IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld, Strategic Initiatives Program Director Steffen Fritz, and IIASA researcher Dilek Fraisl will participate in the UN World Data Forum, where they will highlight the use of Citizen Science data to monitor progress toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Global Citizen Science Partnership (GCSP) – a network-of-networks that aims to promote and advance citizen science for sustainable development – will also be introduced.

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The World Data Forum brings together data leaders from national and international statistical systems, academia, business community, and civil society to foster exchange of ideas, showcase innovations, identify solutions, discuss future strategies, and provide mutual learning opportunities.

Tracking progress on the SDGs is a massive exercise in data collection and management, and strong global citizen science networks hold major potential to contribute data for this. Through citizen science, people around the world could become much more involved not only in monitoring the many indicators, but also in implementing the sustainable development agenda by contributing with their personal, everyday life choices.

IIASA research has shown that about 33% of the SDG indicators could be supported through citizen science initiatives. These findings have generated a lot of interest among policy- and decision makers responsible for developing and implementing the global indicator framework for the SDGs and targets.

Registration to access the forum’s online event platform is now open! Register here for access. 

IIASA and the GCSP will be represented at three sessions during the forum:

High-level plenary session: How to innovate timely data for Covid-19 and the SDGs

IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld has been invited to speak at the high-level plenary session of the forum on the vision of using citizen science data for the monitoring of the SDGs.

 

When: Monday, 4 October 2021

Time: 13:15 to 14:30 CET

More information on this session is available here: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/programme/

Session TA4.03: Ensuring the future of sustainable water data – for citizens, scientists and policymakers

IIASA Strategic Initiatives Program Director Steffen Fritz will be one of the speakers during this session organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Gallup, Inc., Northwestern University, and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

 

When: Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Time: 09:00 to 10:00 CET

More information on this session is available here: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/programme/

Session TA2.12: Integrating Citizen Science into the official SDG monitoring mechanisms and Introducing the Global Citizen Science Partnership (GCSP)

IIASA researcher Dilek Fraisl and colleagues from several other institutions will discuss their research, which has shown that about 33% of the SDG indicators could be supported through citizen science initiatives.

 

The session will also serve to introduce the Global Citizen Science Partnership (GCSP) ̶ a network-of-networks hosted by IIASA that aims to promote and advance citizen science for sustainable development, while offering a coordinated point of entry for governments and business partners seeking to collaborate with the global citizen science community. IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld will also participate in this session. 

 

When: Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Time: 10:00 to 11:00 CET

More information on this session is available here: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/undataforum/programme/