held from May 24-25 at the Water’s Edge, Battaramulla.

UNDP’s Head of Communications Youth Focal Point, Fadhil Bakeer Markar said, “The summit will provide a platform for the public and private sectors, and civil society to engage in a two-day national dialogue on how we can create the Sri Lanka that we want and need by 2030.”

Last year was a defining year for global development. The 15-year period to achieve the Millennium Development Goals had come to an end, and countries celebrated successes, while clearly identifying areas that needed to be addressed further.

In this backdrop, the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development was launched last year and this was our immediate call to action.

Fadhil said they hope to discuss matters on how to help Sri Lanka realise the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and also discuss topics such as; ‘How could we assist in creating the Sri Lanka that we all want and need by 2030’

“We started speaking to multiple stakeholders, including the government, private sector partners, potential stakeholders, and youth; and we started asking the real questions – What can we do differently What more can we do And who needs to be involved,” he said.

Foresight and innovation are tools that many governments and other partners for development are rapidly incorporating in to their work. The tools help to create sound and resilient plans and frameworks that contribute towards a sustainable future, he said.

Foresight refers to anticipation that identify opportunities and threats which may arise in the future. Innovation refers to approaching opportunities and challenges through a completely new perspective.

The first national summit on Foresight and Innovation will be delivered by the UNDP and the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs with the Ministry of Science Technology and Research, Sarvodaya, LIRNEasia, the United Nations Global Compact, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the summit partner, Ceylon Biscuits Limited.

The summit comprises nine sessions by local and international resource persons from Armenia, Denmark, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Moldova, Singapore and Thailand. The participants will use foresight and innovation tools on a range of issues across three thematic areas, social environment and economic and governance and innovation. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will participate in session four on Re-imagining Governance, with representatives from the governments of Malaysia, Denmark, Moldova and Armenia.

In the ninth and final session, an outcome document presenting recommendations and the way forward, based on the summit discussions will be presented to the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Niroshan Perera.

“We are serious about creating the Sri Lanka that we all want and need by 2030, and we need to start now in developing plans that will be feasible and apt for futuristic scenarios. The summit on Foresight and Innovation for sustainable human development is our collective first step in achieving this goal,” Bakeer Markar said.

SJ