Leveraging Policies for Sustainable Development Goals
IMF SEMINAR EVENT
DATE: October 12, 2018
DAY: Friday
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
LOCATION: Bali International Convention Center (BICC), WE-1-Auditorium
Overview
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the core of an ambitious global framework based on the idea that development should be economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Global priority areas, such as poverty eradication, reduced inequalities, and sustainable economic growth, underpin SDGs and are particularly important for developing countries. However, with faltering growth and rising vulnerabilities in many of these countries, SDG implementation is facing setbacks and SDG-related spending could add to already rising debt burdens.
This seminar will focus on the following questions: What are the spending needs to achieve the SDGs? How can countries meet their social and investment spending priorities without compromising debt sustainability? How can SDG implementation be supported through stronger tax capacity and greater spending efficiency? How can development partners, the private sector, and other international stakeholders support the implementation of SDGs?
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Leveraging Policies for Sustainable Development Goals
Panelists
Moderator: Rachelle Akuffo
America in February 2012 and has interviewed a range of CEOs and leading newsmakers and reported on some of the world’s most pressing issues. Rachelle also launched the show’s award-winning startups segment, Starting Block. Ms. Akuffo began her career as a radio journalist in England and went on to work as an anchor and reporter for Swiss bank Dukascopy, covering market-moving financial news. She was also a correspondent for the millennial-focused digital news service, OneMinuteNews. Ms. Akuffo has received several accolades including one from Digital Hollywood for her coverage of the 2008 U.S. elections and a 2015 Clarion Award for her reporting on the struggles of Latina entrepreneurs. A strong proponent of volunteerism, Ms. Akuffo was crowned Miss Ghana International in 2005 which gave her a unique platform for charitable projects in health, education and business. She has also lent her services as a newsreader for the blind. Ms. Akuffo is an alumnus of Howard University in Washington D.C. and of London’s Brunel University.
Opening Remarks: Tao Zhang
Mr. Tao ZHANG assumed the role of Deputy Managing Director at the IMF on August 22, 2016. He brings extensive international economic expertise and experience in policymaking, including with international financial institutions, from his previous appointments as the Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China and IMF’s Executive Director for China from 2011 to 2015.
Prior to his position as the Deputy Governor, Mr. Zhang held a number of high-level positions in the People’s Bank of China: Director-General of the Legal Affairs Department; Director-General of the International Department; and, Director-General of Financial Survey and Statistics Department. Mr. Zhang also worked at the World Bank from 1995 to 1997 and at the Asian Development Bank from 1997 to 2004.
Mr. Zhang holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Finance from Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Panelist: Masood Ahmed
Masood Ahmed is president of the Center for Global Development. He joined the Center in January 2017, capping a 35-year career driving economic development policy initiatives relating to debt, aid effectiveness, trade, and global economic prospects at major international institutions including the IMF, World Bank, and DFID.
Panelist: Belay Begashaw
Prior to being appointed as Director General to the SDGC/A, Dr. Begashaw was the Director of the Columbia Global Centers for Africa as part of the Earth Institute (EI). He joined the EI in January 2009 as a Senior Agriculture Policy Specialist for Eastern and Southern Africa, and soon became the Director of the MDG Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. He has served as the Associate Director of the Agriculture and Food Security Center of the EI.
Panelist: Winnie Byanyima
Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director at Oxfam International, is a world-renowned women’s rights leader, human rights defender and a global authority on economic inequality. At Oxfam she leads a confederation of 20 civil society organisations working in more than 90 countries worldwide empowering people to create a future that is secure, just, and free from poverty. Ms Byanyima serves also on the Global Commission on the Future of Work established by the International Labour Organization. She currently chairs the World Economic Forum’s Regional Strategy Group for Africa. She recently served on the United Nations (UN) High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Prior to Oxfam, Ms Byanyima led the directorates on gender and development at the UN Development Programme and the African Union Commission. A Ugandan national, Ms. Byanyima was elected for three terms and served eleven years in the Ugandan Parliament.
Panelist: Jeffrey Sachs
Professor Jeffrey Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. During 2002 to 2016 he served as the Director of the Earth Institute. Sachs is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the Sustainable Development Goals. He is also Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Guterres), Chair and Founder of SDG USA (a non-governmental initiative to promote sustainable development in the United States), and co-founder and Chief Strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance.