SDGCounting

U.S. launches Peace Corps-backed ‘Tech Corps’ to help export AI, counter China As part of efforts to spread its global AI footprint and counter China, Washington has announced a new "tech corps."

The US just launched "Tech Corps" to deploy #AI volunteers in agriculture, education, health & economic development abroad. On paper, that's #SDGs 2, 3, 4, and 8 in one program. But, is the focus on digital inclusion or market capture?

#AIForGood

https://ow.ly/gMkR50YpCOH

The 2026 UN Statistical Commission has come to a close, but you can still catch up on all the session via UN Web TV:

https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/webcast/57

#UN57SC #StatCom #SDGs #Data

Next week we will be following sessions at #SXSWEDU that relate to the #SDGs, #AIForGood, Global Connections, and Educational Access.

Let us know if there are any speakers or talks that are capturing your attention.

https://schedule.sxswedu.com/

[Photo Credit: Miguel Esparza]

EIB says it’s ‘carrying the flag of development’ The European Investment Bank pledges $1 billion for African electrification, expands vaccine financing, and launches its third Gender Action Plan, even as it boosts European defense investments.

Headlines focus on aid cuts, but Europe is still investing. The EIB just pledged $1B for African electrification, expanded vaccine financing, and launched a new Gender Action Plan. Development finance is shifting, not disappearing.

https://ow.ly/OqT650YpCvc #SDGs

36 countries will present Voluntary National Reviews (#VNRs) at #HLPF 2026.

Most are returning for their 3rd review, while Togo and Uruguay reach their 5th.

Nearly all UN Member States have now reported at least once (all but Haiti, Myanmar and the US).

https://hlpf.un.org/2026/vnrs

Beyond GDP: An Opportunity for Economic Reset By Hajra Atiq and Livia Bizikova, IISD A recent conversation with Sato Ichiro, Executive Senior Research Fellow at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ogata Research Institute, and Csaba Kőrösi, a Hungarian diplomat who served as President of the 77th session of the UN General Assem

GDP was never designed to measure well-being or sustainability.

IISD’s latest #BeyondGDP Update tracks what’s emerging next: a UN-backed indicator dashboard, guidance on data priorities, and a push for real uptake by governments.

https://ow.ly/jczi50YpBwt

10 UN Statistical Commission Side Events You Can Watch Now A primer on the conversations happening at the #UN57SC

The UN Statistical Commission continues today. Need to catch up on the conversations happening at #UN57SC? Here is our primer on what happened before the official event:

https://medium.com/p/6845ba04e3fa

Global Debt Report 2026 Global debt markets face increasing pressures from sustained fiscal deficits, rising interest costs and investment needs, a structural decline in long term demand, and growing refinancing risks as the maturity of issuance shortens. Even so, public and private borrowing reached record levels in 2025 and markets show surface-level calm with improvements in liquidity, moderating volatility and compressing corporate credit spreads. Yet structural shifts, including the emergence of a new investor base, are transforming markets with new risks building, potentially challenging the current...

The world faces a $4 trillion annual SDG financing gap. Today's OECD Global Debt Report shows why closing it is getting harder: borrowing costs are rising, debt maturities are shrinking, and governments are increasingly just treading water.

https://ow.ly/JvZ250Yp8VF

Going ‘beyond GDP’ should not mean sidelining the SDGs The UN Sustainable Development Goals represent a carefully-crafted road map for future human and planetary prosperity.

The UN's "Beyond GDP" report drops next month. Nature is already raising a flag: the 200+ SDG indicators represent one of the most rigorous measurement frameworks ever built. Any replacement should match that standard, not sidestep it.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00657-y

Partnerships driving youth innovation for the planet UNDP and Samsung accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

UNDP and Samsung are expanding their partnership to support youth-led circular economy innovation in Sierra Leone. Youth for Circularity 2030 focuses on repair, reuse, and responsible production, linking campuses with real-world solutions.

https://ow.ly/Qlry50Yoguc

(1st meeting) Statistical Commission, 57th Session The 57th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission is scheduled to be held in New York from 3 to 6 March 2026.

The first session of the UN Statistical Commission starts today at 10:30a ET. You can watch it live on UN Web TV:

#UN57SC #SDGs

https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1h/k1h4seeave

10 UN Statistical Commission Side Events You Can Watch Now A primer on the conversations happening at the #UN57SC

The UN Statistical Commission opens today. It's one of the most important meetings in global data and tracking the #SDGs.

Several side-events are already available to watch. Here's where to start:

https://ow.ly/tUkA50YoaX4

International AI Safety Report 2026 The second International AI Safety Report, published in February 2026, is the next iteration of the comprehensive review of latest scientific research on the capabilities and risks of general-purpose AI systems. Led by Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio and authored by over 100 AI experts, the report is backed by over 30 countries and international organisations. It represents the largest global collaboration on AI safety to date.

Last Month 100 experts from 30+ countries released the most comprehensive global assessment of AI capabilities and risks yet.

The 2026 International AI Safety Report is required reading for anyone working on #TechForGood or #SDGs.

https://ow.ly/SBVy50Yo9ir

Asia-Pacific is on track to miss 88% of its Sustainable Development Goal targets by 2030. A new UNESCAP report says environmental decline is wiping out gains made on poverty + health. The data gap problem is just as alarming.

#SDGs #GlobalGoals

https://ow.ly/NskN50Yo9fY

10 UN Statistical Commission Side Events You Can Watch Now A primer on the conversations happening at the #UN57SC

StatCom 2026 is almost here (3–6 March).
Before the main debates begin, catch up with these 10 UN Statistical Commission side events now available to watch on demand.

AI. Beyond GDP. SDGs. Geospatial data. Surveys.

#UN57SC #OfficialStatistics #SDGs

https://ow.ly/aG4S50Yo7ns

The UN Statistical Commission starts tomorrow (Mar 3–6).

Plenary sessions will be streamed on UN WebTV.

Learn more: https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/57

Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2027 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs BackgroundThe Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) originated in “The Future We Want,” the outcome of the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development, when Member States were laying the groundwork for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 associated Sustainable Development…

The Global Sustainable Development Report is designed to strengthen the science-policy interface for sustainable development. The 2027 edition will inform quadrennial SDG review deliberations at the UN General Assembly.

Learn more:
https://sdgs.un.org/gsdr2027

U.S. Promotes AI Adoption, Sovereignty, and Exports at India AI Impact Summit WASHINGTON – Today at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the United States laid out its bold vision for empowering global allies with cutting-edge and

#AI adoption is framed as development strategy—health, education, energy, agriculture. But what safeguards ensure public data integrity, interoperability, and equity? Progress on the #SDGs depends on more than tech deployment.


https://ow.ly/49Ys50YniVv

The OECD will release its Global Debt Report 2026 on 4 March, with full-year 2025 data and analysis of sovereign and corporate borrowing trends. A key input for understanding fiscal space ahead of 2030.

Learn more:
https://ow.ly/yi2A50Ynj21

Europe still leads on SDGs, but progress is stalled Europe’s SDG progress is stalling, threatening the region’s historic role in global poverty reduction and undermining public trust in multilateral goals.

Europe still tops SDG rankings, but the 2026 Europe Sustainable Development Report warns progress is stalling as security and defense priorities rise and development budgets tighten.

https://www.devex.com/news/europe-still-leads-on-sdgs-but-progress-is-stalled-111949

The UN has launched an open call for inputs to inform the 2027 Global Sustainable Development Report.

Deadline: 31 March 2026.

A key opportunity to shape science-policy priorities for the final stretch to 2030.

#GSDR #SDGs

https://ow.ly/BSet50YniXF

New from UN DESA: a synthesis of 2025 Voluntary National Reviews highlights stronger evidence-based reporting, integrated institutions, and localization efforts. A useful guide for 2026 presenters.

#VNR #SDGs

https://ow.ly/g1TS50YniTZ

The UN Without the United States: The Future of Sustainable Development The United States publicly renounced the SDGs in March 2025 as a “globalist endeavor,” one “inconsistent with U.S. sovereignty and the rights and interests of Americans.” What implications, if any, does the U.S. renunciation of the SDGs have for global development and for the United States?

What does sustainable development look like without US leadership? Carnegie convenes a timely discussion on the UN, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the final five years to 2030.

https://ow.ly/2ReR50YniRM

Happening today (and streamed on UN Web TV):

AI-readiness for Official Data and Statistics

#SDGs #Data #AI #NationalStatistics

https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/events-details/un57sc-ai-readiness-for-official-data-and-statistics-27Feb2026/

Europe Sustainable Development Report 2026

The Europe Sustainable Development Report 2026 is out from SDSN.

Bottom line: SDG progress has stalled across Europe, even in high performers, and political prioritization is fading.

https://www.unsdsn.org/resources/europe-sustainable-development-report-2026/

AI governance is being debated everywhere, but how does it connect to real development outcomes?

UN Special Tech Envoy Amandeep Singh Gill joins Devex to discuss fragmentation, capacity gaps and why development must stay central.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo5WG63Pzfg

#AI #SDGs #AIGovernance

OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible AI This report provides practical guidance to enterprises for implementing OECD standards on responsible business conduct (RBC) and the OECD AI Principles when developing and using artificial intelligence (AI). It aims to support innovation, investment and growth of enterprises in the AI value chain by helping enterprises proactively address adverse impacts. The report promotes policy coherence, and where possible interoperability, between the OECD and other national or international AI risk management frameworks.

Last week the OECD published Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible AI.

It lays out a 6-step for due diligence: embed policy, assess impacts, mitigate harm, track results, communicate, and remediate.

Read the full report:

https://ow.ly/mvlv50YlT56

#AI #Governance #SDGs

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) tracks global trade, investment, digital economy, and development finance trends.

Did you know you can track their full data release schedule online?

https://unctadstat.unctad.org/release-calendar

#Data #SDGs #Development

Where the AI arc bends The arc of AI’s development is not defined by how quickly the technology advances or how capable it becomes—it is defined by who benefits as it does.

AI’s impact is not defined by how fast it advances, but by who benefits.

UNDP warns of an emerging “AI Equity Gap” as systems scale faster than governance.

This is an excellent post on #AI, the #SDGs, institutions, and development choices.

https://www.undp.org/blog/where-ai-arc-bends

Don't miss today's Devex newswire with a great on-the-ground recap of last week's India AI Impact Summit. #AIforGood

https://ow.ly/XKr950Yl0eY