International Development Research Network

POSTPONED:

MDG Lecture series at Green College: “Aiding” Development? The Millennium Development Goals, Foreign Assistance and Poverty Alleviation, January 30, 2012.

Please forgive the quick change of circumstances. This event has been postponed due to an unforeseen situation. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused due to the last-minute nature of the postponement. Please check back for further details regarding the rescheduling of the panel discussion, and consider attending another upcoming event in the Millennium Development Goals series, listed below.

Best,
IDRN Steering Committee

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For other lectures in this thematic series, please see below, or download the poster here.

Global health: Prospects and challenges beyond the Millennium Development Goals
Majid Ezzati, Chair in Global Environmental Health, Imperial College London
5-6:30 pm, Thursday, February 16, 2012

New goals for a new millennium?
The politics of gender, environment and biodiversity
Ferida Akhter, Executive Director, UBINIG, Bangladesh
5-6:30 pm, Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Off track, onside? Realising the water and sanitation MDG may be possible, but what will it achieve?
Lyla Mehta, Research Fellow, Institute for Development Studies, Brighton, England
5-6:30 pm, Wednesday, March 28 2012

All events are at the Green College Coach House (6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC) and open to the public without charge.

Complimentary tea and coffee are available in the Piano Lounge of Graham House at Green College from 4:30 pm onwards. Those attending talks at Green College are warmly invited to stay for dinner. For information on obtaining dinner tickets and making reservations, see www.greencollege.ubc.ca/join_us_for_dinner/index.php.

This Green College Thematic Series is co-sponsored by the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the International Development Research Network.

THE UNITED NATIONS MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS 

Over the past two decades, the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs—eight guiding objectives to reduce global poverty and improve the standard of living of the world’s poor—have became the foundation of the United Nation’s international development framework. As the suggested timeline for these targets is soon coming to an end (2015), there is a need for discussion and evaluation of what progress has been made towards meeting these goals, what obstacles remain, and what the effects of the MDGs as a policy instrument and set of guiding principles have been. This series engages with the set of goals on the whole, as well as several specific mandates, to improve understanding of issues related to poverty alleviation in the developing world, and also to address key governance issues and outstanding concerns.

IDRN, the Liu Institute for Global Issues and Green College are partnering to bring to the UBC community a series of lectures and student roundtables with experts in areas ranging from hunger and poverty to gender and health. The upcoming 2012 events include:

Jan 30th:

“AIDING” DEVELOPMENT? THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION.
Ashok Kotwal, Department of Economics, UBC John Hariss, School for International Studies, SFU Philippe Le Billon, Department of Geography, UBC Patrick Francois (Moderator), Department of Economics, UBC

Feb 16th:

GLOBAL HEALTH: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES BEYOND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS.
Majid Ezzati, Chair in Global Environmental Health, Imperial College London

Feb 29th:

NEW GOALS FOR A NEW MILLENIUM? THE POLITICS OF GENDER, ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
Ferida Akhter, Executive Director, UBINIG, Bangladesh

Mar 28th:

OFF TRACK, ONSIDE? REALISING THE WATER AND SANITATION MDG MAY BE POSSIBLE BUT WHAT WILL IT ACHIEVE?
Lyla Mehta, Research Fellow, Institute for Development Studies, Brighton, England

Full poster with additional information is available here. 

When: Wednesday, November 30th, 5pm

Where: Green College Coach House, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road

Presented By: Arnold Timmer
Senior Advisor, Micronutrients, UNICEF

Over the past two decades, the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs—eight guiding objectives to reduce global poverty and improve the standard of living of the world’s poor—have became the foundation of the United Nation’s international development framework. As the suggested timeline for these targets is soon coming to an end (2015), there is a need for discussion and evaluation of what progress has been made towards meeting these goals, what obstacles remain, and what the effects of the MDGs as a policy instrument and set of guiding principles have been. This series engages with the set of goals on the whole, as well as several specifi c mandates, to improve understanding of issues related to poverty alleviation in the developing world, and also to address key governance issues and outstanding concerns.

Part of the Thematic Series, “The United Nations Millenium Development Goals: Progress and Prospects”, co-sponsored by Green College, the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the International Development Research Network (IDRN).

Open to the public without charge.

Complimentary tea and coffee are available in the Piano Lounge of Graham House at Green College from 4:30 pm onwards. Those attending talks at Green College are warmly invited to stay for dinner. For information on obtaining dinner tickets and making reservations, see www.greencollege.ubc.ca/join_us_for_dinner/index.php.

Full presentation slides are available here.

For more information on the full thematic series, please see the poster here.

IDRN and the Liu Institute present Jordan Levine, Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies Program

When: Wed., Nov. 23, 2011, 12:30-1:30pm

Where: Liu Institute for Global Issues, 3rd Floor Boardroom

For four days in early December 2010, the worst forest fire in the history of the modern Middle East raged across Mount Carmel, in what is today northern Israel. Over 40 people died, and over 15,000 hectares of national parks and nature reserves were burned. Widespread anger threatened to topple the acting government and ethnic tensions between Jewish and Arab citizens flared.

In the following months, UBC PhD student Jordan Levine conducted cognitive anthropological fieldwork on the Carmel region, interviewing local Druze Arab residents—who have since been blamed for the fire—as well as key Israeli Nature and Parks Authority employees. In this presentation, Jordan will talk about his somewhat surprising findings (including voiceless goats), as well as the challenges of doing such work in the Middle East.

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Please RSVP if you plan to attend: http://app.fluidsurveys.com/s/field-debrief-levine/
attendance is free

Who: Ther Aung, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability

When: November 8, 2011 – 12:30pm-1:30pm

Where: Liu Institute for Global Issues, 3^rdFloor Boardroom

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a market based tool under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which allows for generation of tradable certified credits through investment in emission reduction projects. In June 2011, a local Indian NGO, Samuha, received the country’s first CDM approval for a cook stove program. Samuha plans to distribute 40,000 improved cook stoves in villages in Karnataka State with an aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving health and livelihoods in rural villages.

In summer 2011, UBC researchers, Andy Grieshop*, Conor Reynolds and Ther Aung, together with researchers from University Minnesota traveled to India to set up a randomized control trial to evaluate the health, climate and livelihood impacts of Samuha’s first cook stove change-out program. Conor and Ther will share their experiences of working in rural India and the technical, logistical, and cultural challenges associated with implementing a complex, technical, and multi-disciplinary study.

*Formerly a UBC Postdoc

Field Debriefs are a recurring event brought to you by the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the International Development Research Network. To inquire about delivering a future debrief, please contact IDRN.

“Progress and Challenges of Meeting MDGs and Securing Environmental Sustainability: What will we do after 2015?”

Jean Lebel, Director, Agriculture and Environment, International Development Research Centre

5-6:30pm, Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A free lecture at Green College Coach House, UBC

This is the first lecture in the Green College Thematic Series entitled The United Nations Millennium Development Goals: Progress and Prospects, co-sponsored by the Liu Institute for Global Issues and IDRN. Over the past two decades, the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs—eight guiding objectives to reduce global poverty and improve the standard of living of the world’s poor—have became the foundation of the UN’s international development framework. As the suggested timeline for these targets is soon coming to an end (2015), there is a need for discussion and evaluation of what progress we have made towards meeting these goals, what obstacles remain, and what the effects of the MDGs as a policy instrument and set of guiding principles have been. This series engages with the set of goals on the whole, as well as several specific mandates, to improve understanding of issues related to poverty alleviation in the developing world and also to address key governance issues and outstanding concerns. Specific lectures will likely include focus on poverty and hunger; gender equality, environmental sustainability, water quality and access, and education.

For more information on the Green College Interdisciplinary Lecture Series, please see the Green College website.

When: Thursday, October 13th, 2011, 5-7:30pm

Where: Liu Institute for Global Issues, 1st floor

Join us for our first networking event of the semester, a great opportunity to meet other people interested in international development and to learn more about the International Development Research Network. You will get to meet many new people during a whirlwind round of Speed Networking Bingo, while competing for the coveted title of Bingo Champion. We will have tasty nibbles and drinks to share. Please RSVP. We look forward to seeing you there!

Nick Roberts, Centre for Natural Hazard Research, SFU Debriefs:

Landslides and societal impact in the Bolivian Andes

April 14, 2011 – 5:30-6:30pm – AERL Building (2202 Main Mall, UBC) Rm 107/108

Landslides are a ubiquitous problem in the Central Andes, posing an obstacle to development and a threat to lives. An understanding of natural and social conditions contributing to high landslide risk in the region is necessary to reduce losses from landslides. My research investigates landslide phenomena and risk in two contrasting communities in the Bolivian Andes. La Paz is the largest urban and economic centre in Bolivia and experiences frequent landslides. The most recent event (27 February 2011) killed two people, injured dozens, and affected an estimated 6,000 people. Yocarhuaya is a rural indigenous village underlain by a large slow-moving landslide that gradually destroys the community’s infrastructure. The talk describes landslide issues faced by these communities, the strategies they use for dealing with landslide risk, and some of my experiences working in the region.

Education is an excellent way to swiftly improve risk reduction. We have supported education in Yocarhuaya for the past two years through provision of essential supplies for its 160 students. Donations will be accepted at the talk to purchase new school supplies for 2011.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend –
attendance is free

RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1425526789

The Liu Institute for Global Issues,
International Development Research Network (IDRN)

PRESENTS:

Movie Night on Thursday March 24^th

Film Screening:

Milking the Rhino

March 24, 2011 – 5:30-7:30pm – AERL Building (2202 Main Mall, UBC) Rm 107/108

Photo Credit: Kartempuin Films (http://milkingtherhino.org/index.php)

Milking the Rhino examines the deepening conflict between humans and animals in an ever-shrinking world. It is the first major documentary to explore wildlife conservation from the perspective of people who live with wild animals. Shot in some of the world’s most magnificent locales, Rhino offers complex, intimate portraits of rural Africans at the forefront of community-based conservation: a revolution that is turning poachers into preservationists and local people into the stewards of their land. (Source: http://milkingtherhino.org/index.php)

RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1422489705

Danika Kleiber Debriefs:
Gender and Small-Scale Fisheries in Central Philippines
February 10, 2011 – 5:30-6:30pm – AERL Building (2202 Main Mall, UBC) Rm 107/108

The success of marine conservation projects such as marine protected areas (MPAs) depends on understanding both women and men’s marine resource extraction. However, women’s roles are often overlooked, partly due to assumptions about what counts as ‘fishing’. In July-August 2010 I conducted research on the participation of women, men and children in small-scale fisheries in the Danajon Bank region of the Central Philippines. Throughout my research I worked in close collaboration with a local Philippine NGO “Project Seahorse Foundation”. I found differences in how, where, what and why women and men fish. This difference in roles and loci of activity should mean that any placement of MPAs will have asymmetrical gendered effects. I will examine the results of my study and the implications for future management of small-scale fisheries in this region.

RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/998633941