The SPECA Working Group on Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development (WG on ITSD) is a subsidiary body under the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), comprising senior policymakers, researchers, decision-makers, and other stakeholders in innovation and technology from the seven participating SPECA countries, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The SPECA WG on ITSD provides a platform to discuss and forge cooperation around, especially from the perspective of policy and the role of governance, solutions that innovation and technology have to offer to benefit from the opportunities of knowledge-based development. SDGs are especially relevant to developing innovation and technology (in particular, SDGs 8, 9, 13 and 17).
Objectives of the SPECA WG on ITSD, Wednesday, 27 June 2024
This fifth session of the SPECA WG on ITSD assesses progress in implementing the Action Plan of the SPECA Innovation Strategy for Sustainable Development, as approved by the SPECA Governing Council in 2023. Please refer to the details in the concept note under the Documents tab.
Delegates and Participants
The participants of the WG on ITSD are nominated by governments of the SPECA countries, representing senior public officials involved in formulating and implementing national innovation policies and programmes related to digital connectivity and technology development. The participants of the subregional workshop preceding the WG session include policymakers, representatives of academia, and public and private sector institutions involved in policies and initiatives in innovation and technology.
Organizer: ESCAP and UN ECE, in collaboration with the State Agency of Intellectual Property (KyrgyzPatent), Innovations under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Language: English and Russian with simultaneous interpretation.
Contact persons at ESCAP and ECE:
Ms. Aida Karazhanova, Economic Affairs Officer, ICT and Development Section, IDD ESCAP, Secretary to the SPECA WG on ITSD, at escap-ids@un.org.
Mr. Christopher Athey, Economic Affairs Officer, Innovative Policies Development Section (IPDS), Secretary to the SPECA WG on ITSD, UNECE, at email: christopher.athey@un.org
[1] Based on the updated Terms of Reference, available at: https://unece.org/DAM/SPECA/documents/gc/session14/IX._ToR_SPECA_WG_on_ITSD_English.pdf
