ClosingEvent:Prof.LukšićonSDGsataCrossroads:What’sNext?

To celebrate the conclusion of Prof. Dr. Igor Lukšić’s fellowship in Vienna, Global Neighbours hosted a special evening event featuring the lecture and discussion “SDGs at a Crossroads: What’s Next?”. Held on February 25, 2026, at Am Hof, the event brought together leading voices from diplomacy, politics, academia, and civil society to reflect on the future of global development.

The evening opened with welcoming remarks by Global Neighbours President Christian Kern, who invited participants to consider how profound global shifts, from geopolitics to technology, are reshaping development, finance, and international cooperation.

Opening remarks by Christian Kern

In his keynote address, Prof. Dr. Lukšić shared insights from his fellowship research and reflected on the changing trajectory of the Sustainable Development Goals. What began with optimism, he noted, has given way to a more complex reality shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, growing geopolitical tensions, rapid technological change, and an accelerating global energy transition. Together, these forces have exposed vulnerabilities in today’s development models while also opening space for new thinking.

Looking to the future, Prof. Dr. Lukšić highlighted three major megatrends that will most likely shape any agenda beyond 2030. Shifting geopolitical dynamics are challenging trust in the rules-based international order; technological acceleration is transforming societies at unprecedented speed; and the energy transition is redefining supply chains, dependencies, and innovation pathways. Addressing sustainability, he argued, requires acknowledging how deeply interconnected these developments have become.

Prof. Dr. Lukšić's outlook

In closing, Prof. Dr. Lukšić outlined four possible paths for the post-2030 era: no successor framework to the SDGs; a return to a narrower, MDG-style agenda; a renewed and updated SDG framework; or more flexible “coalitions of the willing,” particularly at the regional level. Framing today’s overlapping crises as a “polycrisis,” he encouraged the audience to see not only risk, but also opportunity – for stronger cooperation, greater resilience, and renewed global competitiveness.

The event concluded with an engaging Q&A session moderated by Christian Kern, giving participants the opportunity to share perspectives and continue the conversation sparked by Global Neighbours.