Secretary General, Chris Tremewan, Delivers address at UN-ESCAP Seventy-fourth session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
July 25, 2018
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The APRU Secretary General, Dr Christopher Tremewan, addressed the 74th Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok on 16 May.

The session theme was ‘Inequality in the era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ and the high-level ministerial segment focused on frontier technological innovations to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr Tremewan’s address was titled ‘The Role of Research Universities in Technological Change and Sustainable Development’. He gave examples of APRU’s initiatives in relating research and technological discoveries to Asia-Pacific challenges and international policy development. These included two projects on the implications of artificial intelligence for society and for the future of work undertaken with researchers from widely differing contexts in the region. Google is the funding partner for these projects. Other examples included working with APEC on a an Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap and with the Asian Development Bank on aging and technology.

He concluded by noting that promising technological change is being accompanied by social and economic inequality leading to social collapse. In this context, he pointed out the need for international agreement on some key policy principles on the use of technology to ensure the benefits are shared with those who need them most.

Click HERE, for the full text of his address, including the list of policy principles.