LocationsRemarks by Mr. James George at My 2060: Making a Sustainable Future Happen Event Marking International Women's Day
March 8, 2026
UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in China, James George, delivered opening remarks at the My 2060: Making a Sustainable Future Happen event in Beijing, China.
Distinguished guests,
Partners and colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
Good afternoon, and welcome.
It is a great pleasure to join you today at the UN Compound for My 2060: Making a Sustainable Future Happen.
On behalf of UNDP China, I would like to warmly thank our co-host, the Future Affairs Administration, for this inspiring collaboration, and all our partners, creators, writers, experts, and leaders who have helped bring this vision to life.
Today’s event builds on the My Sustainable City campaign, which UNDP China launched on World Cities Day last year.
That campaign invited people around the world to re-imagine what sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities could look like—not only through policy frameworks or technical plans, but through creativity, storytelling, and bold imagination.
Today’s event also provides a space where science fiction meets sustainable development, where AI-generated futures spark human reflection, and where imagination becomes a catalyst for action.
The latest Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report paints a stark reality: Only 35% of SDG targets are on track or showing moderate progress.
Nearly half are moving too slowly or making only marginal progress, while 18% have regressed.
Climate change, environmental degradation, inequality, demographic shifts, and rapid technological transformation are reshaping how we live, move, and connect.
Against this backdrop, it is expected that more than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050, and the choices we make today will define what those cities will look like.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Why does imagination matter?
Because the challenges facing our cities are not inevitable or irreversible.
To respond to these challenges, we need vision.
We need to ask not only what is possible, but what kind of future we want.
Science fiction has always played this role.
It allows us to explore futures, test ideas, question assumptions, and imagine alternatives.
When combined with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, imagination becomes even more powerful: it gives form to abstract ideas and opens up new ways for people to engage with sustainability.
At UNDP, we believe development must be people-centred.
That is why this event emphasizes not just smart cities, but cities that work for people, cities that are inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the needs of diverse communities.
“When combined with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, imagination becomes even more powerful: it gives form to abstract ideas and opens up new ways for people to engage with sustainability.”
Looking toward the 2030 deadline to achieve the SDGs, and beyond, to 2060, the question before us is not whether technology will shape our cities—it will.
The real question is how it will shape them, and for whom. More importantly, will technology deepen divides or close them?
A recent UNDP report found that AI risks sparking a new era of divergence as development gaps between countries widen. Women and young people are particularly vulnerable.
It is critical that women and girls are engaged in the “digital revolution” and reap its benefits, as highlighted in the Beijing+30 Action Agenda.
Indeed, International Women’s Day, marked globally on March 8th, reminds us that despite progress in advancing gender equality, barriers remain.
Women have always been architects of the future, yet their contributions, especially in science, technology, and innovation, have too often been overlooked.
Today’s event places women’s voices at the centre:
women science fiction writers imagining alternative futures;
women tech experts shaping how innovation is used;
women leaders redefining what inclusive urban development looks like.
Gender equality is a driver of better development outcomes.
Cities designed without women in mind are cities that fail half their population. Futures imagined without women’s perspectives are incomplete.
Sustainable cities cannot be built without gender equality, and innovation is strongest when it is diverse.
In addition, the specific theme of this year’s Women’s Day, which calls on us to advance rights and justice for women and girls, is particularly important.
As regulatory systems are continually updated in response to the rapid expansion of digitalization in our societies, it is all the more critical to ensure that women are not left behind, and have equal access to legal protections in this emerging space.
In closing, let’s think beyond constraints, beyond silos, and beyond the present moment.
Today’s event challenges us to see imagination not as an escape, but as a means to a better reality.
As you listen to today’s conversations and engage with the ideas shared here, I encourage you to reflect and ask yourselves: What can we do today to help make a sustainable future happen – for everyone, everywhere?
Together, we can ensure that the cities of 2060 are not only smart, but just, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.
Thank you very much, and I wish you an inspiring event.
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