Following the release of the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery in November 2020, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the UN Office for Partnerships will be co-hosting a two-hour virtual Open Dialogue with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed on Science for Development in the Context of COVID-19 on Friday, January 29, 2021, from 10 am to 12 pm ET. Participation will include the heads of over 40 international research funding agencies, diplomats from over 100 national governments, and senior leaders from UN departments, agencies, programs and other entities. A live webcast of the event will be available via http://webtv.un.org to enable the participation of researchers, civil society organizations, representatives from the news media, and members of the general public.
By way of background, the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery was developed to emphasize the power of science for informing a better recovery from COVID-19 that leaves no one behind. Building on the Roadmap, this Open Dialogue event is designed to bring heads of research funding agencies from around the world together with the UN Deputy Secretary-General and other UN leaders to discuss how the global research community can collaborate on recovery research during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout the “Decade for Action” to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Dialogue event is designed as a global conversation. Following remarks from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed and a brief presentation from me on the UN Research Roadmap, the dialogue will focus on two key themes: 1) how science can contribute to recovering more equitably, resiliently and sustainably from the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) strategies for improving collaboration among the world’s research funding agencies, research institutions, and the UN. It is our hope that this event brings greater attention to the important role that science can play during the COVID-19 pandemic and further builds momentum for urgent investments in science that can inform recovery efforts.