2030 Agenda: Social technologies are highlighted in the last day of consultation

The last day of the International Consultation on Science, Technology and Innovation in the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Health-Related Goals gathered international organizations, researchers and representatives of social movements and civil society at the Fiocruz campus in Rio de Janeiro. At the center of the discussions, the relevant contribution of social technologies. The meeting was also marked by the launch of the Ágora Platform, which is part of the Foundation's global initiative strategy, and the We App Heroes application, developed by Suncious and the Rio+ Center of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 

"Our intention is to strengthen ties and give visibility to this range of social movements and organizations that have accumulated rich experiences over the past few years. The solutions developed have great potential in the process of producing knowledge, innovation and mobilization of people around relevant issues of the 2030 Agenda and SDGS", said Paulo Gadelha, coordinator of the Fiocruz Strategy for the 2030 Agenda.

Consensus among the authorities present at the opening of the meeting - which in addition to Gadelha, had the president of the Foundation, Nísia Trindade Lima, with the chief of the policy analysis sector of the division for sustainable development of the United Nations, Shantanu Mukherjee, and with the director of the UNDP World Center for Sustainable Development, Romulo Paes - the success of Agenda 2030 is directly linked to a set of factors that include, among other things, innovation, whether in small day to day actions or in the application of more robust technologies, and, above all, the capacity of popular mobilization.

"Sustainable development in general refers to a process of profound transformation that requires the mobilization of great players, such as governments and large companies. In fact, this is only a part. We cannot forget the importance of the engagement of individuals, civil society as a whole and the need to gather knowledge that has not been used until then. That is why it is important for us today to be gathered to share experiences in the field of social technologies", said Romulo Paes. 

Shantanu Mukherjee, head of the policy analysis sector of the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development, began by questioning those present: "Would you know how to tell me what was the first global goal achieved by the UN?"  According to him and to the surprise of younger generations, the first goal achieved was the eradication of smallpox. "Over time, other goals were agreed upon. What we can observe is that improving people's health, in general, is related to social barriers and conditions that hinder access. The collaboration needed to reach the goals is much broader, it goes beyond what is done by governments", he said. 

Along the same lines, President Nísia added: "This is a very appropriate example, because we would never have reached the eradication, were it not for the union of research, technology, continued government policy, the incorporation of the vaccine itself and the mobilization strategies". The president also emphasized that the integration of actions in these various fields represents a great challenge in the current scenario. She emphasized the importance of including social technologies in the context of public policies.  

Ágora 2030 and We App Heroes: platforms at the service of the 2030

As part of the consolidated strategy for Agenda 2030, the Foundation launched the Ágora Platform during the meeting. The virtual space offers access to a network that promotes the possibility of interaction between different actors on health issues and SDGs. At the forefront of the development of the platform, it was up to Claudia Martins to present the functionalities of the instrument, which includes, among other characteristics: a space for news and events dissemination, a repository of files, possibility of creating subnetworks for discussion of specific topics and the challenge of curating initiatives for a sustainable world.