Monday, 18 September 2017

10:30 – 13:00

UN Headquarters, Conference Room 2

Event registration is closed, but a livestream will be available at: http://webtv.un.org/ and social media coverage with hashtag: #SDGInnovation 

SDG Innovation is convened by the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and the UN SDG Action Campaign, and supported by leaders in the technology sector. It will bring together Heads of State and Governments, CEOs of major technology companies, and innovation and thought leaders to strengthen cooperation and solve major challenges for the people and the planet. Participants will share cutting-edge ideas on frontier issues and new technologies, and explore concrete ways to replicate and scale innovations for SDG implementation.

Download programme

OPENING SESSION

• Opening remarks by H.E. Miroslav Lajčák President of the United Nations General Assembly
• Keynote Address by Reid Hoffman, Founder and Chair of LinkedIn
• Marc Benioff, CEO and Founder of Salesforce in conversation with Ashish Thakkar, Founder of Mara Group and Chair of the UN Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council

11:00 – 11:30 PANEL DISCUSSION

How can governments and innovators effectively partner in solving pressing global challenges?

• H.E. Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia
• H.E. Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark
• Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman Mozilla (Firefox)
• Aliko Dangote, Founder and Chair of Dangote Group
• Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chair of Bharti Enterprises
• Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia and WikiTribune

Moderator: James Manyika, Chairman, McKinsey Global Institute

11.30 – 12.50 INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

What needs to be done to co-create innovation hubs in diverse countries and transfer skills from current epicentres, such as Silicon Valley, to the rest of the world and vice versa?

Moderator: David Wallerstein, Chief Exploration Officer, Tencent