Unesco's C2c Becoming Increasingly Important In Assisting Member States To Achieve Sdgs - Chang

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) — The UNESCO's Category 2 Institutes and Centres (C2Cs) are becoming increasingly important in delivering its programme, acting as vital conduits for expertise and resources to address pressing global challenges, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang.

He stated that these institutions are more than just repositories of knowledge; they are active agents of change, fostering collaboration and innovation on a global scale, particularly in moving Member States closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The collaborative efforts of the C2Cs, including Malaysia, will be instrumental in generating actionable solutions, facilitating knowledge exchange and empowering communities to address pressing environmental, social and economic challenges.

“Today’s challenges, including climate, pandemics, and food insecurity,  demand urgent action. We must use science and technology to confront these issues and through innovative research and interdisciplinary approaches, we can develop sustainable solutions that benefit people and the planet,” he said.

Chang said this during the UNESCO International Symposium of C2Cs in the field of natural sciences, here today.

The symposium, held three days until today, was organised by UNESCO, the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC), the Permanent Delegation of Malaysia to UNESCO (PDTM), and the Malaysian National Commission for UNESCO (MNCU).

It enabled meaningful exchanges between 34 UNESCO C2C participants from 23 countries, providing insights into their contributions and encouraging collaboration, primarily on the planning and implementation of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD).

Chang stated that IDSSD, the United Nations General Assembly's recent proclamation, emphasises the importance of transitioning to a transformative era marked by scientific collaboration and progress.

At the highest international level, he stated that it represents an acknowledgement that achieving sustainable development requires a global, transdisciplinary, and multidimensional approach.

“Through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia will support the Decade's endeavour to harness a more effective and inclusive global approach to sustainability, based on the synergic cooperation of all sciences and all knowledge forms in an integrative and transformative way to inform policy making and the implementation of the SDGs,” he said.

— BERNAMA