About UN Global Sustainable Development Forum
The Sustainable Development Transformation Forum (SDTF), led by the UN Office for Sustainable Development, unites policymakers, academics, and stakeholders to drive progress on the UN’s 2030 Agenda. It focuses on building strategic foresight, systems thinking, and resilience to address global challenges like poverty and climate change. Through interactive sessions, it promotes innovative solutions and partnerships for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
At the 2019 UN Global Sustainable Development Forum in South Korea, Nik Gowing led the opening brainstorming session, setting the stage for a dynamic exchange of ideas.
He also presented the latest findings from Thinking the Unthinkable to an audience of 120 top government, corporate, and NGO leaders. His insights encouraged a fresh perspective on the challenges of sustainable development, engaging attendees from diverse sectors to think critically about the future.
The tribute from a lead organiser confirms exactly what they were encouraged to believe would happen. It did, thereby defying any inevitable caution and scepticism.
“We were all very grateful both for your “interview” and the presentation of TtU, both of which energised the participants and led to their citing you or your ideas almost incessantly thereafter. I believe the presentation jolted them somewhat into, indeed, thinking the unthinkable and drew them out of their sometimes cosy attitude to what needs to be done or, rather, how it needs to be done.”
Our Latest Client Examples
Explore the latest from Thinking the Unthinkable. From global conferences and summits, to town hall meetings. Click on an example below to learn more about the work we do.
Exeter Climate Forum | Exeter, 2026
Thinking the Unthinkable partnered with the University of Exeter to deliver a thought-provoking session exploring one of the biggest barriers to climate action: how to communicate effectively in an increasingly polarised and misinformation-rich environment.
UK Nature Summit | York, 2026
The UK Nature Summit 2026, was hosted by Environment Bank at the historic Castle Howard Estate in North Yorkshire and moderated by Nik Gowing. The event brought together business leaders, investors, sustainability professionals and nature experts to examine how organisations can move from nature ambition to meaningful action.
CWZ Climate & Nature: Achieving Restoration at Scale | Zurich, 2026
At the opening of Climate Week Zurich 2026, Nik Gowing was invited to moderate a flagship session focused on one of the most persistent challenges in climate action: how to move from knowledge to implementation at scale.
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