LocationsTurkmenistan High Tech week 2023: Harnessing the power of technology and Innovation to build an inclusive and sustainable future
September 18, 2023
Turkmenistan High Tech week 2023: Harnessing the power of technology and Innovation to build an inclusive and sustainable future
Ashgabat, 18 September 2023: The Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Turkmenistan and the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, in a hybrid format holds the Week of High Technologies "Sustainable Economic Development: Innovation and Industrialization" from 18 through 21 September 2023 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
The Week of High and Innovative Technologies includes a wide range of events aimed at exchanging knowledge and experience in technology, promoting digital innovation and showcasing how it contributes to building an inclusive and sustainable societies.
Turkmenistan Tech Week was kicked off today with the International Conference on High Technologies and Innovations, which is held at the Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan. The event brought together prominent national speakers involved in technology and innovation and global experts invited by UNDP and OSCE to provide a comprehensive overview of global trends in technology, innovation and digitalization.
“The United Nations system will support the use of new technologies to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and to facilitate their alignment with the values enshrined in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the norms and standards of International Laws,” – noted Mr. Dmitry Shlapachenko, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan.
“Today's development landscape is changing rapidly as new technologies change the way people live,”- highlighted Ms. Narine Sahakyan, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkmenistan. “The 21st century challenges such as preparing societies for the future of work, ensuring digital inclusion and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy require 21st century solutions. Only by thinking outside the box, taking an adaptive approach and leveraging cutting-edge tools, platforms and services will we be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
“Responsibly developing and using technology as a means to promote economic progress and security in the OSCE area through innovation, human capital and youth development is globally significant,” – noted Ambassador John MacGregor, Head of OSCE Center in Ashgabat. “It is also critically important to keep our technology safe, and hence our parallel concern about cyber-security. Our global, regional and national dialogue on these topics can positively impact the lives of citizens of Turkmenistan, all persons in the OSCE area, and around the world. The OSCE as a whole, and the OSCE Centre here in Turkmenistan, have over the past decades made major efforts to advance our OSCE commitments related to these topics.”
The Conference was opened by a keynote speaker - Mr. Calum Handforth, from the UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development located in Singapore. Addressing the conference participants Mr. Handforth said: “Digital and innovation are crucial tools in our development toolkit, and we need to identify how they can have the greatest impact. This requires founding innovation on the needs, realities, and aspirations of people – and co-designing products, services, and solutions”.
The High-Tech Conference served as a platform for active interaction of interested state entities, educational institutions and local youth with representatives of high-tech centers and companies, including UrbanistAI, World Metaverse Council, Drees & Sommer company, the Jerusalem Centre for Urban Innovation at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, CITYSHOB company, and youth environmental activists. The interventions covered such topics as green economy, artificial intelligence for sustainable development, cyber security, automated urban ecosystem and the role of youth in building green and smart cities.
On 19 September, UNDP and OSCE experts will deliver lectures for students of Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan to highlight the importance of promoting green urban development by harnessing the power of technology and innovation, share insights on new perspectives for technological entrepreneurship, and provide a platform for interactive discussions on how to make technological innovations work for sustainable growth.
Within the framework of the High Technologies Week in Turkmenistan, it is also planned to organize an intellectual competition "Brain Ring" on the theme of "Youth and Innovation", which will be held on 21 September at the Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan.
The event is aimed at empowering and unleashing young people’s creativity and talents, increasing their awareness of cutting age innovative technological solutions, providing a platform for knowledge sharing, promoting gender equality in Tech, and highlighting the role of smart cities in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Week of High Technologies "Sustainable Economic Development: Innovation and Industrialization" provides an excellent opportunity to exchange views and build new networks that can foster scientific cooperation and innovation, increase knowledge on the latest developments and achievements in the field of high innovative technologies, foster innovation and creativity in youth and explore the role of high technologies in accelerating the SDGs.
