ESCAP’s project with Google and APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities) aims to build a network of researchers exploring AI for social good that can conduct research relevant for policy makers. As part of this partnership, 8 research projects are being sponsored.

UN ESCAP is collaborating with the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Papua New Guinea Investment and Promotion Authority to jointly organize the APBF 2019 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 21-21 June, 2019. The Forum is also being supported by Pacific Trade and Invest of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat; the Business Council of Papua New Guinea; the Papua New Guinea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The inaugural Asia-Pacific Innovation Forum will take place in Tehran from 10 to 12 June 2019. The Forum is jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Vice Presidency for Science and Technology).

The Department of Social Development and Welfare, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Thailand in cooperation with Social Enterprise Thailand Association and British Council will be organizing ASEAN+3 Conference on Social Enterprises during 6-8 March 2019 at Swissotel Bangkok Rachada, Bangkok.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific - East and North East Asia Office (UNESCAP-ENEA) and the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) of the Republic of Korea are hosting a training workshop on science, technology and innovation (STI) policies for sustainable development, with a particular focus on developing STI policies for frontier technologies and public innovation. This training is prepared in partnership with the newly launched Asia Pacific Research and Training Network on STI Policy (ARTNET on STI Policy).

Three years after the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there is a consensus that public and private finance will both be needed – at scale – to meet the SDGs, and that official development assistance can and should play a role in catalyzing and accelerating those flows, especially in risky and harder to reach economies.

Science and technology parks can serve as useful vehicles for innovation and growth of start-ups. However, effective development and management of these parks is not always easy. Among many questions, what policies should be put in place to facilitate development of science and technology parks? In an era of digital connectivity, how should science and technology parks adjust themselves to embrace new opportunities and challenges?

Science, technology and innovation (STI) has been identified as a means of implementation of the post-2015 development agenda and for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Emerging technologies or often referred to as disruptive technologies in the sphere of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) have the potential to improve quality of life and societal well-being, drive economic growth as well as increase productivity and efficiency.

Regional event on "Innovation driven development: Building national institutional capacities in the least developed countries in Asia and the Pacific" organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).