As Chancellor of Amrita University, Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi) delivered the keynote address at a conference on Technology for Sustainable Development, co-hosted by the university and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) at the United Nations in New York. Before a gathering of more than 700 delegates and researchers representing 93 international universities, Amma called for an end to the artificial divide between science and spirituality, urging innovators to keep the upliftment of the poor and suffering at the heart of their work.
Segregating science and spirituality has been the greatest crime against humanity in the past century.
— Amma
The conference launched UNAI-START (Skills and Technology Accelerating Rapid Transformation), a new series pairing higher education with the goals of the UN. Faculty from Amrita University presented research developed with partners including Cambridge, Oxford, Stanford, EPFL, Monash, the National University of Singapore and Twente — projects spanning disaster management, education and healthcare, all applying modern technology for the benefit of vulnerable communities. Following the event, the UN and Amrita University inaugurated an online portal to foster ongoing global collaboration on technology for sustainable development.
