We are excited to be part of this collaborative event with Maldives National University (MNU) and the Islamic University of Maldives (IUM) organized by UN Maldives to mark their partnership with academia for the year 2023.

This year's event is centered around the theme "Bridging the Data Gap – The Role of Academia", with aims to dive into the insights garnered from the recent Voluntary National Review (VNR) and explore academia's pivotal role in accelerating progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This UN-Academic Engagement Event began with remarks from the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Catherin Haswell, UN Resident Coordinator and representatives of the participating academic institutes including our Rector, Dr. Ahmed Anwar.

Among the guest speakers included, Ms. Aishath Hassan, Chief Statistician from the Maldives Bureau of Statistics, and Ms.Aishath Saad, Deputy Director General, from the Ministry of National Planning, Housing & Infrastructure.

This was then followed by thought-provoking presentations and discussions by Villa College, Maldives National University, and the Islamic University of Maldives.

After the closing remarks by Ms. Catherine Haswell, UN Resident Coordinator, the event officially came to an end with the signing of the declaration of commitment by UN Maldives, Villa College, Maldives National University and the Islamic University of Maldives pledging to commit to a collaborative partnership for future engagement in the area of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We are excited and look forward to a fruitful collaboration that will help us in achieving these SDG’s and ensure no one is left behind. Thank you UN Maldives for creating this much needed platform bringing all of us together.