The 19th Global Development Conference took place in Bonn, Germany, from 23-25 October 2019 under the theme ''Knowledge for sustainable development: the research-policy nexus''. Hosted by the Global Development Network (GDN) and its partners, the conference aimed to facilitate the research-policy interface in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and also marked the 20th anniversary of the GDN, since its launch in 1999.

This episode focused on the importance of science and research for achieving sustainable development around the world, with a particular emphasis on the role of young scientists and researchers in these fields. In fact, making climate action possible requires scientific access to accurate scientific data and availability of research which can inform and drive concrete and innovative solutions. When looking at the #GretaEffect, we can refer to the major role played by the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (SR15), which was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 8 October 2018. It is clear that Greta's message gains high attention to climate because it is aligned with science-based evidence related to climate change coming from that report. In that sense, science plays a key part in making Greta's message clear, efficient and outstanding for millions of people worldwide. Can we, therefore, ignore the power of science and research in making climate action and sustainable development work? Certainly, we cannot!

My two guests in this episode are from Romania and India. They have participated in the #K4SD conference in Bonn where I had the opportunity to meet them. While one is actively involved in the GDN operations, the other is a young researcher whose work has shown positive results so far and deserves more attention. You will learn more about their work and achievements, and additionally, discover what can motivate citizens to engage in science and research when looking at opportunities to contribute to a low-carbon and sustainable-oriented future. I am pleased to introduce to you:

Ramona Angelescu Naqvi served as the  Director of the #K4SD conference. She is GDN's Director of Strategic Partnerships, responsible for the coordination of the network's diverse partnerships across the globe, including donor relations, she also leads the communications unit and oversees GDN's monitoring, evaluation and learning activities. She has previously served as Director of Programmes at GDN, overseeing the global portfolio of research and capacity building and collaborative research programs. Ramona has also written on governance, migration and capacity building, and she holds a Masters in Political Science from Northwestern University, USA.

Rishikesan Parthiban is a Ph.D. student on management information systems at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMCAL) based in Calcutta, India. He has also completed a Bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering in 2013. Previously, Rishikesan has worked in the very-large-scale integration (VLSI) industry for a couple of years, with a focus on front end design and very-large-scale design verification. At the #K4SD conference, Rishikesan and his institute won the second prize of the Global Development Awards Competition, for their work on the ''Effective use of social media to produce, disseminate and enhance uptake of development research: a multi-method study''.

This is the #GretaEffect.

Thank you for listening!

Jean Paul