Transformations within Reach- 1st Advisory Board meeting

Learning from COVID-19 among other global threats, the Transformations within reach (TwR) initiative aims to propose improvements to the societal decision-making systems and processes, which would catalyze systemic transformations to sustainability. 

The TwR Advisory Board is composed of renowned experts in the sustainability science and policy and is chaired by Mary Robinson, the 7th president of Ireland (1990-1997) and the Chair of The Elders. The aim of the meeting is to seek advice from the TwR advisory board members on the vision of the initiative and its plan.

List of the TwR Advisory Board members:

1. Junaid Kamal Ahmad – Country Director for the World Bank in India
2. Peter Bakker – President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
3. Preety Bhandari – Senior Advisor in the Global Climate Program and the Finance Center at World Resources Institute
4. Sir Peter Gluckman – President of the International Science Council; Director of the Koi Tū: the Centre for Informed Futures, University of Auckland; Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice; former Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
5. Heide Hackmann – Interim Director of the Future Africa, University of Pretoria
6. Andrea Hinwood – UNEP Chief Scientist
7. Naoko Ishii – Professor in University of Tokyo and Director for Global Commons
8. H.E. Ban Ki-moon –Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens; former UN Secretary-General; Patron of the project 
9. Carlos Nobre – Senior Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Sao Paolo; Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and former member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the UN Secretary-General
10. Daya Reddy -  Professor Emeritus in applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town, former President of the International Science Council
11. Mary Robinson – Chair of The Elders; Patron of the Institute of Human Rights and Business; former President of Ireland; former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
12. Achim Steiner – UNDP Administrator 
13. Albert van Jaarsveld –  Director General of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

The summary of the Advisory Board Meeting conclusions:

• The Advisory Board members endorsed the focus of the project on societal decision-making as a key catalyst for transformations to sustainability.
• In his video message, the Patron of the initiative H.E. Ban Ki-moon, the 8^th Secretary-General of the United Nations (2007-2016) reiterated his personal support as well as the continued support of the Ban Ki-moon Center in Vienna of the TwR project. He underlined that the TwR approach to bringing together scientists, experts, policymakers, practitioners, and civil society to debate and propose game-changing solutions is an excellent way to achieve impact.
• The Advisory Board recommended that the TwR initiative should seek to establish linkages and partnerships with other initiatives to harvest synergies and increase impact. The Board members also welcomed the initiative’s plan to establish a Knowledge-to-Action Hub/Platform that would embrace experts from various disciplines, geographies, and constituencies to help in the co-design and co-implementation of the results. The message was, that it was important to be inclusive yet stay focused.