Maria Garrido to speak on panel “Innovation and inter-connectivity for social development”

This year the United Nation’s Commission for Social Development has recognized the topic “Towards sustainable and resilient societies: Innovation and inter-connectivity for social development” as an emerging issue for 2018. TASCHA researcher Maria Garrido was invited to join the Commission panel in New York to discuss how social policy can be re-examined to ensure that the benefits of technological advances and inter-connectivity are broadly shared to promote inclusive development.

The panel discussion will facilitate open exchange of ideas that are strategically important for social development and the Commission. Its overall objective at the fifty-sixth session is to discuss how social policy can play a critical role to harness the opportunities brought by technology and innovation and mitigate potential risks that may undermine people’s livelihoods and well-being. The main objectives of the panel are:

  1.  Identify opportunities and challenges that innovation and inter-connectivity can bring to societies, and examine the role of social policy to create conditions under which they can be useful tool for advancing social progress and achieving the 2030 Agenda and SDGs.
  2. Exchange information, knowledge, and good policies and practices at the national,regional and international levels, where innovation, new technologies help advance social development, with particular attention to the most marginalized/vulnerable.
  3. Explore how the international community/the Commission could play an important role to leverage technological advances for achieving sustainable development for all.

Garrido will contribute her expertise on Access to Information and recent findings from the Development and Access to Information report, specifically how ICTs can be leveraged to promote the inclusion of under-served social groups around the globe.