Published
Professor Xiaolan Fu appointed to Governing Council of the UN Technology Bank by UN Secretary General
We are delighted to announce that our director Professor Xiaolan Fu has been appointed by the Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to the Governing Council of the UN Technology Bank.
The Technology Bank was established following the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020. It called for a technology bank and science, technology and innovation supporting mechanism dedicated to least developed countries. To answer this, the Secretary General convened a High-level Panel of experts which highlighted that a Technology Bank, modelled on the United Nations University, has the potential to strengthen national capabilities and provide expertise to the world’s least developed countries, ensuring that they are no longer left behind in achieving internationally agreed development goals. The UN Technology Bank is slated to commence operations in 2017.
In the period leading up to the formal establishment the members of the Governing Council will provide support to the Secretary General in undertaking the necessary steps towards the operationalization of the Technology Bank. It is expected that they will formulate principles and policies governing the activities and operations of the technology bank. It is a multi-stakeholder council that comprises of representatives of the Governments and non-governmental sectors of the least-developed countries, the host country, other Member States and the Secretary General.
Other members of the council will include our partner in research - Bitrina Diyamett, Executive Director of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO). The council will be chaired by Mohamed H.A. Hassan (Sudan), President of the InterAcademy Partnership and former Chairman of the Council of the UN University. Gyan Chandra Acharya (Nepal), Under Secretary-General and High Representative of the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, will be the Secretary-General’s representative in the body, serving as vice-chair.