Digital Solutions Webinar (Special Edition)

The "In Our Shoes: Learning from Young Climate Innovators" Webinar series is coming to an end.

This series has been going on for the past months, aiming to  create a space for Call for Solutions 2023 awardees who are paving the path in climate innovation to share their experiences, insights, and lessons learned with the wider Y4C community. The webinars also featured inputs from expert guest speakers from UNDP and our partners, who have been sharing resources and opportunities for the webinar audiences and the larger Y4C community. Here is a link for all recordings from previous webinars. 

In this special and last edition, we will discuss how to leverage digital innovations to address environmental challenges and promote sustainability in a rapidly changing world with UNDP experts from the Digital for Planet Initiative and AI Hub for Sustainable Development, and Y4C awardees working on digital solutions.

Please make sure you register for the Zoom webinar here.

Date: January 29, 2025

Time: 14:30 CET (Rome Time)

Moderator: Elizabeth Gulugulu

If you have not joined us yet, please join the “In Our Shoes Discussion Series Group”, as we collect and compile your thoughts, insights and resources from the webinar and the platform discussions here.

Background for Discussion and Webinar

As the world is suffering from multiple environmental challenges,  such as environmental degradation, climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, traditional approaches alone have now become insufficient to manage these challenges effectively. These interconnected challenges threaten ecosystems, livelihoods, and the stability of global systems, and this only shows the urgent need for innovative and scalable solutions (Steffen et al., 2015). 

There is a greater need to shift to transformative approaches such as digital innovations. Digital innovations such as the use of social media, artificial intelligence (AI), remote sensing, Internet of Things (IoT), and various applications and software technologies have the potential to revolutionize environmental management. 

These technologies enable more efficient resource use, real-time data collection, and predictive analytics, offering critical insights for proactive decision-making (Royal Academy, 2023). For example, remote sensing technologies provide detailed, high-resolution imagery to monitor deforestation and urban expansion, while IoT sensors deliver real-time data on water quality and air pollution (World Economic Forum, 2022). Social media platforms also play a vital role in raising awareness and mobilizing communities for environmental action, fostering global solidarity and local engagement (UNDP, 2023).

Our webinar on the 29th of January  seeks to share resources and opportunities from UNDP and concrete examples of local action by Y4C awardees working on solutions enabled by digital. 

We would love to hear your insights and perspectives on the topic to make the webinar even more comprehensive. To do so we kindly ask you to answer the below questions using the comments function:

1. What role do digital technologies play in addressing environmental challenges from a global or interconnected perspective?

2. Can you share successful case studies where digital innovations have promoted environmental sustainability?

3. What  gaps do you see within your community/ country  in understanding and leveraging the role of digital solutions for climate action ? 

4. What are your recommendations for integrating digital solutions into environmental policies and practices?

    

5. What is your take on the role of digital technologies in nature and indigenous knowledge preservation?  

Recording of Webinar

You will find Slides of the presenters in the group "file"  page .