This year, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres announced that the International Day of Women and Girls in Science will focus on the role of Women and Girls and Science as relates to the Sustainable Development Goals.

This weekend, the 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly took place at the UN Headquarters in New York City. More than 80 speakers, including women experts, young people, and professionals joined together in discussions to put science, technology, and innovation at the heart of sustainable development programs.

The theme for the 2023 event was: Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance. I.D.E.A.: Bringing communities Forward for sustainable and equitable development.

The UN also announced that the assembly was organized, for the first time, around simulations of communities that have made an impact on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) reviewed in 2023: SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).

The key stakeholders of these simulated communities were brought together for a discussion on implementation (SDG17): how to create the enabling environment for accelerated implementation of SDGS 7, 9, and 11, while keeping a continuous focus on SDG6, following up on the in-depth water discussions of the 7th IDWGIS of 2022.

According to the UN, the 8th Assembly aimed to build a bridge between the international community and women in science by linking their knowledge and expertise and its applications in a systematic, critical way for the 2030 agenda and its 17 global goals.

The Assembly aims to assist policymakers – at all levels whether in public or private sectors - to evolve a more mature relationship between science, policy, and society for strategies that they can commit to for the future.