NEW YORK: An Indian software engineer has won the first prize in a UN competition aimed at engaging the public in sharing ideas about how to visualise the inter linkages between the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

Abdulqadir Rashik, entrepreneur and founder of India-based Miavy Systems, won the prize in the United Nations #Links SDGs Data Visualisation Challenge.

He was awarded the challenges top prize for his submission Links to Sustainable Cities, which is an interactive visualisation that identifies and maps the links between SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and the other 16 Goals.

The global data science competition aimed to engage the public in sharing ideas about how to visualise the inter linkages between the SDGs, a set of 17 global goals and 169 targets adopted by the 193-member General Assembly last year that form the basis of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The solutions submitted as part of the #LinksSDGs Challenge will be used to identify further research opportunities and guide policy decisions around the implementation of global sustainability initiatives, the UN said in a statement.

Accepting his award, Rashik said, "if my solution results in uplifting the standard of living of even a single family, I would count it as one of my greatest achievements."

By identifying the number, type and directionality of links, the tool identifies which goals would most likely create opportunities for, or barriers to, the development of cities and communities that are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

"Sustainable development as an approach tries to understand the world in an integrated, systemic way and seeks to understand the multiple relationships that exist among all these goals," said Nikhil Chandavarkar, Chief of the Division for Sustainable Developments Outreach and Communications Branch.

LinksSDGs is the third challenge issued by Unite Ideas, a big data crowd sourcing platform developed by the Office of Information and Communications Technology to facilitate collaboration among academia, civil society and UN offices, and to mobilise data scientists and software developers worldwide to help tackle the complex issues faced by the world body and its member states though the creation of open source solutions. 

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