Strengthening digital infrastructures and leveraging emerging technologies like AI are central to smarter governance, improved citizen outreach, and streamlined public and private service delivery. AI models and applications are enabling incisive data-driven decisions, predicting trends, improving efficiency, and ensuring smarter and more precise outcomes. This pillar will examine questions around digital transformations and innovation in island states in an age of AI, and will explore the benefits and risks of these emerging technologies.

Island economies like Sri Lanka face the converging challenges of climate vulnerability and energy insecurity. Rising sea levels, erratic weather, and resource depletion threaten livelihoods, while sustainable energy transitions become critical. For Sri Lanka, building climate resilience and adopting low-carbon energy systems are essential. At the same time, the country has a long heritage of leadership in areas like sustainable hydraulic and irrigation systems. A large number of these millennia-old systems remain serviceable even today. Despite hurdles such as high renewable energy costs and fiscal constraints, island economies can lead climate innovation, leveraging local knowledge, driving change and contributing to the gather global momentum towards sustainability. This pillar will explore questions around the use of renewal energy alternatives, building resilient and decentralised energy systems, and accelerating just transitions.

Women and youth continue to bear the brunt of social, political, economic, and cultural upheavals. As women increasingly occupy leadership positions, they grapple with issues like the disproportionate burden of care work, gender biases and stereotypes, and structural barriers in institutions and workplaces. Young people constitute nearly 25 per cent of the global population and bring innovative problem-solving skills, boundless energy, creativity and digital fluency. Yet their voices and ideas are not sufficiently integrated into decision-making processes. For island economies and other states, it is imperative to ensure high standards of decent work, gender equality, and reduced inequalities. This pillar will explore the role of women and youth as change-makers, and will explore mechanisms for supporting their interventions.

Sri Lanka’s blue economy is pivotal for sustainable development, with "Blue Food" and "Blue Jobs" driving livelihoods and food security. The fisheries sector contributes 1.4% to GDP and supports coastal communities, aligning with the global blue economy’s $3–$6 trillion annual output and 260 million livelihoods. Sri Lanka is diversifying into marine ecotourism and ocean-based industries, but challenges like overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change threaten sustainability, necessitating strategic efforts to protect and enhance blue resources and employment. This pillar will explore questions around the optimal utilization of the blue economy, the crucial role of the fisheries sector, and the mitigation of climate impacts.

Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic crisis underscores the challenges faced by Global South economies grappling with debt, fiscal imbalances, and external shocks like the pandemic and rising energy prices. Its journey from a macroeconomic crisis to a gradual recovery offers valuable lessons in resilience and reform. Tourism, remittances, and renewed investor confidence have contributed to stabilizing the economy, though several challenges persist. This pillar will explore the Sri Lankan experience, emphasizing the importance of political will, economic diversification, and international cooperation in navigating crises.