RIYADH — Following the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at the Sustainable Development Summit in New York last September, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with generous support from the government of Saudi Arabia will launch the “Digital Good” Platform, a UNDP press statement said here on Wednesday. The launch will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the UN. The “Digital Good” Platform will enable ordinary people from around the world to contribute funds for the implementation of the new Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNDP signed a project document to develop the “Digital Good” platform on Jan. 10, 2015. The initiative for the development of the “Digital Good” platform was an innovation coming out of the Saudi government and UNDP Saudi Youth Dialogue Forum. The Saudi International Youth Dialogue Forums were organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide the opportunity for Saudi youth to engage with their peers from different countries, exchange knowledge, culture, and reach creative solutions for local and global challenges. These forums covered various themes such as renewable energy, slums management, ICT for Development, architectural identity, biodiversity protection, medical research, e-education and smart cities. Youth Forums were convened in Brazil, China, Germany, Korea, India, Spain and Tanzania. Dr. Yousef Bin Terad Al-Saadon, Deputy Minister for Economic and Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “The Kingdom has always taken the lead in supporting development at international and regional levels This platform reflects the ideas and aspirations of young Saudis to be part of global development and to help those in need through providing a global funding mechanism which aims at channelling individual contributions from “people to people” and there is no global institution that we could trust more than the United Nations through whom people around the world can contribute to development.” The “Digital Good” platform is a new global funding platform that will allow individuals worldwide to take action, contribute and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of UN/UNDP projects in countries around the world. This innovative web-based crowd-sourcing platform will allow individuals, companies, philanthropists to give online contributions to specific areas of assistance and projects as displayed on the platform. Dr. Ashok Nigam, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Saudi Arabia, said, “This initiative is evidence of how dialogue among youth of different nations, religions and cultures can bring about positive change for global development.” The “Digital Good” is providing opportunities for people to help people around the world. The Saudi International Youth Dialogue Forums, covering various themes such as of “ICT for Development”, allowed Saudi Youth to interact and discuss with their youth peers and other related entities creative solutions for youth participation in development and making youth voices heard around the world,” he said. “Youth are the real wealth and strength of any nation. Today, we are witnessing the results of how youth initiatives can create possibilities such as this global initiative,” Nigam added. This new initiative recognizes the important role that Saudi Arabia is playing in development and humanitarian assistance and expands its role in leading global development efforts. As the world moves forward to meet the challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals leadership of Saudi Arabia with other strategic partners to achieve the global vision will be critically important.
