Science for SDGs & Societies: How to make knowledge actionable?

Date and Time: 9th of July 2026, 11.30 am - 12.45 pm

Location: Baha'i International Community Offices: New York, 866 United Nations Plaza Suite 120 New York, NY 10017-1822 USA

Organiser: A cooperation between the Scientists of the German Delegation HLPF and the German Center for Research and Innovation New York, supported by the German Committee Future Earth / Deutsches Komitee für Nachhaltigkeitsforschung (DKN-FE) and the Science Platform Sustainability 2030 / Wissenschaftsplattform Nachhaltigkeit 2030 (wpn2023).

This event will take actionable knowledge as a starting point and explore what this means in practice across different scientific fields. How do researchers engage with society in meaningful and reciprocal ways? How can science become more transformative, not only by deepening understanding of complex problems, but also by opening new fields of inquiry, addressing new audiences, collaborating with partners from the field and contributing to a real transformation of societies? What do current developments in political polarization and decreasing societal trust in democracy and science mean for transformative and transdisciplinary science?

The discussion will further examine how we can move beyond traditional institutional boundaries in order to foster sustainable transformation in line with the SDGs. At a moment when international actors from different institutions are gathered around the shared framework of the 2030 Agenda, the event invites participants to reflect on new forms of collaboration across disciplines, sectors, institutions, and cultures to contribute to more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable pathways for development.