SRI2022 Theme: New Horizons
Date: 25 May 2022 – 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm South Africa Standard Time (SAST)
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The future we want to live in is on the horizon. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a target framework to achieve this ideal, but a realization of many goals requires innovation – institutional, policy, technological, and societal – and a willingness to change. Additionally, the interlinked and interdependent nature of the SDGs makes it important to take a systemic perspective, which is, in itself, not part of the structural/cultural landscapes of many of our governments and institutions. Join the last free virtual event leading up to the 2022 Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress, and explore a variety of tools available now and in the near future to support shifts to sustainability.
SRI Inkundla #4 “Shared Ways Forward for the World We Want” will close the series of four SRI Inkundlas, which in the months preceding SRI2022, have featured real-world transdisciplinary work, highlighting success stories in bringing together change-makers from multiple industries and disciplines and applying robust yet diverse knowledge to action. SRI Inkundlas help us in bridging the gap between research and practice, interpret and use a wide scope of knowledge, and effectively build impact coalitions in order to explore new horizons of innovation and transformation.
Inkundla is a South African English word originating from isiXhosa and isiZulu that refers to a gathering of the people of the village or area, held in the public courtyard at the gate of the cattle enclosure. By naming these pre-Congress events Inkundlas, SRI aims to highlight the collaborative, inclusive, and engaging nature of the Congress, while honoring the traditions and culture of the 2022 host, South Africa. Recordings of the three previous SRI Inkundlas are now available.
Sustainability pathways this SRI Inkundla will explore include:
Institutions: How are we changing structures to be more inclusive and equitable, address biodiversity loss, and consider environmental justice?
Policy / Markets / ESG: How are laws and best practices evolving to enable sustainable practices and how are these being implemented in societies?
International Cooperation / Trade / Supply Chain: How are we helping goods and services flow to those that need them in an equitable manner?
Urban Systems / Transportation: How are the major population centers adapting and embracing sustainable approaches and how do we respond to rapid urbanization around the world?
Social / Cultural: How are we preparing and working with society for transformation?
Soffia Alarcon
Schneider Electric
Soffia has 15 years of experience consulting both corporates and governments to develop climate change/sustainability solutions. As the Associate Director for the Americas in the Sustainability Business at Schneider Electric, Soffia focuses on delivering strategic work to America’s based companies through the process of decarbonization, sustainability, target setting, Scope 3 emissions, net zero frameworks, climate risk and ESG assessments. Soffia holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University. She is also a Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) fellow and was one of the international judges for the Million Cool Roofs Challenge. In 2021, she was named Gamechanger by Bloomberg Business week and more recently she was named one of the 12 most influential women in Sustainable Finance & ESG by the PRI.
Dr. Rees Kassen
University of Ottawa
Rees Kassen is Full Professor at the University of Ottawa and scientific director of the Coronavirus in the Urban Built Environment initiative. He is internationally recognized for his work with microbes as models for studying the evolution of biodiversity. Rees is also active at the interface between science, society, and policy, serving currently as Chair of the Science and Innovation Advisory Council at the Institute on Governance, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Scientific Collaboration, and co-chair of the EvolvES global research network at FutureEarth.
Dr. Bernard Slippers
University of Pretoria
Bernard Slippers is the Director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) and Innovation Africa at the University of Pretoria. He is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology. Bernard studies the molecular ecology, evolution and management of insects and micro-organisms that affect plant health. He has published more than 250 papers in international journals, books and book chapters, for which he has appeared on the Clarivate Highly Cited list.
Aswathy Dilip
Institute for Transportation & Development Policy
Aswathy Dilip is the South Asia Director of the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy. She is a sought-after expert in raising support for sustainable mobility from key decision-makers, governments and stakeholders. With support from her smart and enthusiastic team, she works with the National, State and City governments, providing them technical assistance on sustainable and equitable urban mobility. Her work has contributed to creating streets safe for walking and cycling, implementing parking reforms, and building support for high-quality, sustainable mass transit. She has a degree as an urban designer from Cardiff University, UK, with a bachelor’s in Architecture.
Joy Kategekwa
Strategic Adviser to the Assistant Administrator and Regional Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Dr. Joy Kategekwa is a leading trade, investment and development law and policy specialist with over 17 years of experience, including at a leadership level, in shaping global and regional trade and development deals. She is the Strategic Advisor to the Assistant Administrator and Director, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa in New York, supporting strategy and delivery of a $1.2 billion development programme, spanning 46 Sub-Saharan African countries. Prior to UNDP, she served as Founding Head of the UNCTAD Regional Office for Africa in Addis Ababa, leading advisory and programmatic teams that designed transformational continental and sub-regional trade integration and productive capacity programmes, strategies and treaties, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Dr. Erica Key
Global Hub Director, USA Hub
As the new Director of Future Earth US Global Hub, Erica brings a wealth of international experience in supporting transdisciplinary research and working with a range of global partners on advancing sustainability science. Before joining Future Earth, Erica served as the Executive Director of the Belmont Forum, where she closely collaborated with Future Earth, most prominently on the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress, which is a joint initiative of Future Earth and the Belmont Forum. Erica has also held a position as a Program Director at the US National Science Foundation (NSF), and worked as an Oceanographer at Columbia University as well as a Visiting Scientist at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). She holds a Ph.D. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography from the University of Miami.