The United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology, or Unite, is planning to open an “innovation embassy” in San Francisco to engage with Silicon Valley, officials have told Devex exclusively.
On several recent trips to the Bay Area, Lambert Hogenhout, chief of data analytics, partnerships, and innovation at the U.N, saw that Silicon Valley investors and entrepreneurs were increasingly focusing their attention globally, either because they want to have a greater impact, or because they see international markets as essential to their future growth.
He began to explore how the U.N. might build relationships with and between Silicon Valley leaders, to direct their enthusiasm to do business with a purpose in support of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to inform the U.N. about the ways emerging technologies will have an impact on their work.
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
