Dr. Achyuta Samanta has been invited as a speaker at the International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD), 2016 hosted in collaboration with United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SSDN). He will be delivering a talk/presentation as to how KISS has been contributing to holistic development and fulfilment of UN SDGs. The work being done by Dr. Samanta was submitted in the form of an empirical paper to the UN ICSD for consideration. With only few selected invited speakers, the ICSD represents both a competitive and high-profile platform for discussions on sustainability. The conference will be held at Columbia University, New York on 21-22 September 2016. It will take place on the eve of the historic UN Summit on Sustainable Development, when the Sustainable Development Goals will be adopted. ICSD will host top academicians from around the world, top scientists, and world leaders from politics to government to the UN.

The past speakers in the conference have included the likes of Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on then Millennium Development Goals, WBCSD President, Peter Bakker, UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, Asian Development Bank Vice-President Stephen Groff, Journalist Femi Oke, Former PM of Ireland Mary Robinson, SRC Executive Director Johan Rockström, Dean of the Harvard Law School, Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO.