Press Releases
Appointment of Dr. KOTANI Motoko(Japan), Executive Vice President for Research, Professor and Principal Investigator, Advanced Institute for Materials Research & Mathematics Institute, Tohoku University, Japan, and Vice President, International Science Council, as a Member of the “United Nations 10-Member Group”
On February 20th, the United Nations announced new members of the “United Nations 10-Member Group", and Dr. KOTANI Motoko, Executive Vice President for Research, Tohoku University was appointed as a member of this group. The Group is mandated to give advice to the United Nation's annual Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum). The STI Forum discusses the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the perspective of science, technology and innovation.
The Government of Japan welcomes the third appointment of a Japanese citizen to the Group by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, following Dr. NAKAMURA Michiharu, President Emeritus of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and Dr. KAWAI Maki, President of the National Institute of Natural Sciences. The Government of Japan expects that Dr. KOTANI's knowledge and experience will contribute to advancing the discussion on the use of STI to achieve the SDGs.
- In accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), which includes (a) the UN Inter‐Agency Task Team (IATT) on STI for SDGs, (b) the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum), and (c) an Online Platform, was established to facilitate the implementation of the SDGs.
- The United Nations 10-Member Group is composed of people from civil society, the private sector, and scientific communities from around the world, appointed by the UN Secretary-General for a term of two years. It was established to provide the UN Inter-agency Task Team on STI for the SDGs (IATT) with views, guidance, and advice in the preparation of the STI Forum, the preparation of the co-chairs’ summary of the STI Forum, and briefings to the High-Level Political Forum. Dr. NAKAMURA Michiharu, President Emeritus of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, has been an active contributor to the development of STI for SDGs Roadmaps as a member of the UN 10-Member Group since 2018 to May 2021.
The STI Forum is an annual forum where various stakeholders, such as governments, scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and civil society, discuss STI cooperation for the sustainable development. It has been held eight times since 2016.