ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi will inaugurate the 23rd Sustainable Development Conference (SDC 2020), the flagship annual activity of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), on December 14, 2020. The mega event titled ‘Sustainable Development in the Times of COVID-19’ will be concluded on 17 December 2020 with the closing remarks by Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. Conference is being held on a digital platform and interactive sessions can be attended by registering at www.sdpi.org/sdc
The four days proceedings of the conference would focus upon cooperation between developed and developing countries for sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and human centeredness. The virtual event expects participation of a large number of experts in different sectors both from Pakistan and abroad.
Besides several other panel discussions on some of the most critical issues of sustainable development of the contemporary world, discussion on ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security: Challenges for Women’ and ‘Financial Inclusion of Women in Pakistan – Developing Gender-Responsive Financial Inclusion Models’ that will be held in collaboration with Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Pakistan, Economic Growth, Social Protection, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Programme amid COVID-19’ in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Fatima Jinnah Women University as knowledge partner, ‘Cultural Diplomacy in the Times of COVID-19’ in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, ‘Inclusive Tourism Sector Strategies to Support Post-Pandemic Recovery’ in collaboration with World Bank Pakistan and ‘Informal Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Opportunities’ in collaboration with World Bank Washington DC would be some of the key highlights of the event.
Likewise, ‘Access to Water and Sanitation in a Post-COVID Pakistan’ in collaboration with WaterAid, ‘Education Methods in COVID-19 Response: Assessing Gendered Impact’ in collaboration with Malala Fund, ‘Future of BRI in the Post-COVID World’ in collaboration the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, ‘Setting Pakistan’s Agenda for Universal Social Protection (USP)’ and In collaboration the International Labour Organization’ and ‘Accelerating SDGs Achievement and Building Back Better from COVID-19 Pandemic in South Asia’ in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: Sub-regional Office for South and South-West Asia, are also the panels expected to generate important knowledge and policy recommendations on related developmental issues of the day.
The researchers, academicians, scientists, policy makers, legislators, and experts from different fields will come up with evidence-based policy interventions during this mega conference. They will share best practices and present workable solutions to the emerging challenges related to sustainable development in the region.