PVBLIC Foundation co-convenes SIDS side event at the UN with Antigua & Barbuda and UNOPS

First Preparatory Committee Meeting for the SIDS4 Conference in the United Nations Headquarters, New York.

On January 23rd, the PVBLIC Foundation co-convened the side event 'Sustainable Innovations for Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Navigating Challenges, Embracing Opportunities for Resilient Prosperity' during the First Preparatory Committee Meeting for the SIDS4 Conference. The meeting, hosted at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, was an opportunity for experts to explore how the SIDS Center of Excellence and the SIDS Global Data Hub can support the full implementation of the new global 10-year framework for SIDS. 

H.E Aubrey Webson, Ambassador to the United Nations for Antigua and Barbuda, and Tumasie Blair, Deputy Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, were joined by Stephen Keppel, President, PVBLIC Foundation, and Simona Marinescu, Senior Advisor for Small Developing States at UNOPS, to discuss and explore innovative ways to ensure resilient prosperity for small islands with a SIDS Center of Excellence.

From left to right: Simona Marinescu, Senior Advisor for Small Developing States at UNOPS, H.E Aubrey Webson, Ambassador to the United Nations for Antigua and Barbuda, Stephen Keppel, President, and Tumasie Blair, Deputy Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations

During the side event, Stephen Keppel, President of PVBLIC Foundation, highlighted the role of the SDG Data Alliance and Family Offices for Sustainable Development (FOSD) programs in supporting the establishment of the SIDS Global Data Hub. This side event served as a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and the advancement of sustainable solutions tailored to the unique context of Small Island Developing States. It also brought together a diverse group of experts, policymakers, and stakeholders who explored how the SIDS Center of Excellence can be an innovative tool for the resilient prosperity of SIDS.

Housed in Antigua and Barbuda, the SIDS Center of Excellence will serve as a hub for research, capacity building, and collaboration to enhance the socio-economic and environmental resilience of SIDS. The objective of the SIDS Global Data Hub is to establish a sustainable and enduring repository for comprehensive data on SIDS, including environmental, economic, and social data and related indicators. Through dashboards, maps, and other geospatial technology tools, the SIDS Global Data Hub will allow governments to visualize their data, monitor public investments, identify critical interlinkages, track progress on the SDGs, and make better and more informed decisions toward investing in sustainable social and economic growth. The SIDS Global Data Hub aims to enhance and strengthen the quality of public and private interaction using geospatial data as an asset class at the core of development with the ultimate goal of helping attract international finance and partnership programs to support SIDS.