Taiwan’s Digital Minister Audrey Tang spoke at an event spotlighting the power of innovation, big data and open government and how Taiwan Can Help advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals Sept. 28 at Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York.

Jointly organized by TECO and Taiwanese Data Professionals, a U.S.-based group of Taiwan data scientists, the Innovative Solutions for SDGs Youth Forum attracted a multinational group of nearly 150 young people.

Tang said in her speech that the country is committed to sharing its expertise in social innovation and open government, especially in the use of public-private partnerships. Local talent is well positioned to assist in fast-tracking global efforts to realize the SDGs, she added.

Two winning teams from Taiwan’s recently concluded Presidential Hackathon were also present to share their work designing systems that meet the 11th SDG, Sustainable Cities and Communities. One team used data from two government agencies to identify at-risk older adults living in isolated locations, and another designed a smart platform that can offer medical information to terminal patients who opt to remain at home.

In addition to Tang and the winning teams, three other panelists spoke at the forum: Christine Hung, vice president for data insights engineering at Flatiron Health; Andre Correa d’Almeida, adjunct associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University; and Brian Ho, designer at Sidewalk Lab.

Tang’s participation in the New York event coincides with the 74th U.N. General Assembly. Taiwan’s government is urging the multilateral body to deliver equal treatment to the nation’s 23 million people and resolve the issue of its exclusion from the U.N. system; grant press accreditation to Taiwan journalists and allow unfettered access to U.N. premises for the country’s passport holders; and include Taiwan in SDG-related meetings, mechanisms and activities.

Date：2019-10-01
Source：Taiwan Today