Event
Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Forum
It will take place at UNESCO in Paris, in Room II, from 2:00 to 6:30 pm (GMT +2), on 18 April 2023.
Register for the MOST Forum
The MOST Forum (18 April 2023, 14:00 - 18:30) is open to the public and will be hosted in-person at UNESCO headquarters, and online. Registration is required for all participants.
The world has converged around unsustainably high levels of inequalities. While some progress has been made in reducing social disparities, disruptions like the pandemic and conflicts have accentuated these gaps. If no action is taken, other global trends like climate change and digital advancements will compound and widen the divide. Development of viable and sustainable policies and solutions requires untangling the multi-dimensional, multi-layered and cumulative nature of inequalities. Further, by mobilizing interdisciplinary, multiscale and globally inclusive knowledge from social and human sciences, we can strengthen the link between what we know and how we act on it.
The MOST Forum is the space for solutions-oriented debate on how to reset our societies along a more equitable and smarter path. Foremost thinkers and policy-makers from a variety of disciplines will gather to discuss how we can collectively reformulate policy frameworks to address the social impact of these global trends, and to exchange ideas on what socio-economic policies can promote inclusive outcomes.
Join us for dynamic panels with top-tier speakers in support of a smart and fair reset: the High-Level Panel, the Think Tanks Roundtable, and the BRIDGES Coalition on Sustainability Science.
The MOST Forum accompanies the 16th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Council (IGC) of the MOST Programme. The MOST Programme is an intergovernmental science programme that aims to build the knowledge-policy nexus for positive and inclusive social change.
The programme below is provisional and is subject to change without notice.
Opening
Date and location: 18 April 2023, 14:00 – 14:15, Room II
- Welcoming remarks: Amb Dr Mary Khimulu, President of the MOST Intergovernmental Council (IGC)
- Introduction: Ms Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director General, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO
- Setting the Scene:
- Ms Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London, and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) (online)
- Mr Peter Gluckman, President, International Science Council (online)
High-Level Panel - Drivers of inequality and ways to tackle it
Date and location: 18 April 2023, 14:15 – 15:15, Room II
The high-level panel of the MOST Forum will examine ways to counteract the impact of global trends on inequality. Panellists will share their perspectives on key questions, including how to regulate new technologies to ensure they benefit everyone, how innovative social policies can promote inclusivity and sustainability, how global institutions and governance structures should evolve to more effectively address inequality, and how to establish a productive relationship between science and policymaking.
- Moderator: Ms Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director General, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO
- Panellists:
- Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Dean at Cape Town University, Founder of Umlambo Foundation, former Executive Director of UN Women, former Deputy President of South Africa
- Mr Kako Nubukpo, Commissioner of Togo at the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), former Minister for Foresight and Public Policy Evaluation of Togo
- Mr Mathias Vicherat, President, SciencesPo
- Mr Dennis Snower, President, Global Solutions Initiative
- Mr Fabrizio Barca, Coordinator of the Forum on Inequalities and Diversity, Former Minister for Territorial Cohesion of Italy
- Q&A from the audience
Think Tanks Roundtable
Date and location: 18 April 2023, 15:30 – 16:45, Room II
The roundtable session will delve deeper into the policy-research nexus, maintaining the focus on reducing inequalities. Thought leaders from think tanks and universities will engage in an interactive conversation that addresses pressing global trends, their effects, the barriers to effective policy implementation, and the experience of new policies being established. The roundtable aims to inspire action towards more equitable outcomes by shaping the thinking of policymakers through increased understanding of critical issues.
- Moderator: Mr László Andor, Vice-President of the MOST Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and Senior Fellow at Hertie School of Governance, former EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
- Panellists:
- Ms Silvia Giorguli, President of El Colegio de México, A.C. and Professor at the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies
- Mr Wendell Wallach, Carnegie-Uehiro Fellow at Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, Co-Director of the Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative (AIEI)
- Ms Sandra Jovchelovitch, Director, Social and Cultural Psychology Programme, London School of Economics and Political Science, Fellow at the British Psychological Society (online)
- Ms N’Dri T. Assié-Lumumba, Professor, Africana Studies and Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University, and former President of the MOST Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) (online)
- Mr Ori Heffetz, Associate Professor, S. C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University (online)
- Q&A from the audience
BRIDGES Coalition on Sustainability Science
Date and location: 18 April 2023, 17:00 – 18:15, Room II
In this panel, the BRIDGES Coalition, which gathers academic institutions advancing sustainability science, will exchange how these approaches add value to the current efforts to deliver paths for climate transition. It will prioritise assessing the impact of the climate emergency in our societies and its interrelations with other major trends.
- Moderator: Mr Brian Head, President of the MOST SAC, Professor of Public Policy, University of Queensland
- Setting the Scene: Mr Steven Hartman, Executive Director, BRIDGES Sustainability Science Coalition, UNESCO MOST Programme
- Panellists:
- Mr Simon Reid-Henry, Research Professor (PRIO), Visiting Professor in History and International Politics (Graduate Institute Geneva), Director of Public Interest and Co-Chair of the Global Public Investment Network
- Mr Christopher Bail, Professor of Sociology, Sanford School of Public Policy, and Director of the Polarization Lab, Duke University (online)
- Ms Michelle Mycoo, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, The University of the West Indies; Coordinating Lead Author for IPCC Working Group II AR6 Chapter 15 Small Islands, and Steering Committee Member to Future Earth Coasts and UN-Habitat University Partnership Initiative
- Mr Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Vice President, Club of Rome and Ms Nolita Thina Mvunelo, Program Manager, Club of Rome (online)
- Mr Gil Eyal, Professor of Sociology at Columbia University (online)
- Q&A from the audience
Closing
Date and Location: 18 April 2023, 18:15 - 18:30, Room II
- Synthesis of the Day: Mr Matheo Malik, Secretary General of Groupe d'études géopolitiques, Editor in Chief of Le Grand Continent
- Final Closing Remarks: Ms Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director General, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO
FAQ
UNESCO headquarters is located at 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris. The public entrance is located on 125 Avenue Suffren. All participants must register.
Yes, the MOST Forum will be live on Zoom and UNESCO webcsst.
To follow on Zoom, please register here.
To follow on UNESCO live webcast, please click on this link when the event begins.
Contact us
Iulia Sevciuc, Chief of Section MOST a.i., i.sevciuc@unesco.org
Christin Pfeiffer, Programme Specialist, c.pfeiffer@unesco.org
For IGC Members:
most@unesco.org
