High-level Advisory Board set to discuss the ‘Future We Want’ at Global Policy Dialogue during HLPF

Past the midpoint of our timeline to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are on track. The world is still facing wars, economic uncertainty and the climate crisis. Inequality is rising, and our progress towards gender equality is far from being met. There’s still a lot we need to do, together, to keep the 17 goals within reach by 2030.

The United Nations will address these urgent challenges this September at the Summit of the Future, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. In the lead up to the Summit, the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF, 8-17 July), will measure progress made towards the SDGs and provide a platform for global experts to offer best practices.

In support of these events, UN DESA will host a Global Policy Dialogue on “Delivering the Future We Want” (15 July, 1:15-2:30 p.m.) as a special event during the HLPF. The dialogue will feature members of the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs (HLAB), who are gathering in New York to hold one of their biannual meetings during this period. This group of academics, economists, and other thought leaders provides advice to the UN on broad economic and social issues, including near-term prospects and risks for the world economy, frontier technologies, inequality, and more.

The dialogue will be divided into two segments, each featuring HLAB members and the Executive Secretaries of several of the UN’s Regional and Economic Commissions. 

In the first discussion, the experts will share what they see as key emerging socioeconomic trends, risks and opportunities over the next year, including how they may affect implementation of the SDGs. In the second discussion, speakers will explore ways to build our capacities to cope with complex global challenges, generate synergies and manage trade-offs in support of the Goals. They will draw on some of the key findings and recommendations of the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023.

UN DESA Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, who convenes the HLAB, will provide opening remarks and Assistant Secretary-General Navid Hanif will provide a final recap. 

Everyone is welcome to join online, via Zoom or watch the livestream on UN DESA’s Facebook page. The virtual audience will be invited to ask questions and vote in polls using the Slido platform. Anyone already accredited for HLPF is welcome to join the event in person in Conference Room 11 at UN Headquarters in New York. The event is made possible by the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund. 

Register to participate online in the 15 July event here. Find out more about the Global Policy Dialogue Series on its dedicated website here. 

Photo by Fas Khan on Unsplash