UNDP Pakistan launches Innovation-AccLab to accelerate learning on challenges like climate change and urbanization
UNDP Pakistan launched its Innovation AccLab in Islamabad on Wednesday which is part of the largest learning network ever with 60 labs serving 78 countries.
The Accelerator Labs network will work together with global and national partners, and local innovators to find radically new approaches that fit the complexity of current development challenges.
Knut Ostby, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. in his welcome address said, ‘‘With the scale of change of development challenges, we need to shift away from business as usual approach, and mainstream innovation to achieve the Agenda 2030’’.
Sharing UNDP’s innovation journey, and efforts to mainstream innovation in UNDP’s initiatives, Ignacio Artaza, UNDP Pakistan Resident Representative a.i. said that, ‘‘We need to rethink development to effectively tackle the increasingly complex development challenges’’.
Giulio Quaggiotto, Head of Regional Innovation Centre, Asia Pacific at UNDP, shared the vision of UNDP Innovation AccLab network. He asked the audience to reimagine development in the 21st Century and to accelerate our learning on challenges like climate change and urbanization.
Present at the launch were partners from the innovation ecosystem as well as representatives from the lab’s core partners, the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany.
In 2017, UNDP in Pakistan made a commitment to invest in innovative solutions for social change. During the process, the Innovation portfolio mainstreamed innovation by becoming more human-centered, co-designing interventions with partners and end-users; using innovation challenges to find innovative ideas, and using mobile technology to reach rural and remote communities.