The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) representative to Japan, Hideko Hadzialic, explained at the 75th-anniversary meeting of the Japanese Parliamentary Committee of the World Federation that technology is one of the key issues at the UN-sponsored “Summit of the Future,” but it is important to promote human-centered technology from the perspective of human security. She said that promoting technology based on human security meant not only about technology but also about promoting non-technological aspects such as governance, regulation, and eliminating online harassment. In other words, technology is a means, not an end. The purpose, UNDP believes, is to promote women’s employment and dignity through technology, for example, and to use technology to promote health care and education, as well as to avoid misunderstanding and promote peace. Also, at the “Summit of the Future,” the future of youth and women will be taken up as an important issue, but UNDP considers it important to act today to support the Five-Year Plan and the SDG Action Plan in the field. The recent developments include advances in behavioral science, visions of the future, and future-based planning, such as a project in which children talk about the weather forecast for 2050. At the TICAD with African countries, African and Japanese students work together to develop a vision of what will happen 30 years from now. (Reporter Koki Imon) (23/5/2024)