Panel host: Francois Grey, Director, UNIGE Geneva Tsinghua Initiative

Yves Flückiger, Rector, University of Geneva
Nikhil Seth, Executive Director UNITAR
Irina Bokova, former Director-General , UNESCO
Martina Hirayama, Swiss Confederation

This session will feature open innovation initiatives from public/private universities, academic institutions and international organizations on youth engagement and mobilization for the SDGs. The speakers will reflect on redesigning the role of youth in society for taking action over the SDGs, scaling collective engagement in universities through open innovation practices, ensuring inclusivity and sustainability of open innovation systems, and building long term corporate engagement in open innovation.

Panel hosts: Jonas Haertle, UNITAR; Thomas Maillart, UNIGE

Johannes Wedenig, UNICEF
Sylvia Poll, ITU
Maria Gema Quiontero Lima, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Marta Garcia Mandaloniz, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Pearl Mao, Tsinghua University
Solange Ingabire, Geneva Action Platform for Engaging, Learning and Information (GAPELI)

Panel host: Eleonora Bonaccorsi, UN SDG Lab & IISD

Tina Ambos,  University of Geneva & Geneva Innovation Movement Initiative
Nicolas Seidler, Geneva Science Policy Interface (GSPI)
Marieke Hood, Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA)
Einar Bjorgo, UNITAR

This panel will look at how Open Innovation – partnering with civil society and other key stakeholders, through agile processes like hackathons and short-term fellowship programmes – can enable institutions to rapidly implement and adapt new digital tools and services to their needs.

Panel host: Pradeep Kakkattil, UNAIDS

Nicholas Niggli, Republic and State of Geneva
Olivia Keiser, Institute for Global Health
Sahar Habib, Code for Pakistan

Join us on Zoom for the Online Networking Session starting at 13:00 CET! We’ll be moving to the platform Remo to connect at the (virtual) SDG Solution Space. Join the event first through the event Zoom link.

This session will discuss the role of philanthropy in supporting education for the SDGs. The panellists will engage in a variety of topics, such as philanthropic giving for educational equity, engaging philanthropy with local realities, education and philanthropic return, and education for philanthropy.

Panel host: Laetitia Gill, Geneva Centre for Philanthropy

Renaud Vuignier, Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC), Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing, China
Nadia Isler, UN SDG Lab
Cherie Nursalim, GITI Group, Indonesian Government
Giuseppe Ugazio, Geneva Center for Philanthropy

The session will gather partners of the GTI Internship programme who have been or will start hosting student interns from the UNIGE Master in Innovation, human development and sustainability and students of that programme who have completed their internships. After feedback on their experiences so far, the discussion will move on to identify best practices and sensitive aspects of the programme, as well as expectations for its development. The panellists will specifically address the potential for scaling up the programme to a wider network of partners, programmes and universities, as well as the relevance, pros and cons of establishing fully remote internships.

Panel host: Louise Gallagher, UNEP/GRID-Geneva, UNIGE, LIVES Project

Adriana Jacinto, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Jean-Pierre Reymond, 2050Today & Mission permanente de la Suisse à Genève
Vladimir Stankovic, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Alexandra Mackey, MIHDS 2018 student, intern at ITU WSIS
Rasyidah Ibrahim, MIHDS 2019 student, remote intern at ITC

This session will discuss gaps and hurdles that are limiting wider adoption of collective problem-solving approaches in learning institutions (K12 and universities), weaving perspectives from educators/social entrepreneurs, policy-making, academic and private sectors. Special focus will be given to the research and knowledge needed to frame these emerging practices to facilitate scaling.

Panel host: Gaell Manguy, Development and International Relations, CRI Paris

Valerie Hannon, GELP
Elena Proden, UN SDG:Learn & UNITAR
Andreas Schleicher, OECD
Francois Taddei, CRI
Irina Hotz, Jacobs Foundation

This panel will reflect on maximizing youth innovation projects’ capacities to help them reach their full potential. The speakers will discuss about the challenges to enable youth innovation projects and the opportunities leading start-ups, established entrepreneurship actors and international organizations offer to overcome these challenges.

Panel host: Romain Muller, CERN

Christina Lee, Global Green Connect
Mohamed Ba, ITU
Omar Bawa, Goodwall
Nadine Reichenthal, UNIGE Entrepreneurship Lab
Jose Iglesias, TechStars
Miles Bell, Young Water Solutions

Panel host: Jonas Haertle, UNITAR

Angel Cabrera, UGC & Georgia Tech
Stéphane Berthet, Vice Rector, University of Geneva
Colombe Warin, Project Officer, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
Nicholas Niggli, State of Geneva