From June 16–19, 2025, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) will lead several sessions during the Sustainability Research and Innovation (SRI) Congress — one of the world’s leading academic conferences on evidence-based, actionable, and inclusive approaches to sustainability.

SDSN Programming at SRI2025

As a lead partner of the Congress, the SDSN will host the following sessions on critical sustainability topics, including financing for development, climate resilience, and the Leave No One Behind principle.

Plenary Session on Financing for Development

On June 18, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, President of the SDSN, will lead a plenary session on financing for development, addressing the urgent need to reform the global financial architecture to channel long-term, affordable capital toward sustainable development. The session will highlight findings from the forthcoming Sustainable Development Report 2025 and focus on strategies to unlock financing at scale, particularly for low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Additional high-level speaker(s) for this session will be announced in the coming weeks.

Breakout Sessions

SDSN Mexico as a Facilitator of Collaborations on Sustainable Development in Mexico

This session will highlight SDSN Mexico’s successful multistakeholder partnerships promoting collaborative decision-making and community engagement. Representatives from its host institutions will share university-led initiatives on climate action, sustainable development, and social inclusion.

Code-Name Hope: A Voluntary Local Review of the Black Community in Greater Cleveland, Ohio

This session will explore how cultural heritage and community assets can mobilize and empower marginalized communities to take informed action on the SDGs. It will highlight the ‘Leave No One Behind’ imperative and demonstrate how community engagement, disaggregated data, and partnerships can inform a Voluntary Local Review (VLR) for a vulnerable community.

Pathways to Climate Resilience

This session will feature innovative climate adaptation initiatives from European initiatives ARSINOE, IMPETUS, and CARMINE, highlighting tangible solutions and replicable models for building resilience.

Join the SDSN for these important discussions at the 2025 SRI Congress in Chicago this June. Learn more and register at sricongress.org.