S20 Leadership

science, technology and innovation – the new fuel of the 21st century.

The Kingdom is an example of our hypothesis in action. Since the country committed to a unified vision of progress, it has made impressive achievements in the areas that matter most. Spurring economic growth and investment through business reforms, empowering women in society and the workplace, changing education models, increasing and diversifying research and development, and opening the door to the digital revolution – the country is at the beginning of an inspiring journey.

Saudi Arabia’s G20 presidency represents an evolution of the Kingdom’s role in the world. KAUST’s efforts to support this leadership represents an expansion of our work in the country.

Over the last year we have served as a scientific and subject matter advisor to the G20 Secretariat, advocating for attention and action in fields contributing to the new circular carbon economy, the digital economy, climate stewardship and sustainability. Our role as the S20 Secretariat means we work with top scientific institutions from all G20 countries and throughout the Kingdom to develop guidance and recommendations that will shape the global approach to challenges and opportunities in health, the environment, artificial intelligence and other emerging fields in the next decade.

We believe that through our role in supporting the Kingdom’s G20 presidency – an undertaking we owe to the momentum and visibility of our achievements and impact in KAUST’s first decade – we can continue to contribute to national priorities while adapting solutions to benefit the world on a never-before-seen global scale.

KAUST would like to thank everyone in the Kingdom and around the world who has been a partner in our journey. This is just the beginning. I look forward to continuing to share outcomes and new successes in future editions.

Dr. Tony F. Chan, President of KAUST

G20 SAUDI SECRETARIAT

“The G20 Saudi Secretariat would like to congratulate KAUST on gaining Royal confidence, and affirm its continued support and cooperation for the success of the Kingdom’s G20 presidency.”

Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Tunisi, Advisor at the Royal Court and Secretary General of the G20 Saudi Secretariat (in awarding the S20 Engagement Group leadership to KAUST)

S20 LEADERSHIP Leading the world’s scientific community

NAJAH ASHRY Senior Associate to the President and Vice President for Strategic National Advancement In September 2020 KAUST will host the summit for the Science 20 (S20), one of the official G20 engagement groups. The S20 fosters dialogue among the G20’s scientific communities, with the aim of proposing science-driven solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. The culmination of this work involves the development of policy recommendations that are formally submitted to G20 leaders for consideration.

This year the S20 is being led by KAUST under the chairmanship of Dr. Anas Alfaris of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. KAUST’s S20 efforts are led by Dr. Najah Ashry, Senior Associate to the President and Vice President for Strategic National Advancement, and Dr. Teofilo (Jun) Abrajano, Director of the Office of Sponsored Research.

The theme of this year’s S20 is “Foresight: Science for Navigating Critical Transitions”, which aims to emphasize how science can be used as a tool to guide humanity through critical times. Major sub-themes that have been organized into task forces include the future of health, the circular economy and the digital revolution. Twenty-five KAUST faculty members are contributors to these groups, with Professor Tareq Al Naffouri leading the digital revolution task force. KAUST is well positioned to bring its expertise to the forum, given the alignment of the S20 sub-themes with KAUST strategic initiatives.