United Nations Technology Bank recognises importance of GÉANT and research and education networks
Cambridge, 23 September 2015
Yesterday, at a ceremony in New York, the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, took receipt of a proposal calling for the establishment of a Technology Bank for the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) - “Feasibility Study for a United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries”.
The vital role that national research and education networks (NRENs) and GÉANT would play in facilitating a Technology Bank was recognised in the study, which detailed the initiative and the practical infrastructure necessary to achieve it.
The study was approved by a high-level panel of 11 experts, one of whom was Dorte Olesen, a GÉANT Board of Directors member. Cathrin Stöver, GÉANT’s Chief International Relations and Communications Officer, also made a substantive contribution to the feasibility study and participated in the high-level panel’s final meeting held in Istanbul earlier this month in which the document was approved.
According to the recommendations of the study, a Technology Bank that supports science, technology and innovation in the world’s poorest countries is both “feasible and desirable”. The study proposes that a Technology Bank for least developed countries be established in the 2015-2016 period and headquartered in Turkey.
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