Another UN General Assembly side event today. This one just steps away from the UN HQ, and also very close to home with the Internet Society's mission. [image: isoc live] <https://isoc.live/16905>On *Friday September 22 2023*, at *6pm-8pm EDT* (22:00-00:00 UTC) *Syracuse University <https://ischool.syr.edu/>* will present a panel discussion '*Smart Cities, AI, and Community Internet: Accelerating Sustainable Development Goals across Africa <https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals>*' at Lubin House in New York City. Africa is the world's second most populous continent with over 1.3 billion people and a median age of 19. This young and growing population is increasingly urbanizing, with over 50% of Africans expected to live in cities by 2050. At the midway point to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leaders in government, the private sector and civil society are convening at the 78th Session to the UN General Assembly to discuss mechanisms to accelerate progress towards the implementation of the SDGs. This event will convene experts from around the world to discuss the role that smart cities, artificial intelligence (AI), and community Internet technologies can play in accelerating the implementation of the SDGs across Africa, and the challenges and opportunities in doing so. *MODERATOR/HOST Yusuf Abdul-Qadir* *PANEL* *Dr. Lee McKnight*, Associate Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University. *Dr. Gloria Somolakae*, Head, Governance and Administration Unit, Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) *David Hartshorn*, Geeks Without Frontiers (Geeks) *Dr. Danielle Taana Smith*, Director, Renee Crown University Honors Program, Sysracuse University *RESPONDENTS* Dr. Annalee C. Babb, founder and CEO of Intersections Wisdom Donkor, founder, Africa Open Data and Internet Research Foundation *RESEARCHERS* *Lahari Chowtoori*, Master’s student, Data Analytics, School of Information Studies *Jane Appiah-Okyere*, Doctoral student, School of Information Studies This event is webcast via a partnership with the Internet Society US New York Chapter <https://isoc-ny.org>. *LIVESTREAM http://livestream.com/internetsociety/AcceleratingSDGs <http://livestream.com/internetsociety/AcceleratingSDGs>* *ATTEND IN PERSON https://bit.ly/489925b <https://bit.ly/489925b>* *TWITTER #AcceleratingSDGs <https://bit.ly/46qDUwp> @iSchoolSU @LeeMcKnight @YusufAQ @GeeksWF @AAS_Syracuse @ISOCNY @ISOC_Africa #AI #CommunityNetworks #SmartCities #Afica #SDGs #SDGdigital #GlobalGoals* *MASTODON #AcceleratingSDGs <https://mastodon.social/tags/AcceleratingSDGs>* *SIMULCASTS* *https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive <https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive>* *https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc/* <https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc/> (AI captions) *https://www.facebook.com/ISOCAfrica/ <https://www.facebook.com/ISOCAfrica/>* (AI captions) *ARCHIVE* *https://archive.org/details/AcceleratingSDGs <https://archive.org/details/AcceleratingSDGs>* Permalink https://isoc.live/16905 - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -