On 3 October 2022, UNU will host “The Global Digital Compact: Towards an Open, Free, and Secure Digital Future for All”, a conversation with Amandeep Singh Gill, the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology. This event will start at 18:30 in the 2F Reception Hall at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
The ICT revolution has made digital devices and vast amounts of data ubiquitous in our daily lives. This creates problems of data protection, personal privacy, and equal participation in the digital economy. These challenges must be met with good governance that curtails malicious actions and advances norms of responsible State behavior, capacity-building efforts, confidence-building measures, and the establishment of institutional dialogue on issues critical to our digital future.
In this regard, the Office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology is currently focusing on the Global Digital Compact, which will outline shared principles for an open, free, and secure digital future for all.
Mr Gill will join UNU Executive Officer Sabine Becker-Thierry to discuss trends around digital technology at the United Nations and the roadmap for the Global Digital Compact. The conversation will explore opportunities to enhance digital cooperation with the Government of Japan, and Japanese companies and researchers, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The UNU Conversation Series aims to foster audience participation; you are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all audience members are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.
Please note that this event will be in English. Advance registration (by 2 October) is required.
About the speaker
Amandeep Singh Gill is the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology. He is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative project, based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.
A thought leader on digital technology, he brings to the position a deep knowledge of digital technologies coupled with a solid understanding of how to leverage the digital transformation responsibly and inclusively for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Previously, he was the Executive Director and Co-Lead of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (2018–2019). In addition to delivering the report of the High-Level Panel, Mr. Gill helped secure high-impact international consensus recommendations on regulating artificial intelligence in lethal autonomous weapon systems in 2017 and 2018, the draft artificial intelligence ethics recommendation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2020, and a new international platform on digital health and artificial intelligence.
Mr Gill was India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (2016–2018). He joined his country’s diplomatic service in 1992 and served in various capacities in disarmament and strategic technologies and international security affairs, with postings in Tehran and Colombo. He was also a visiting scholar at Stanford University.
Mr Gill holds a PhD in nuclear learning in multilateral forums from King’s College, London, a Bachelor of Technology in electronics and electrical communications from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and an Advanced Diploma in French history and language from Geneva University. He is fluent in English, French, Hindi, and Punjabi.
