MSDI Chair, Professor John Thwaites, and Senior Program Manager, Dr Tahl Kestin, recently travelled to New York to attend meetings of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and other meetings and events associated with the 79th United Nations General Assembly and NY Climate Week.

SDSN is a global network that mobilises over 1900 universities and knowledge institutes to develop solutions for sustainable development, and MSDI hosts the SDSN Regional Network for Australia, NZ & Pacific.

Many of the events centred around the United Nations Summit of the Future, which took place on 22-23 September. The Summit was considered a "once in a generation" opportunity to restructure the multilateral system to better tackle some of the greatest global challenges of our time.

Professor Thwaites and Dr Kestin were privileged to attend the Summit as representatives of Monash University, as well as other high-level events around the Summit themes convened by the SDSN.

Below they share some reflections on the Summit and its outcome document, the Pact for the Future, and what it means for stakeholders in Australia and the academic community.

^{Professor John Thwaites moderating a discussion on the Summit of the Future and priorities for accelerating implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with H.E. Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, and Jeffrey Sachs, President, SDSN, at the 23rd SDSN Leadership Council Meeting.}

A concrete way forward to accelerate SDG implementation

The overarching theme of the Pact for the Future is that although there has been little progress on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and globally we are facing a range of environmental and geopolitical crises, the world is still committed to achieving the SDGs by 2030 and committed to finding solutions to make this happen.

The Pact and its annexes – the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations – provide a positive and inspiring step forward by identifying and making commitments to address a number of areas that are hindering the achievement of the SDGs. These include:

• reforming the global financial architecture so developing countries can get reasonable access to finance for development, for which the SDSN has strongly advocated
• recognition that there is no sustainable development without peace and human rights, and the need to strengthen the international community’s ability to prevent conflicts
• better representation of developing countries in the UN system
• the key role that science and digital innovation have in driving sustainable development, and the need to share their benefits equitably, close the digital divide among and within countries, and to address emerging risks
• the need to apply long-term thinking and consider the rights of future generations.

How are the Summit outcomes relevant to stakeholders in Australia?

The Pact for the Future provides a detailed roadmap of actions for addressing some of the biggest blockages preventing the SDGs from being achieved, but the real test is the follow-through on implementation. While many of the actions need to happen at the UN and multilateral levels, the Pact acknowledges the need for all stakeholders to contribute.

Here are some things for stakeholders in Australia, across all sectors, to consider:

• Advocating for the Australian Government to support the implementation of the actions in the Pact for the Future.
• Continuing to focus on how we can help achieve the SDGs by 2030, both in Australia and through our footprint and actions in the region and beyond.
• Considering our own commitment to future generations and to long-term planning.

There are many specific actions that different sectors can take. Universities have a huge role, both directly in supporting implementation of actions relating to science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation, and indirectly through things like research for the SDGs, global citizenship education, and community leadership.

You can find more ideas about what universities and the private sector can do to support the implementation of the Pact of the Future and the SDGs in the input to the Australian Government from SDSN AusNZPac and UN Global Compact Network Australia ahead of the Summit.

Find out more about MSDI’s work and resources to help achieve the SDGs.