Thirty years have passed since the landmark International Conference on Population and Development, where world leaders committed to taking concrete action to put sexual and reproductive health and rights at the heart of sustainable development.
Over the past three decades, technology has been a powerful catalyst for the remarkable achievements of the conference’s Programme of Action, particularly for women’s health, rights and choices. Advancements in technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), have expanded the possibilities for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, accelerating gender equality and sustainable development.
This key anniversary provides an opportunity to celebrate technology’s transformative role, as well as to consider its harms and to chart a course to leverage secure, equitable, accessible, rights-based technology for development.
To this end, the Governments of the Bahamas and Luxembourg, together with UNFPA, are hosting the ICPD30 Global Dialogue on Technology with the theme “Shaping an equitable future for all.” The Government of Iceland and Kearney are co-sponsors of the Global Dialogue. The event will take place on 27 and 28 June 2024 in New York.
The dialogue brings together key stakeholders from the public and private sector to:
- Celebrate achievements by showcasing three decades of technological advancements, including the rapid growth of AI, which have contributed to sustainable development as well as to progress for women’s health, rights and well-being.
- Foster progress for rights-based and equitable design and use of technology as well as access to technology. The dialogue will promote discussions to support safe, private, equitable and secure design, use and access, aligned with human rights and gender equality principles.
- Advance commitments towards the development of feasible, cost-effective and scalable technologies, addressing the digital divide and the associated inequalities in technology diffusion, which affect people's access to the benefits of technologies and risk further worsening social divides and discrimination.
- Enable collective action to address safety, equitable access, governance, discrimination and tech-facilitated gender-based violence by aligning technology with human rights, gender equality, the rule of law and the common good.
- Support future partnerships and collaboration to harness the potential of technology for sustainable development and to work towards a world in which technology equalizes opportunities for women and girls and benefits all.
The dialogue will also provide a platform to reflect on a forward-looking ICPD agenda, the Summit of the Future, an action-oriented Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact.
Participants
The dialogue will gather representatives from governments, tech companies, health-care industries, civil society organizations, academia, digital rights and feminist movements, as well as young people.
Day 1
Watch all the sessions of the first day of the dialogue which are accessible in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and International Sign Language:
Day 2
Watch the opening, closing, and concurrent sessions on tech-facilitated movements and tech for reaching the furthest left behind:
Opening Session: Reflections and Expectations from the Regional Leaders
Tech for Reaching the Furthest Left Behind: Innovations for Inclusive Development
Tech-facilitated Movements
Closing Session: Visions from the next generation - Shaping the future of technology
Agenda
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and solutions presented during the ICPD30 Global Dialogue on Technology are those of the individual speakers and participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA has not or may not have evaluated, assessed or tested technology solutions or products included, presented or displayed in the ICPD30 Global Dialogue on Technology. In particular, the inclusion or presentation of any technology solutions or products in this event does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by UNFPA. We understand that you are knowledgeable and diligent in matters of technology solutions and technology products and you should therefore undertake your own independent evaluations, assessments and tests.
