Global Poverty & Development
UNIS Conference for T3 and T4 students
Conference Overview
“Ours is a world of fabulous wealth and extreme poverty, of billions of people enjoying longevity and good health unimaginable in previous generations. Yet it is also a world in which at least 1 billion people live in such abject poverty that they struggle for mere survival every day. The poorest of the poor face the daily life-and-death challenges of insufficient nutrition, lack of health care, unsafe shelters, and the lack of safe drinking water and sanitation.” - Jeffrey Sachs
Do we have a moral duty to reduce poverty globally?
If so, what strategies are the most effective?
Do international institutions such as the UN, World Bank and IMF help or hinder development?
How can we bring about development while at the same time respecting the planetary boundaries?
This day-long conference, for all T3 and T4 students, will allow us to reflect on these questions, to celebrate recent achievements in moving millions out of extreme poverty, while at the same time focus on the challenges, setbacks and complexities within the field of development.
Afternoon Break-Out Sessions
Linking Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction
This session will engage you in a simulation that will make use of data from different countries to demonstrate links between economic growth and poverty reduction, and the differences that good policies can make in otherwise similar growth scenarios.
This session will be led by, George Gray, Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP.
Linking Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction
This session will engage you in a simulation that will make use of data from different countries to demonstrate links between economic growth and poverty reduction, and the differences that good policies can make in otherwise similar growth scenarios.
This session will be led by, George Gray, Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP.
Inequalities in Human Development and How to Assess and Address Them
Through a case study related to the Millennium Development Goals, this session will provide you with an introduction to the concept of human development and to alternative measures of development.
Led by Shantanu Mukherjee, Team Leader, MDGs, Poverty Practice, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP
Women’s Economic Empowerment
This session will introduce the topic of women’s economic empowerment and showcase how you can become immediately and actively involved in the process.
Led by Eduardo Pereira, Knowledge Management Specialist, Women’s Economic Empowerment, UN Women
Health and Human Development
Through dialogue and quiz segments, this session will focus on emerging health threats such as non-communicable diseases.
Led by Douglass Webb, Cluster Leader, Health and Human Development, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP
Peacebuilding and Development Nexus – Conflict as a Positive Driver for Transformational Change
Through interactive activities, this session will explore the nexus between conflict resolution and development and will look at conflict as a positive driver for transformational change.
Led by Devanand Ramiah, Crisis Prevention and Recovery Specialist, Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Recovery, UNDP
Children’s Rights and Development
Building Global Movements for Change: How Civil Society Can Help Solve the Climate and Poverty Crisis
Margaret Mead famously said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Social movements have helped drive some of the most important social advances in human history. This workshop will discuss the growing global movement to address the intersecting crises of poverty and climate chaos, with a special focus on creative strategies for public engagement.
Led by Jamie Henn, Co-founder and Strategy and Communications Director for 350.org, an international climate campaign, as well as the Communications Director for 350 Action. Over the past five years, 350.org has organized more than 20,000 climate demonstrations in over 180 countries around the world. In the United States, 350.org has been a central part of the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline and helps coordinate the growing fossil fuel divestment movement. Jamie is the author of Fight Global Warming Now and a frequent contributor to MSNBC, Huffington Post, Yes Magazine, Common Dreams, and more.
The Fish Game: Learning About Environmental and Sustainability Issues
The unique challenges that define our era—reversing global climate change, protecting biodiversity, restoring the health of our oceans, developing sustainable food systems, accelerating the shift toward clean, renewable energy—require fundamentally new ways of thinking and acting. Through an interactive fish game simulation, participants will reflect critically on mental models that contribute to unsustainability and on behaviors and strategies that contribute to sustainable outcomes.
Jaimie P. Cloud is the founder and president of the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education in New York City. The mission of The Cloud Institute is to ensure the viability of sustainable communities by leveraging changes in K-12 School Systems to prepare young people for the shift toward a sustainable future. Jaimie inspires young people to think about the world, their relationship to it, and their ability to influence it in an entirely new way