‘Light at the End of the Tunnel: Hope in Times of Despair’, SDPI’s 26th Sustainable Development Conference kicks off from tomorrow  

ISLAMABAD, Nov 20 (SABAH): The 26th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC), the annual flagship event of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), kicks off from tomorrow (Tuesday) to Thursday (23rd) at local hotel in Islamabad.

With an overarching theme “Light at the End of the Tunnel: Hope in Times of Despair”, the Conference aims to raise hope and optimism for the future of the region and to contribute toward a more sustainable and resilient South Asia and beyond. 

The conference, being a prime event in South Asia and beyond, provides a forum to SDPI’s researchers and other researchers, policy practitioners, policy makers, and academia from across the world to share their research work and engage in a dialogue with fellow panelists and audiences. Through the SDC, SDPI upholds a beacon of light, and is regarded as a source of inspiration. Carrying on with the tradition, this year’s SDC will be presenting the way forward amidst the global times of trial. 

The conference would mainly highlight the unprecedented times of political and economic turmoil marked by uncertainty and despair due to multiple crises, conflicts, climate change, and the post-pandemic transformations the world is faced with. These challenges have severely impacted the development agenda, particularly in South Asia, where the effects of these crises have been the most acute. Despite these challenges and trials, our hopes are still high for a sustainable future development.  The conference invites scholars, researchers, practitioners, legislators, bureaucrats, and other professionals to place their solutions on the table and share messages of hope, inspiration, and optimism in times of despair.

Over the years, SDPI has taken the initiatives in providing policy guidance to the incumbent governments in Pakistan. The Institute’s mission has been to catalyze the transition towards sustainable development with a view of being a centre of excellence on sustainable development policy research, capacity development and advocacy in Pakistan. In this context, this SDC would assist the government and legislators in its agenda-setting for a better tomorrow and a better Pakistan.

Under the overarching theme of “Light at the End of the Tunnel: Hope in Times of Despair”, the SDC will be holding sessions on related sub-themes. SDPI invites research papers on sub-themes, including but not limited to poverty graduation, debt sustainability, political coherence and development, Key policies for the new government, way ahead for climatic and environmental challenges, renewable energy, building resilience in times of crisis and conflict, climate action and sustainable development, private sector engagement for sustainable development, promoting inclusive and equitable development, innovation and technology for sustainable development, circular economy and universal health care.