A prestigious new programme titled “Fostering Innovation for Resilience and Sustainable Transformation” (FIRST), spearheaded by City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), has been officially endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This global initiative is designed to drive innovation in sustainability, advance measurable progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and promote inclusive global collaboration and capacity building under the auspices of the UN International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (2024-2033) (UN Science Decade).

The world faces unprecedented challenges in climate change, biodiversity loss, clean energy transition, and water management. To address these issues, CityUHK has been entrusted to lead the FIRST Programme as part of the UN Science Decade. FIRST will develop affordable technologies in collaboration with global partners to enhance sustainability and improve quality of life, particularly in underserved regions. This initiative is crucial for combating rising temperatures, biodiversity threats, energy disparities, and water scarcity, ensuring a sustainable future for our planet.

College of Science's faculty members involved in this institutional initiative will play pivotal roles in the success of the FIRST Programme. They are: Professor Anderson Shum Ho-cheung, Vice-President (Research) and Chair Professor of the Department of Chemistry, Professor Kenneth Leung Mei-yee, CSCI Associate Dean (Outreach and Internationalisation) and Director of State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health, Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, Chair Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science of the Department of Chemistry.

More information about the FIRST Programme can be found at the official website: https://un-first.cityu.edu.hk/.