WIPO Director General Daren Tang Addresses Summit of the Future at United Nations Headquarters

WIPO Director General Daren Tang concluded on September 24, 2024, a four-day visit to UN headquarters in New York, where he addressed the Summit of the Future and participated in the opening of the High-Level Week of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly amid a series of bilateral and other engagements. 

At the Summit, world leaders adopted the Pact for the Future, which includes the Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations.

In addition to speaking on the opening day of the Summit of the Future, the Director General addressed participants at the Summit of the Future Interactive Dialogue - Towards a Common Digital Future, focusing on strengthening inclusive innovation and cooperation to bridge the digital divide. During the Summit of the Future Action Days, he also spoke at the SDG Digital 2024: A Digital Future for All event and joined young entrepreneurs during the ITC Ye! Youth Ecopreneur Awards 2024. Mr. Tang also moderated a discussion with global business leaders on responsible digital transformation during the annual UN Private Sector Forum 2024.

The Director General also held a number of bilateral meetings with heads of other intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), as well as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

The visit also provided an opportunity for Mr. Tang to meet with the President of Botswana as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary to take stock of bilateral cooperation and reaffirm WIPO’s support to both countries in further developing its innovation ecosystem.

Summit of the Future

In addressing world leaders on September 22 during the opening day of the Summit of the Future, Mr. Tang spoke about redoubling WIPO’s efforts to harness the power of human invention, innovation and creativity to build a more resilient, prosperous and sustainable world for future generations.

This, he noted, would be supported by a shared understanding of the importance of IP to fostering economic, social and cultural growth. He also highlighted the role WIPO plays in bringing the global community together to address cutting-edge issues like artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property (IP), or making history when Member States agreed by consensus on a new treaty related to IP, genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Mr. Tang also highlighted the Organization’s focus on results in bringing IP to the grassroots. He noted WIPO’s first IP and Gender Action Plan and IP Youth Empowerment Strategy, as well as over 80 customized projects that have served thousands of beneficiaries around the world.

On September 23, during the Summit of the Future Interactive Dialogue 3, the Director General highlighted the many WIPO initiatives that contribute to a common digital future, by also strengthening inclusive innovation and cooperation to bridge the digital divide. These efforts include helping IP offices to become fully digital, WIPO’s CLIP initiative or the WIPO Conversation on Intellectual Property and Frontier Technologies, which provides a platform for all stakeholders to discuss the links between AI and IP.

On September 21, the Director General joined the SDG Digital event, which was co-organized by the Office of the Special Envoy on Technology (OSET), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The event was part of the 2^nd day of the Summit of the Future Action days.

Mr. Tang’s presentation focused on how WIPO, through its 1,500 technology and innovation support centers (TISCs) in 93 countries, is combining cutting-edge digital tools with expert guidance to help to transform information into insights and impact for innovators across the world.

Youth Engagement

During the Ye! Youth Ecopreneur Awards 2024, the Director General joined Ms. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, the Executive Director of ITC, and Madagascar’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr. Max Andonirina Fontaine, for an interactive discussion on supporting youth-led green innovation and entrepreneurship. He encouraged the ecopreneurs to seize opportunities to keep learning and refining their businesses, as well as to view IP as a powerful business tool that can enable them to be competitive in the global economy. The event hosted by ITC, alongside the G20 Global Land Initiative, and strategic partners, WIPO, Google, and Sidley Austin LLP, also included a series of business pitches from the eight finalists of the competition, who had completed a 10-week intensive learning program, including specialized IP training provided by WIPO. Two winners, one in each category - land restoration and green business solutions - received a grant to support their ventures.

Meeting with Intergovernmental Organizations

In discussions with Ms. Ghada Waly, Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director of UNODC, Mr. Tang focused on the ongoing implementation of the organizations’ joint action plan, as well as on dedicated IP training for prosecutors, joint outreach to  youth and use of AI tools.

At the meeting with Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the discussion centered on the SDGs, which was the theme of WIPO’s 2024 World IP Day, and WIPO’s work on patent analytics relating to the SDGs and AI. 

During the meeting with Ms. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the discussions touched on the importance of promoting practices for producing IP and innovation-related gender indicators, including capturing data on the participation of women in the technology, the Director General’s role as the newly appointed Equity 2030 Alliance Champion and the importance of social entrepreneurship.

The Director General also discussed potential areas of cooperation on IP with Mr. Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).   

Private Sector Forum 2024

At the Private Sector Forum, hosted by the Secretary General of the United Nations and organized by the UN Global Compact, business leaders from across the world explored pressing issues and policy barriers impacting sustainability today—and opportunities for tomorrow. During the event, the Director General led a group discussion on responsible digital transformation that sought insights from CEOs of global companies and world leaders.

Meetings with Member States

The Director General also held bilateral meetings with Member State officials during the Summit of the Future and the UN General Assembly, including with Mr. Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of Botswana. Their discussions focused on the implementation of Botswana’s national IP strategy and the country’s development path, IP-backed financing of innovation and creativity as well as WIPO’s participation at the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries which will be hosted by Botswana from December 10 to 13, 2024.

The Director General also met with Mr. Peter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, for discussions that included topics concerning the upcoming official visit of the Director General to Hungary, as well as the importance of centering people at the nexus of AI and IP.