IDOS staff and alumni contribute to the upcoming HSC as speakers, moderators and session organisers. IDOS contributes together with UNDP to the HSC Paper setting the scene for discussions in Hamburg.
The HSC is a new conference format dedicated to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Michael Otto Foundation as well as the City of Hamburg. The inaugural HSC will be held on October 7-8, 2024, gathering leaders from politics, business, academia and civil society to establish shared strategies for achieving breakthroughs in the SDGs. In light of rising geopolitical tensions, the HSC will foster multilateral exchanges, encourage open discussions, and aim to strengthen trust in global partnerships. A key goal of the conference is to reinforce the responsibility and participation of all stakeholders, particularly the private sector, in forming new sustainability coalitions. The Current Column by the IDOS directors discusses the background and opportunities of the conference.
IDOS supports the HSC with its scientific expertise and international networks. As a member of the HSC Advisory Board, Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge advised the strategic conceptualisation and programming of the HSC.
IDOS contributed, together with UNDP, to the HSC Paper that highlighted key global challenges and signals for change to set the scene for the discussion at the HSC and inspire joint action towards sustainable transformations. A collection of relevant research findings is compiled in a Webspecial on the IDOS website to inform conference participants about cutting edge research and policy recommendations in the transformation fields discussed at the HSC.
IDOS co-creates, together with international partners, various sessions at the HSC on topics ranging from multilateral development cooperation, green hydrogen, international sustainable finance frameworks, debt governance, fair trade to the relationship between autocracy and sustainability. After the conference, IDOS will produce several policy briefs that evaluate selected conference topics and outcomes and highlight how the latter can best be implemented.
IDOS is also involved in a dedicated process bringing together young professionals to strengthen the perspectives of the younger generations at the HSC. Twenty IDOS academy alumni from the Managing Global Governance and Shaping Futures programmes contribute to this process. Their input during the conference will ensure that the perspectives of future generations are considered in the discussions, and they will contribute by reflecting on the conference outcomes and providing collective recommendations to both the organisers and key stakeholders.
