The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship multistakeholder convening organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Instituted in 2001, the Summit series has a legacy of over two decades for making ‘sustainable development’ a globally shared goal. Over the years, the Summit platform has brought together thought leaders, heads of state and government, scholars, corporates, youth groups, and civil society representatives from across the world. The Summit series has established itself as a responsible and an effective platform for mobilizing opinion-makers to drive ambition and advance pioneering actions to address some of the most relevant issues concerning sustainable development and climate change.
The only independently convened international Summit on sustainable development and environment, based in the Global South, WSDS strives to provide long-term solutions for the benefit of global communities by assembling the world’s most enlightened leaders and thinkers on a single platform. In its previous editions, it has involved speakers, delegates, and participants to address several key issues pertaining to climate change and environment protection. As a result, the Summit has witnessed numerous partnerships that have promised to strengthen our collective endeavours towards imagining a sustainable and environmentally secure future. The platform has reached out to the global community via features such as, High-level Ministerial Sessions, Plenary Sessions, Thematic Tracks, Youth Plenary, Women Leadership Session, International Dialogues, CEO Forum, Colloquiums, and various exhibitions on clean and green innovations. Over the years, the Summit series has witnessed the participation of 58 Heads of State and Government, 137 Ministers, 13 Nobel Laureates, 2045 Business Leaders, 3373 Speakers, and 40362 Delegates.
The Summit has an important role to play in not just providing a platform for dialogues, but also to create new knowledge outputs through Act4Earth that was launched during WSDS 2022. This is enshrined in the theory of constructivism, according to which, learners construct knowledge rather than just passively taking in information. When leaders from various spheres come together and reflect upon their experiences, they build their own representations and incorporate new information into their pre-existing knowledge. By playing a constructivist role, the Summit and the Actt4Earth knowledge initiative seek to reinforce commitment at all levels to enhance ambition and action to create a more sustainable and equitable world for present and future generations.