It is my great pleasure to deliver the welcome message for the third UNPOG Public Governance Quarterly Newsletter.

We are witnessing the positive impacts of frontier technologies on our daily lives. As one of the leading smart countries in the world, the Republic of Korea has integrated many frontier technologies such as Internet of Things (IOT), big data, and cloud computing into its high-tech urban environment. On the other hand, frontier technologies are presenting our society with unparalleled opportunities and challenges for future governance. For instance, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and convergence of innovative technologies are driving a dramatic shift towards more data and machine-driven societies, while development challenges and social inequality continue to rise. To raise public awareness and facilitate policy actions and dialogues around this issue, UNPOG is focusing its efforts through engaging and organizing programme activities to address this thematic issue. Such efforts include UNPOG engagement in the 4th Asia-Pacific Forum on Smart Sustainable Cities and e-Government (Thanh Hoa City, Vietnam, 4-6 July 2018) which focused on reducing risks from disruptive technologies. Moreover, UNPOG is currently preparing to organize the Regional Symposium (Songdo, Incheon, 24-26 October 2018) entitled as “Strengthening the Capacities of Public Institutions & Developing Effective Partnerships to Realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which will address the inclusive governance and the digital transformation with a particular focus on the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on public institutions and public governance.

It is my hope that this Newsletter will not only keep you updated on UNPOG’s work, but also inspire you to pursue new forms of collaboration and engagement in the context of simultaneous proliferation of frontier technologies and gaining more in-depth knowledge related to advancing the SDGs with the overarching principle of leaving no one behind at its core. I look forward to seeing you in our upcoming Regional Symposium in Songdo, Incheon and thank you for your continued support and interests in UNPOG.

CHUNG Chae Gun
Head, UNPOG, DPIDG, UN DESA