During the summer, STRINGS co-investigator Dr Tommaso Ciarli took part in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)’s Expert Group Meeting on the Socially just transition towards sustainable development: The role of digital technologies on social development and well-being of all, alongside Prof Maria Savona from the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU).

The meeting aimed to provide the UN Commission for Social Development with concrete, evidence-based policy recommendations ahead of its meeting in February 2021.

National authorities in Argentina have pledged to start the process of regulating the national Chagas Law, which was enacted 12 years ago. Chagas is the main endemic disease in Argentina and constitutes a socio-environmental problem that exceeds rural areas and can be prevented and controlled. When the actions of the state are not enough, what is the contribution that open and citizen science can make to this problem?

STRINGS researcher Dr Valeria Arza speaks to the TSS Agency at the Universidad Nacional de San Martin (UNSAM). Read the full article.

On 4 September 2020 STRINGS held a lively and engaging workshop on mapping research related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), featuring 12 presentations from colleagues in academia, government and the private sector.

STRINGS expert Zeinab El Maadawi has authored a chapter in a new report that explores how humanities should address major current transformations regarding science and technology and their ethical challenges.

A new book by David Maggs and John Robinson explores the social agency of art and its connection to complex issues of sustainability. The book proposes a theory of art aiming to preserve the integrity of arts practices within transdisciplinary mandates. This approach is then explored through a series of case studies developed in collaboration with some of Canada’s most prominent artists.

The book, published by Routledge, is available here.

Rajeswari S. Raina and Keshab Das are the editors of a new book that explores the role of inclusive innovation for development in rural India. The book presents cases of substantive technological changes and institutional reforms enabling inclusive innovation in rural manufacturing, sustainable agriculture, and health services.

It also discusses the processes of technological learning in traditional informal networks, as well as in formal modern commodity markets. These cases offer lessons to enable learning and change within the state and formal science and technology (S&T) organizations.

The book, published by Springer, can be accessed here.

On 27 – 29 January 2020, STRINGS co-investigator Dr Tommaso Ciarli attended this Wilton Park and Association of Commonwealth Universities dialogue. The event brought together those who are leading the strategies of Universities and their international outreach, with academic and other experts on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).