By Hyundai Motor Company and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have entered into their inaugural agreement aimed at spreading messages of sustainability to people around the world and turning their proposals for sustainable innovation into tangible initiatives. Under the agreement, Hyundai Motor and UNDP will collaborate for the first time to create a global initiative, titled for Tomorrow, which will help accelerate progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
The agreement will enable Hyundai Motor and UNDP to crowdsource innovations from the public and help implement these solutions, a much needed response to the world’s escalating environmental and socio-economic challenges. To mark the inauguration of the project in safety amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a signing ceremony (available in a link below) was held online between Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Euisun Chung and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, during which they discussed the future of their partnership and global cooperation for sustainability. Also in attendance were actress, activist, and social impact entrepreneur Jessica Alba, who officially endorses ‘for Tomorrow,’ and British journalist Lucy Siegle, who moderated the conversation.
At the signing ceremony, Mr. Chung and Mr. Steiner unveiled a preview of the for Tomorrow project (www.fortomorrow.org), a focal point for the collaboration and open innovation platform where people can share solutions to be amplified and scaled up. Hyundai Motor and UNDP launched dedicated Instagram channels (@forTomorrow2030) to promote the project. Under this year’s theme and slogan, “Make Cities Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable,” for Tomorrow will accept proposals from October 2020 through April 2021, in time for Earth Day on April 22, with project acceleration in the ensuing months.
“UNDP is committed to supporting the incredible power of local innovators to change the world for the better – for not only today, but also for tomorrow and into the future,” said Mr. Steiner. “With the launch of this platform in partnership with Hyundai, we want to explore new ways of connecting these pioneering minds together – and help them unleash their full potential to build a greener, more resilient, more inclusive and more sustainable future.”
Hyundai Motor and UNDP will support solutions shared on the platform by advancing, sharing and building upon them with the help of the the UNDP Accelerator Labs, a global network of 60 labs that are tapping into local innovations to create actionable insights and reimagine sustainable development for the 21st centuryto address global challenges like climate change and socioeconomic inequality.
