UNCTAD To Look At Rapid Technological Change And Developing Countries

By Damilola Adepeju for Intellectual Property Watch

Ministers, leading scientists and innovators will gather next week at the United Nations in Geneva to discuss rapid technological change and developing countries.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) announced in a press release today (10 May) that the 21st session of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) will take place from 14 – 18 May.

Experts will discuss how best technological progress can be used to improve lives and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. “Together we can work towards finding solutions to some of the ethical and governance issues that have arisen across various technologies,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said in the release.

The event is said to begin with a meeting of Nobel Prize-winning chemist, Prof. Jacques Dubochet and Sir Roger Penrose, the renowned mathematician and physicist, who will discuss ‘recent trends in science and their implications for the future of the world.’

Topics raised will include how to develop digital skills in order to benefit from technological advancements specifically focusing on women and young people, and increasing the share of renewable energy through innovation, the release said.