The Yale Global Justice Program and ASAP hosted Dr. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University for a special lecture, \”Sustainable Development Goals: The Emerging Global Agenda.\” Critical responses were given by Dr. Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics at Yale and President and Founder of Innovations for Poverty Action and Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs and Director of the Global Justice Program and President of ASAP.

Videos are available of Dr. Sachs’s lecture, responses from Dr. Karlan and Dr. Pogge, and audience Q&A. Photos from the event are also available.

Dr. Sachs has been a leading figure in the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, an eight-point framework for promoting poverty alleviation and development worldwide, agreed to by all the world\’s countries and leading development institutions. The Millennium Development Goals will expire in 2015, and the framework that replaces them will shape poverty alleviation and development efforts for the next fifteen years. Dr. Sachs\’s is an important voice in the global debate over priorities for the next phase in international development.

Dr. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 80 countries.

Dr. Sachs serves as the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, having held the same position under UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He is co-founder and Chief Strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance, and is director of the Millennium Villages Project. Sachs is also one of the Secretary-General’s MDG Advocates, and a Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Development. He has authored three New York Times bestsellers in the past seven years: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011).

Academics and activists debated the future of the movement to curb illicit financial flows at an ASAP UK workshop in London on October 23, 2012. Event speakers Martin Kirk, Global Campaigns Director at The Rules, Toby Quantrill, Policy Advisor on Tax Justice at ActionAid UK, Alice Lépissier, Research Assistant at the Center for Global Development, and ASAP President Thomas Pogge offered diverse proposals for how activists might capitalize on political momentum coming out the G8 and G20 summits.

In conversation with Stephen Lewis, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson University and former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Lewis gives his assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Millennium Development Goals.

Produced by: Mitu Sengupta (Director, ASAP Canada) & James Loney

(0:16): Aspirations

(2:00): Gender Equality

(5:09): On Process

(8:06): MDGs Replacements

(9:30): Who is Responsible?

(12:31): Accountability

(14:24): Naming and Shaming

(16:22): Three Must-Have Features

(21:10): Why Global Poverty Persists

(23:32): Opportunities for Advocacy

(27:11): MDGs and Human Rights

(28:50) Three Ways to Beat Global Poverty

(32:13): What Canadians Can Do

The fifth annual conference on illicit financial flows and financial transparency at Yale kicked off this Friday. ASAP, the Yale Global Justice Program, and Global Financial Integrity co-hosted the event.

Thomas Pogge, President of ASAP, and Mitu Sengupta, ASAP Board Member and President of ASAP Canada, published an essay in the Guardian\’s development blog, Poverty Matters. Sengupta and Pogge argue that affluent people have influenced the shape global rules and institutions to their own advantage. Some of these structures–like the TRIPS agreement and the global network of tax havens–are perpetuating poverty. The authors argue that the global development framework that will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 ought to catalyze the reform of these harmful arrangements. To put such reforms into motion, the post-2015 development agenda must identify specific steps to be taken by specific actors; without such actor responsibility, the MDG successors will fall short of their potential to benefit people in poverty.

Read the full article on the Guardian website.

The ASAP Genuinely Participatory Consultations (GPC) Working Group has published its initial assessment of the UN’\’s global consultation process on the next phase of international development.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has been leading an initiative to genuinely include poor and marginalized people, governments, NGOs, the private sector, unions, and academics in the discussion of the global development framework that will succeed the Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs). This process, initiated in spring of 2012, has included national consultations in more than 60 countries and eleven global thematic consultation meetings. National consultations concluded in January and thematic consultations will run through the spring.

According to the UN Development Group website\’s page on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, consultations were meant to \”stimulate discussion amongst national stakeholders and to garner inputs and ideas for a shared global vision\”.

This global consultation process stands in contrast with the method used to design the MDG framework in the late 1990s. Although the years leading up to the formulation of the MDGs saw many global summits on development issues, the list of MDGs was finalized without public input. While the policy process this time has been more inclusive, it is not yet clear how the ideas generated in the post-MDG consultation meetings will influence the new development framework.

ASAP has formed an expert working group on participatory consultation to discuss the inclusiveness of the process of formulating the MDG successors and to make recommendations for participatory implementation of the new framework.

The group\’s discussion paper, outlines principles for inclusive consultation processes in general and suggests ways of ensuring that the new development framework is implemented in an inclusive and participatory way.

The report\’s main conclusions include:

1. Consultations must ensure that the voices of those who are consulted are taken seriously and have weight in final decision-making about the post-MDG development agenda.
2. All consultations must be evaluated on the basis of how genuinely participatory they are.
3. Genuinely participatory processes are part of an ongoing process that is important to the legitimization of the post-MDG development agenda, not only in terms of the content of the MDG replacement goals themselves but also in terms of the successful implementation and monitoring of those goals.

Meena Krishnamurthy, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Manitoba, recruited the team of academic experts in the field of democratic theory and was lead author of the discussion paper. Describing the process, she said \”writing the paper was actually quite easy, because we all agreed on the fundamental issues of why genuinely participatory processes are important and how to begin to implement such processes.\”

Elizabeth Anderson, Professor of Philosophy and Women\’s Studies at the University of Michigan and a member of the working group, also observed broad agreement amongst the experts involved: \”I found a high degree of consensus among the members of the working group, which is not to say that we all had the same ideas coming in, but that we saw the value of the ideas everyone was putting in,\” she said.

Krishnamurthy says she does not believe that this group\’s recommendations will significantly influence the post-MDG consultation meetings organized at the UN, since this process is almost over. However, she says she believes the group\’s work could be valuable for development policy going forward.

\”The processes that we have argued for and outlined could be applied to more general international political processes and consultations. So, perhaps the document could be used as a model, more generally, for genuinely participatory discussions regarding development.\”

Looking towards next steps for the post-MDG framework, Anderson said that the time for consulting academics has passed. \”The main work going forward for the UN process is not so much to consult academics, as to consult the poor themselves, and to be responsive to their voices. We academics have contributed successfully to the extent that we have facilitated the empowerment of the poor.\”

Krishnamurthy sees an important role for participatory consultation not just in the formulation, but also in the implementation and monitoring of the new development framework.

\”I think the next step really is to think about how genuine participation can be part of the implementation and monitoring of the MDGRs [MDG replacements]. There already exists a body of work on participatory processes in the implementation and monitoring of health-related goals. Perhaps we can draw on this model as we begin to think about how participation can be realized in relation to the MDG-Rs and issues of health.\”

The members of ASAP\’s Participatory Consultations Working Group are Elizabeth Anderson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and John Rawls Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Women\’s Studies at the University of Michigan; Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Mayer Professor of Philosophy and Political Science and Director of the Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics at Yale University; Lyn Carson, Professor of Applied Politics, School of Humanities and Communication Arts, University of Western Sydney; John Dryzek, Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University and Australian Research Council Federation Fellow; Meena Krishnamurthy, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of Manitoba; Vijayendra Rao, Lead Economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank; Charles Sabel, Maurice T. Moore Professor of Law and Social Science at Columbia Law School; Gilad Tanay, Ph.D. Candidate in the Philosophy Department of Yale University; Catarina Tully, Director of From Over Here; Mark Warren, Professor of Political Science and Harold and Dorrie Merilees Chair in the Study of Democracy, University of British Columbia; Scott Wisor, Research Fellow in the Centre for Moral, Social, and Political Theory in the School of Philosophy at the Australian National University; Melissa Williams, Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto; and Bettina von Lieres, Centre for Critical Development Studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

Some of the world\’s most prominent scholars of participatory governance and development have joined an ASAP team formed to help ensure an inclusive process in the development of replacement measures for the Millennium Development Goals.

The United Nations is holding a series of thematic consultations with academia, media, private sector, employers and trade unions, civil society and decision makers on the post-MDG development agenda. These meetings are likely to have a great impact on the new framework of international goals that will succeed the MDGs after 2015.

It is crucial that the voices of the global poor are well-represented in these consultations. Towards that end, ASAP, in collaboration with the Beyond 2015 coalition, has formed a team of experts on participatory consultation that will work to ensure that representatives of the global poor our meaningfully engaged in the upcoming UN meetings.

The team:

• Elizabeth Anderson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and John Rawls Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Womens Studies at the University of Michigan
• Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Mayer Professor of Philosophy and Political Science and Director of the Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics at Yale University.
• Simon Burall, Director of Involve
• Lyn Carson, Fellow at the Centre for Citizenship and Public Policy at the University of Western Sydney, Australia
• John Dryzek, Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University and Australian Research Council Federation Fellow
• Meena Krishnamurthy, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of Manitoba
• Charles Sabel, Maurice T. Moore Professor of Law and Social Science at Columbia Law School
• Gilad Tanay, Ph.D. Candidate, Yale University
• Catarina Tully, Director of From Over Here
• Scott Wisor, Research Fellow in the Centre for Moral, Social, and Political Theory in the School of Philosophy at the Australian National University

For more information about this project contact Gilad Tanay (gilad.tanay@yale.edu) or Meena Krishnamurthy (meena.krishnamurthy@gmail.com).

ASAP provided a background brief titled \”After 2015: What Do We Know? Where Do We Go From Here?\” to participants in a civil society dialogue on the MDG successors, held in London on November 1 and 2. The event was organized to allow civil society groups to present proposals the High Level of Eminent Persons, appointed to advise the United Nations General Assembly on the contents of the development framework that will succeed the MDGs in 2015. Prior to the meeting, the High Level Panel published a list of six discussion questions to guide the meeting, addressing themes like jobs and livelihoods, inequality, inclusive growth, and ecologically fragile areas. ASAP responded to these six questions and laid out four principles that should underlie the post-2015 framework.

ASAP\’s background brief is available for download.

ASAP established its Canadian chapter with a three-day intensive workshop at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto. More than 300 participants from 30 North American universities attended the event entitled: \”Beyond 2015: Towards a New Consensus on Ending Global Poverty\”. It focused on the current process for replacing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the global agreement to reduce poverty and related deprivations, which will expire in 2015. The workshop featured some of the world\’s most prominent poverty researchers, as well as representatives of leading poverty NGOs and civil servants. They were united by the concern that the new international agreement superseding the MDGs make good on the promise of ending world poverty.

\”We had a fantastic turnout and some really thoughtful, engaged dialogue with the speakers,\” said lead organizer Mitu Sengupta, an ASAP Board member and Associate Professor of Political Science at Ryerson. \”We all look forward to building on the conference momentum and developing a vibrant ASAP chapter in Canada.\”

You can view and download the full conference program and final conference report.

Day 1, Opening Remarks

In these remarks, Thomas Pogge introduces Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), explaining its motivation and goals as they relate to global poverty.

Day 1, Panel 1: Growth, Inequality, and Unemployment

This panel examines general strategies for global poverty eradication. The discussion focuses on strategies for tackling inequality, ensuring inclusive growth, and creating employment. Chaired by Roberta Rice, University of Toronto at Scarborough.

Speakers:

• Paul Shaffer, Trent University (at 1:12)
• Albert Berry, University of Toronto (at 13:38)
• Solomon Benatar, University of Cape Town (at 35:13)
• Murtaza Haider, Ryerson University (at 43:43)
• Randy Spence, Economics and Social Development Associates (at 59:50)

Day 1, Panel 2: Reforming Governance and Institutions – Connecting the Local with the Global

The two sessions that comprise this panel examine general strategies for global poverty eradication, recognizing poverty as a global problem that requires responses not only at the national level but also at the global level.

Session 1 – Chaired by Anil Varughese, Carleton University

Speakers:

• Joseph Wong, University of Toronto (at 00:17)
• Richard Sandbrook, University of Toronto (at 30:25)
• Ananya Mukherjee Reed, York University (at 51:37)
• Discussion (at 1:14:35)

Session 2 – Chaired by Andrea Brown, Wilfred Laurier University

Speakers:

• Pablo Idahosa, York University (at 00:00)
• Judith Teichman, University of Toronto (at 12:35)
• Mustafa Koc, Ryerson University (at 27:28)
• Discussion (at 45:20)

These remarks begin a series of panels that examine general strategies for global poverty eradication. The focus of Thomas Pogge and Gilad Tanay’s remarks is on reforming global institutions and the supranational rules that perpetuate global poverty and inequality.

Speakers:

• Thomas Pogge, Yale University (at 00:00)
• Gilad Tanay, Yale University (at 30:58)

Day 2, Panel 1: Replacing the Millennium Development Goals

This panel examines specific strategies for influencing the MDG replacement process, emphasizing consensus building within the academic community. Chaired by Gilad Tanay, Yale University.

Speakers:

• Varun Gauri, World Bank (at 00:00)
• Sakiko Fukuda Parr, New School (at 19:10)
• James Orbinski, Balsillie School of International Affairs (at 38:35)
• Stephen Marks, Harvard University (at 1:12:35)
• Meera Tiwari, University of East London (at 1:29:01)
• Discussion (at 1:48:39)

Day 2, Panel 2: Curbing Illicit Financial Flows as an International Development Goal

In this panel, speakers discuss the significance of illicit financial flows as a factor contributing to the persistence of global poverty, along with possible solutions at both the global and national levels. Chaired by Melissa Williams, University of Toronto.

Speakers:

• Raymond Baker, Global Financial Integrity (at 00:00)
• Chris MacDonald, Ryerson University (at 17:05)
• Ian Smillie, Diamond Development Initiative (at 30:37)
• Thomas Tieku, Munk School of Global Affairs University of Toronto (at 50:27)
• Discussion (at 1:03:38)

Day 3, Panel 1: Innovation and Access to Medicines

This panel examines how innovations might be stimulated through an alternative scheme under which innovators could sell their product at cost in exchange for publicly funded reward payments proportional to the product’s measured benefits.

Speakers:

• Matthew Herder, Dalhousie University (at 00:00)
• Stephen Marks, Harvard University, as Chair (at 11:18)
• Tim Gilbert, Gilberts Avant Garde Lawyers (at 12:20)
• Alex Wellington, Ryerson University (at 26:28)
• Aidan Hollis, University of Calgary (at 42:17)
• Ryoa Chung, University of Montreal (at 1:00:27)
• Jocelyn Mackie, Grand Challenges Canada (at 1:15:40)
• Discussion (at 1:31:52)

Day 3, Panel 2: Consultations with Civil Society Groups and Community Leaders

In this panel, representatives of the non—profit sector identify problems, propose solutions, and offer insight, expertise, and advice to the academics, students, aid practitioners and policymakers attending the workshop. The discussion focuses on the role of civil society and community organizations in global poverty alleviation and their thoughts about linking local issues and struggles with those that are transnational or global in focus. Chaired by Lisa Mills, Carleton University.

Speakers:

• John Lewis, KAIROS (at 0:00)
• Winnie Ng, CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy (at 16:00)
• Sara Hildebrand, Millennium Kids (at 32:20)
• Salimah Valiani, Ontario Nurses Association (at 43:32)
• Ian Smillie, Diamond Development Initiative (at 59:54)
• Discussion (at 1:18:26)

Day 3, Panel 3: Consultations with Students

Members of ASAP jump start an open group discussion by discussing the role that students can play in ASAP. Chaired by Melanie Adrian, Carleton University.

Speakers:

• Ashok Acharya, Delhi University (at 0:00)
• Elisabeth King, Balsillie School of International Affairs (at 16:50)
• Matthew Lindauer, Yale University (at 27:06)