All Academic Institutions are under increasing governmental pressure to make direct, visible, and relevant contributions to national research and Sustainable Development (SD) strategies. The aim of the conference is to develop a framework for the analysis of the role of academic institutions and societies in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Delegates will critically examine those factors influencing universities contribution to the stock of global intellectual knowledge.
Sustainable Development is a multidisciplinary concept that embraces issues such as science & technology, education, research & development, innovation practice, knowledge management, economic development, internationalisation of business & capital flows, information technology & e-commerce, international debt & aid, trade, environmental & consumer protection, war & security, health, natural disasters, industrial ecology, population, demographics & migration, and other topics, all as they relate to sustainability. Therefore SD requires new thinking across the spectrum of human endeavor, not merely among scientists and technologists. The responsibility for moving towards SD is a global one, resting both with the more developed and the less developed nations, if not in equal measure. Achieving the goals of SD requires planning and action on local, regional and global scales, specifying short- and long-term objectives that allow for the transition to sustainability.
Action plans for SD, such as Agenda 21 or the MDG's 2000, can only be achieved with the implementation of effective long-term solutions in partnerships. The UN MDGs set an agreed universal framework of international development goals and targets to be reached in the near future (2010 & 2015) as endorsed and adopted by the UN in 2000. The eight MDGs include: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.
The World Bank stresses that the burden of guaranteeing SD must be shared locally, nationally, and globally:
- Developing countries need to promote participation and substantive democracy, inclusiveness, and transparency as they build the institutions needed to manage their resources.
- Rich countries need to increase aid, cut poor country debts, open their markets to developing country exporters, and help transfer technologies needed to prevent diseases, increase energy efficiency, and bolster agricultural productivity.
- Civil society organisations contribute when they serve as a voice for dispersed interests and provide independent verification of public, private, and nongovernmental performance.
- Private firms contribute when they commit to sustainability in their daily operations and also create incentives to pursue their interests while advancing environmental and social objectives.
Finally, as we work toward SD, we must strive not to lose sight of the big picture and that we must think and act both globally and locally. It is the aim of this conference to provide a stimulus for knowledge exchange and cooperation worldwide that focuses on the the application of science and technology to SD everywhere in this interdependent world.
