The UN SDGs and Space
Did you know, that “space-based services and technologies are key in understanding climate change (source: UNOOSA)?” Climate change, a vastly complex problem running across the sustainable development goals, requires systemic, cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural joint action. A global political economy MA thesis, surprisingly, brings me back to space technologies and services, an industry with which my cultural consultancy was first acquainted in 2016. A key learning from those China startup ecosystem related adventures was ultimately that of a paradox management orientation, which has to do with the balancing of contradiction. The picture below is from a holiday moment, some time after signing an initial partnership agreement with a project that worked with the utilisation of space technologies for the common good.
Unfortunately cannot share more due to confidentiality issues but nevertheless am looking forward to an upcoming (online) Swedish opportunity to hear more about the state of the space industry today.
Techcrunch Beijing Memories
“The spring of technology innovation is coming and I am glad to be part of it”-Juncong Zheng, Managing Partner at Vertex Ventures China
The energy, enthusiasm and drive towards building a new hopeful future, with technology at the forefront — witnessed in China during this time is well summarized by the above quote from Techcrunch Beijing. The event’s overarching theme was 看见未来 (kanjian weilai) — See The Future.
Recently, in the midst of increasing global tensions, I have been seeing the future increasingly via the lens of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Framework. It is the angle for both my thesis and the company’s current R&D.
I believe that these seventeen goals, seen especially from the point of view of them being “a new language of measuring social and environmental impact”, are a context with significant potential for creating new sand of stability…within this context global ambition can be harnessed towards tackling climate change, via comprehensive “reset” thinking and “technology for good”.
The Art of Paradox Management
In order for a cultural consultancy to target goal number 17, and serve the mission of building partnerships for the goals, a foundational starting point has been the study of the art of paradox management.
In the future, what will be needed is the skill of managing complexity and yes, contradiction; furthermore, allowing for the contradictions to not always be resolved but to stand as they are. Embracing difference and diversity to the extent of appreciating relative opposites, while seeking for that golden middle path — on which to meet, and advance, together…living and thinking across industries, divides and “silos”, building forward and upward. Let’s not shy away from contradictions and mystery; let’s begin to manage them, even appreciate them. This requires humility, a learning mindset, child-like imagination.
Source of quotes:
https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/08/investors-agree-that-enterprise-startups-are-hot-in-china/
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/space4sdgs/index.html