- When: 14 July at 8am (NY), 7am (Bogota), 7pm (Bangkok).
- Registration: To register for this event, please click here.
On 14 July 2021, on the occasion of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum, the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC-Colombia) and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) jointly organizing a webinar side-event on the Digitalization of Knowledge Platforms: A Tool for Recovery in the Decade of Action. The event was held in the format of a discussion panel and featured the presentation of APC-Colombia’s South-South Cooperation Knowledge Hub. Please click the video to watch the recording.
Background
South-South knowledge exchange has become the most important and the most dynamic pillar of South-South and triangular cooperation. It has gained prominence among developing countries who are increasingly recognizing the sharing of good practices on South-South and triangular cooperation as viable pathways to address common transnational challenges and to accelerate progress in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Such exchanges have been cost-effective and easily adaptable.
However, despite continued momentum, knowledge gaps in the Global South and uneven access to solutions, expertise and resources remain major hindrances for optimizing the contribution of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSC and TrC) towards the SDGs.
Digital transformation provides a number of powerful tools to bridge that gap. Digital platforms are offering transformational opportunities for development cooperation. They are enhancing South-South knowledge sharing, collaboration, and increasing connectedness by opening new opportunities for business and entrepreneurial activity. They are also offering new tools for addressing persistent development challenges. As such, digital technology is becoming a key driver of growth and development in the Global South and can further bolster South-South cooperation.
Part of the success of institutions, both public and private, that have endured the COVID-19 crisis is due to their ability to adapt and share best practices among their peers on how to face the global health crisis.
Digital portals provide an accessible platform for engagement, which simultaneously ensure that all relevant information is securely digitized and archived for future use. The pandemic has shown that it is possible to exchange knowledge, techniques, and methodologies through digital platforms, obtaining results that are just as effective as face-to-face means. This is because digital and virtual tools allow the participation of more actors, democratizing knowledge and expanding capacities of more institutions.
The economic and social recovery of countries of the Global South from the COVID-19 crisis will depend largely on their ability to adapt good practices, and to capitalize on them to improve their current situation and realities.
Objectives
Jointly organized by APC-Colombia and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), the side event is to share various digitization initiatives for knowledge sharing and generate a space for dialogue about the contributions of South-South Cooperation to the digitalization of knowledge management in the post-pandemic recovery, to accelerate progress in the decade of action toward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. At the event, APC – Colombia will launch the South-South Cooperation Knowledge Hub of the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC-Colombia).
Agenda
1. Opening Remarks
- Mr. Adel Abdelatif, Director a.i., UNOSSC
2. Presentation of the South-South Cooperation Knowledge Hub
- Ms. Angela Ospina, Director General, APC-Colombia
3. Panel and Q&A
Moderator: Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang, UNOSSC Deputy Director for Programme and Operations
- Ms. Shams Banihani, Knowledge and Research Specialist, UNOSSC
- Mr. Mario Cimoli, Deputy Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
- Mr. Jonathan Tsuen Yip Wong, Chief, Technology and Innovation Section, Trade, Investment and Innovation Division,United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
- Ms. Sara Hamouda, African Peer Review Mechanism, South Africa
- Ms. Rocío Sanz, Knowledge Management For Development
4. Closing Remarks
- Ms. Angela Ospina, Director General, APC-Colombia