QF to mark 2020 Global Goals Week

As the world comes together with the aim of accelerating progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Qatar Foundation (QF) is contributing to this vital conversation through a series of virtual events designed to share ideas and find solutions. The 2020 Global Goals Week starts today till September 26, as the United Nations (UN) highlights the extent of the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on prospects for realising the SDGs with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities being hardest hit.

As the world comes together with the aim of accelerating progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Qatar Foundation (QF) is contributing to this vital conversation through a series of virtual events designed to share ideas and find solutions.

The 2020 Global Goals Week, starts today till September 26, as the United Nations (UN) highlights the extent of the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on prospects for realising the SDGs with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities being hardest hit.

The event will include Global Goals Day on September 25, the fifth anniversary of the SDGs being agreed, as a call to action is sounded for everyone to play their part in ensuring they are achieved by 2030.

Under the theme ‘Global Challenges, Local Solutions,’ QF and many of its entities will host an array of online sessions from September 20 to 30.

Speakers from around the world will explore potential solutions to the challenges the world is facing, in five key areas: precision medicine, social progress, disruptive education, sustainability, and Artificial Intelligence.

These events reflect the role of QF, which is marking its 25th anniversary this year, in enabling global-level, solution-focused dialogue, and advancing innovative thinking and action.

“2020 marks the start of a decade that must-see collective, tangible action if we are to secure the future we want for our world, and while the Covid-19 pandemic has shaken global society, it has also only increased the urgency to take this action,” said Aysha al-Mudahka, director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnership Development, QF.

A panel discussion on September 23 at 3.30pm (Doha time) will have the topic ‘Covid-19 and Education: The Largest Disruption in the History of Education.’

HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, vice chairperson and CEO of QF, will be joined in the discussion by Danilo Turk, former president of Slovenia; Achim Steiner, administrator of the UN Development Programme; Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University; Gabriela Cuevas Barron, president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; and Sarah Cliffe, director of the Centre on International Cooperation, New York University.

‘Glocalising Education for a Sustainable Future,’ taking place at 8.15pm (Doha time) on September 30, will look at how K-12 students can learn more about how to relate the Global Goals to their local context and their lives, and how they can be empowered to take tangible action toward realising these goals in their own communities.

Speakers will be Sheikha Noof al-Thani, executive director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnership Development within QF’s pre-university education; Mehdi Benchaabane, director of QF’s Education Development Institute; Sam Barratt, chief of the Youth, Education and Advocacy Unit at the UN Environment Programme; Dr Nicole Bien, director of Learning and Teaching, International Baccalaureate; and Alison Bellwood, director of The World’s Largest Lesson.

QF’s contribution to Global Goals Week kicks off on September 20, as Doha Debates plays host to a discussion on ‘New Institutions for a New Era?’, while on September 25, members of Qatar’s national debate team and students from Harvard University will tackle the topic ‘Is Multilateralism in Crisis?’, in a session led by QF member QatarDebate.

September 28 will see QF member Hamad Bin Khalifa University host a session titled ‘Educate to Eradicate: Extremism – What’s Next Post-Covid? The following day, the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) – QF’s global education think-tank – will launch its special edition ebook, ‘Education Disrupted: Education Reimagined’, followed by a panel discussion featuring speakers from WISE and the book’s partner Salzburg Global Register, and contributors.

Also on September 29, the use of AI and bioinformatics to find existing drugs that could be repurposed to treat Covid-19 will be the topic of ‘Calculating The Cure: AI and Covid-19’, a session led by the World Innovation Summit for Health, QF’s global health initiative.