International Development - Video: Recent Episodes
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Project on Prosperity and Development (PPD) studies the central role of the private sector and governments in emerging economies and fragile or conflict-affected areas. The Global Food Security Program provides guidance to policymakers to ensure that U.S. foreign assistance and agricultural development programs are sustainable, efficient, and effective. The Humanitarian Agenda identifies and analyzes trends in the evolving humanitarian environment to improve delivery of aid and access to civilians in conflict zones. CSIS seeks to renew the discourse around international development in Washington and develop a fresh, actionable set of policy recommendations that address current challenges. Find the latest research from our scholars and CSIS events on this topic below.
In the United States, there is a sense of "Afghanistan fatigue." While there are certainly valid criticisms that can be levied against U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, a significant amount of social, economic, political, and public health progress has resulted from our engagement and Afghans' own hard work and commitment.
The under-five mortality and maternal mortality rates have nearly halved since 2000. Virtually no one in Afghanistan had electricity in 2000, but by 2016, nearly 85 percent of the population did. Women's education was practically non-existent under Taliban rule, but 3.5 million Afghan women are now enrolled in school. 170 radio stations, hundreds of print media outlets, and dozens of TV stations have opened since 2001 as free media, cell phones, television, and the internet have transformed Afghan society. GDP per capita has tripled since 2001, and official development assistance (ODA) as a percentage of central government expenditure decreased from 206 percent in 2006 to 59 percent in 2015. The Afghan National Army is now the primary group fighting the Taliban, and U.S. troop presence has dropped from 110,000 in 2011 to the current plan of 8,600. But Afghanistan's political progress and social gains are at risk of collapse if the United States chooses to completely disengage from the country. Given the mix of gains and disappointments, how do we establish the correct framework for U.S. engagement with a transitioning Afghanistan in 2020 and beyond?
This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.
For the last 20 years, the relationship between Pakistan and the United States has been refracted through the prism of Afghanistan.
Pakistan and the U.S. have a shared interest in working toward peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan and the U.S. have an opportunity to reframe the bilateral relationship. Prime Minister Imran Khan's meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House last July is seen as a turning point for the two countries after a difficult period.
There is a good case for a broader Pakistan-U.S. partnership: Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world, located in a central geographic part of the world, has the largest percentage of young people globally, and is the native land of over one million affluent and politically engaged Pakistani Americans. There is tremendous investment opportunity for U.S. companies in Pakistan’s enormous energy, agriculture, and tourism sectors.
Please join us for a conversation with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi of Pakistan as he lays out his vision for the Pakistan-U.S. relationship.
This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.
Malnutrition has the potential to bankrupt countries and prevent children from reaching their full potential. Unlike other food groups, fruits and vegetables provide beneficial outcomes across all malnutrition forms. Yet, despite the nutritional punch of fruits and vegetables, current global consumption is far below the minimum daily requirements of five portions.
Join the Global Food Security Project for the release of Seeds of Change: The Power of Fruits and Vegetables to Improve Nutrition in Tanzania, a new report focusing on how the United States and other donors are trying to boost fruit and vegetable consumption in Tanzania to improve nutrition through multisectoral and public–private approaches.
The event will feature a keynote lecture by the former Tanzanian Prime Minister, the Honorable Mizengo Pinda, which will be followed by an armchair conversation. The subsequent panel discussion will explore the unique challenges to fruit and vegetable consumption and current efforts to change dietary behavior.
This event is made possible by the generous support of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, in charge of the Fight against Tax Fraud, and Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium
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Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, in charge of the Fight against Tax Fraud, and Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium
- Katarína Mathernová, Deputy Director General, European Commission
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Moderator: Daniel F. Runde, Senior Vice President, CSIS
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Liz Lloyd, Chief Impact Officer, CDC Group (UK)
- Chantal Korteweg, Director, Stakeholders, Strategy & Knowledge Management, FMO (Netherlands)
- Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director for Financial Services, Africa Finance Corporation
- Paul Lamontagne, Chief Executive Officer, FinDev Canada
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Moderator: Romina Bandura, Senior Fellow, CSIS
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Bruno Wenn, Chairman, EDFI
On October 8, 2019, the Council of the European Union published a report by a High-level Wise Persons Group on the European financial architecture for development. The report made bold suggestions for setting a stronger policy direction for European development finance and called for consolidating responsibilities between the European Commission, European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It also called for a greater emphasis on Africa and climate change in investments by all of European development finance institutions (DFIs) and aid agencies. These proposals make it worth reviewing DFIs' role in mobilizing private investment is and in job creation.
DFIs are instrumental in bridging investment gaps and steering private capital into developing countries. Many groups reference the transformative power and scale of the private sector as the answer for filling global development investment gaps, but questions remain from these private institutions around risk and other issues. Private sector development funding now outpaces official development assistance (ODA), underlining the important role DFIs can play in the global development community. DFIs are essential to catalyzing private investment and building the relationship between private sector industries and public sector institutions. There are many channels, including financing for policy reforms, that enable investment within the private sector and improve infrastructure. This will ultimately create jobs, boost growth, and set an example for other private businesses and investors. Maximizing private investment in target markets, therefore, will expand job impact and contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
CSIS is hosting this event in partnership with EDFI-the Association of European Development Finance Institutions.
Climate change is upon us. In places like Nepal, where two-thirds of the labor force rely on agriculture to earn a living, the impacts of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and protracted droughts are becoming especially severe. The U.S. government is expanding its investment in programs that build climate resilience, but how can we ensure these investments are inclusive and beneficial to the most vulnerable populations?
Please join us for a panel discussion and the launch of our newest report, Dry Hills, Full Ponds: Climate Change, Resilience, and Agriculture in Nepal, which highlights promising approaches to placing the most vulnerable at the center of resilience-building efforts.
This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The international community predominately sees the private sector as the answer to the gap in financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but what other roles can the private sector play in development? Large multinational corporations have been operating in some of the most fragile contexts for years and could offer technical assistance to NGOs and aid agencies. The private sector also supplies 9 out of 10 jobs in developing countries and can help encourage foreign direct investment. Development agencies could also learn from the private sector's longstanding and resilient value chains throughout emerging markets. This event will explore these topics and feature representatives from the U.S. government, multinational corporations, SMEs, and development practitioners.
While the world has seen tremendous improvement in the availability of life-saving vaccines, new, targeted approaches are needed to address remaining gaps in immunization coverage. Among pressing challenges are completing polio eradication; reaching the disenfranchised, including those in fragile and disordered settings; supporting governments as they develop their own sustainable immunization systems, and; addressing vaccine hesitancy. The World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the U.S. government, and other global immunization organizations are striving to meet these demands as they develop new strategies and programmatic enhancements for the next decade of global immunization. If successful, these advances have the potential to significantly enhance global stability and health security.
The CSIS Global Health Policy Center will host a major conference on September 27 that will examine the innovations that will shape this future. The conference will feature keynote presentations by Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi; Kate O’Brien, Director of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals at the WHO; and Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF.
Registration will open at 8:30am.
Light refreshments will be served in the morning and lunch will be served at 11:30am.
J. Stephen Morrison
Senior Vice President and Director, CSIS Global Health Policy Center
Kate O'Brien
Director, Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals, World Health Organization
Seth Berkley
Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Moderated by:
Nellie Bristol
Senior Fellow, CSIS Global Health Policy Center
Edna Yolani Batres
Presidential Adviser of Health,Former Minister of Health, Republic of Honduras
Muhammad Ali Pate
Global Director, Health, Nutrition, and Population, World Bank, and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF)
Kerry Pelzman
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, U.S. Agency for International Development
Anne Schuchat (RADM, USPHS, RET)
Principal Deputy Director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Moderated by:
Amanda Glassman
Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
Henrietta Fore
Executive Director, UNICEF
Emilie Karafillakis
Research Fellow, Vaccine Confidence Project, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Rina Dey
Communication Director, CORE Group Polio Project, India
David Broniatowski
Associate Professor, George Washington University
with a video message from:
Congressman Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28)
Moderated by:
J. Stephen Morrison
Senior Vice President and Director, CSIS Global Health Policy Center
Nahid Bhadelia
Medical Director, Special Pathogens Unit, Boston University School of Medicine
Rebecca Martin
Director, Center for Global Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Violaine Mitchell
Interim Director, Vaccine Delivery, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
with a video message from:
Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Moderated by:
Katherine Bliss
Senior Fellow, CSIS Global Health Policy Center
Nellie Bristol
Senior Fellow, CSIS Global Health Policy Center
This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is celebrating 60 years of existence. The IADB is the largest source of development financing for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. 19 of the 26 borrowing countries in the region are defined as “small states.” These small states rely on the IADB’s deep expertise and long-term partnership in ways that larger borrowing countries do not. Since the IADB’s Ninth General Capital Increase, the IADB has aimed to dedicate at least 35 percent of its annual lending approval volume to the small states of Latin America and the Caribbean. In conjunction with the 60 anniversary celebration of the IADB, CSIS is hosting this public event to explore the contributions, challenges, and opportunities of the IADB in small states.
Agenda:
3:30 PM-3:45 PM: Opening Remarks
3:45 PM-4:45 PM: Panel Discussion
4:45 PM-5:00 PM: Audience Q&A
5:00 PM-6:00 PM: Event Reception
Please join us for this timely discussion on Wednesday, September 25. Upon conclusion of the event, a reception from 5:00-6:00 PM will take place on the first floor.
This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.
Please join the CSIS Global Food Security Project for a discussion with a panel of experts on the relationship between climate change, political instability, and food security using current events on the African continent as a lens. The emerging consensus is that climate change poses significant national security threats. However, specific linkages between climate change and political instability are still opaque. As climate change reshapes the agricultural landscape across Africa, there is concern that higher food prices and falling yields will lead to widespread urban unrest and catalyze participation in armed extremist movements.
Preceded by a keynote from Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), the discussion will examine how climate change is interacting with demographic trends in Africa to both heighten risks associated with agriculture in rural areas and those associated with dependence on global markets in urban areas. Our panelists will explore several issues such as how averting crisis in the face of climate change and food insecurity will require:
- Better incorporation of agricultural production and food prices—both global and local—into risk assessments.
- Reinvestment in agricultural and transport infrastructure to reform global agricultural trade to make it more climate-resilient for consumers and producers in the developing world.
- Opportunities to work with regional governments to develop more inclusive responses to manage political and economic instability.
This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.
The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which starts operations in October 2019, will modernize the U.S. development finance architecture. The DFC will expand the size and capabilities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and will seek to crowd-in vitally needed private sector investments in low- and lower-middle income countries through new tools such as local currency loans, first-loss guarantees, and equity investments. The DFC is expected to help solidify the work of different U.S. agencies that work on fostering the private sector abroad.
During this armchair conversation and panel discussion, the Project on Prosperity and Development will share its findings on how the DFC can work more effectively in the modern international development arena, improve coordination among U.S. allies and local businesses, and better support U.S. national security interests.
Please join us for this timely discussion and the launch of our report on September 24th.
This event is made possible by the Smith Richardson Foundation's generous support to CSIS.
Peace talks with the Taliban have dominated recent headlines. If a peace agreement is ever reached, it is worth looking to the future to see how that peace can be maintained and strengthened.
What would come next from economic development and governance perspectives? How do we move beyond foreign aid and security cooperation driven paradigms to one that focuses on private sector growth and new investments in promising sectors? Robust policies accepted at the national and local levels, good governance, women’s empowerment, tangible demonstrations of continued security, and other changes would be critical to building upon any eventual peace agreement. And that peace agreement, if it ever comes, will only be worth the paper on which it was written should Afghanistan be unable to move into a new, more sustainable chapter in its history.
This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.
The CSIS Humanitarian Agenda is hosting the first annual Washington Humanitarian Forum on September 19th, 2019. This full-day conference will focus on humanitarian challenges that sit at the intersection of United States national security and foreign policy priorities. This year’s theme is Unlocking Humanitarian Access – Opportunities for U.S. Leadership.
The Washington Humanitarian Forum will include the launch of a report produced by the CSIS Task Force on Humanitarian Access. The Task Force, co-chaired by Senator Todd Young (R-IN) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), looked at ways in which denial, delay, and diversion prevents humanitarian assistance from reaching the most vulnerable populations, and vice versa, in conflict-affected areas. The Task Force report analyzes challenges in priority countries for the United States and includes recommendations for how United States leadership can mitigate the most pressing access challenges.
- Video Address: Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator Todd Young (R-IN)
- Introductions: J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
- Opening Keynote: Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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Moderator: Kimberly Flowers, Director, Humanitarian Agenda & Global Food Security Projects, CSIS
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Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, former Executive Director, UN World Food Programme
- Patricia McIlreavy, Vice President for Policy and Practice, InterAction
- Dr. Paul B. Spiegel, Director, Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins University
- Anne Witkowsky, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, U.S. Department of Defense
- Moderator: Kimberly Flowers, Director, Humanitarian Agenda and Global Food Security Project, CSIS
The Humanitarian Implications of Cyber Conflict * Colonel Gary Corn, Director and Adjunct Professor, Washington College of Law, American University * Shanthi Kalathil, Senior Director, International Forum for Democratic Studies, National Endowment for Democracy * Moderator: James Andrew Lewis, Senior Vice President and Director, Technology Policy Program, CSIS
Yemen’s Crisis * Dr. Aisha Jumaan, Founder and President, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation * Peter Salisbury, Consulting Senior Analyst on Yemen, International Crisis Group * Sheba Crocker, Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice, CARE * Moderator: Jon Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbiegniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program, CSIS
Access in the Hot Zone: Navigating the DRC Ebola Outbreak * Admiral Tim Ziemer, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID * Ella Watson-Stryker, Humanitarian Representative, Médecins Sans Frontières * Jeremy Konyndyk, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development * Moderator: J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
The Growing...
On September 18, CSIS will be hosting a public launch event in partnership with the CrossBoundary Group for a new report, Investment Facilitation Revisited. Drawing on the experience of CrossBoundary's efforts to test and further develop ideas originally presented in the 2013 CSIS report on Investment Facilitation in Transitional and Fragile States, a team of experts at CSIS and CrossBoundary have revisited the issues and strategies identified in the original report and offer new learnings. The report will be released the day of the event.
The report updates the understanding of country and firm-level barriers to investment (macro-level constraints, lack of capital for risk/return profile, transaction costs, and information asymmetries), and nuances the suggested interventions to address them. With a particular focus on neglected firm-level barriers, the report describes how supporting pioneer investors and companies with expertise, surge bandwidth, geographic presence, and neutral intermediation can unlock stalled investment opportunities. Buttressing their findings with recent development literature, the report highlights that transaction costs in frontier markets remain high and typically put first movers at a disadvantage in new sectors or geographies. It also emphasizes how information gaps, which can be solved through diligence and analysis, and information asymmetries, which stem from underlying trust and incentive problems, are distinct investment challenges and should be approached as such.
Using case studies from CrossBoundary's work in Africa and Asia, the authors stress the need for investment facilitation led by highly skilled intermediaries with deep local knowledge. They also suggest potential improvements in the model to ensure further integration of local advisory actors into the investment process, and the development of intelligent metrics to evaluate progress and align incentives.
Please join us on Wednesday, September 18th for this timely event.
This event is made possible by the generous support of the CrossBoundary Group.
The UN and World Bank envision that by 2030 every individual in the world will have a digital identity. Digital ID promises to transform Africa's economic and political landscape. It holds the power to unlock more inclusive digital economies, increase access to government services, and elevate political accountability. As African nations move forward with ID programs, however, it is imperative that they adopt standard laws and norms that ensure data protection and regional interoperability.
Join the CSIS Africa Program for a discussion on September 11th from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the role that digital identity will play in Africa’s future. Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), will first deliver a keynote address via video conference and explore how ECA, in conjunction with the African Union and the Omidyar Network, is spearheading a framework that will empower and protect citizens through digital identification technology. Magdi Amin (Omidyar Network), Christopher Burns (U.S. Global Development Lab USAID), and Vyjayanti Desai (World Bank, Identification for Development Initiative (ID4D)) will then address how digital identity can unlock the digital economy and digital trade in Africa, as well as African-led initiatives to implement normative frameworks regulating digital identity, and potential avenues for U.S. private sector and government support.
This event is made possible through support from the Omidyar Network.
Millions of people around the world live in and travel through the shadows. Compelled to leave home, they migrate irregularly without proper documentation to gain access to jobs, education, healthcare, food, and other essential services. Irregular migration exists because there are not enough opportunities for safety and prosperity at home and too few conventional means through which to remedy that lack of opportunity. Recognizing the critical, understudied, and often misunderstood nature of this global phenomenon, CSIS produced a research study on irregular migration involving field research in Mexico, Eritrea, and Ghana. This report, which builds on CSIS’ past work on the global forced migration crisis, aims to shine a light on irregular migration and contribute to an enormously consequential conversation.
Read CSIS’s new report Out of the Shadows: Shining a Light on Irregular Migration.
The report and event were made possible by the generous support of the Ford Foundation.
Please join us for an armchair discussion with Sean Cairncross, CEO, to hear more about his vision for the future direction of the MCC and U.S. foreign aid.
Since its creation in 2004, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has acted as a key U.S. foreign assistance instrument focused on economic growth, country partnerships, and cost-effective projects. Its impact spans nearly 50 countries around the world in the agriculture, education, energy, health, and infrastructure sectors. MCC's three different grant systems—compacts, concurrent compacts for regional investments, and threshold programs—address the underlying causes of poverty and promote economic growth by working with the private sector and supporting regulatory reforms.
Sean Cairncross was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and was sworn in on June 24, 2019. As CEO, Mr. Cairncross leads the agency and provides strategic direction and vision as MCC fulfills its mission of reducing poverty through economic growth and advancing America’s interests around the globe.
Sean Cairncross was the former Deputy Assistant to President Trump and Senior Advisor to the White House Chief of Staff. Before his work at the White House, Mr. Cairncross served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Republican National Committee for the 2016 election cycle.
This event is made possible by general support to CSIS.
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Amid escalating U.S.-China tensions, Washington and Beijing are focused on managing their differences on bilateral trade. At the same time, both countries have a major stake in the functioning of the global economic order—the institutions, rules, and norms that shape international economic affairs. Even as they address bilateral issues, it is also important for the two sides to confront strains in the global order.
During this event, U.S. and Chinese experts will discuss an important set of issues in the global economic order: infrastructure and development finance. They will explore where the two sides may be able to cooperate and where they need to manage their differences. The event will roll out a collection of essays written in parallel by U.S. and Chinese scholars on trade, finance, technology, and other key issues in the global economic order. This essay series is the culmination of a multi-year effort to promote U.S.-China dialogue funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Light refreshments will be served at 9:00 am, and the panel will begin by 9:15 am.
Expert panel featuring:
Nancy Lee, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
Peter Raymond, Senior Associate (Non-resident), Reconnecting Asia Project and Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS; Former Advisory Leader, Capital Projects and Infrastructure, PwC
Stephanie Segal, Senior Fellow, Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS
Ye Yu, Associate Research Fellow & Assistant Director, Institute for World Economy Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS)
Matthew P. Goodman (Moderator), Senior Vice President and Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS
Please join us on July 24th for a public event focused on Sustainable Development Goal #5 which aims to achieve global gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Inequalities stemming from discrimination towards women have declined in recent decades; however, a significant social, economic, and political divide still exists. Women are consistently paid less than their male counterparts around the world even in many developed countries. Societal and culture norms prevent women from entering the labor force and contributing to the economy. Environmental concerns like access to water impact women the most because they are the traditional collectors. Lack of educational opportunities prevent many women from escaping cycles of generational poverty.
This event will look at the challenges to inclusion that women face in developing countries and also the progress made toward achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Closing the gender gap could add an estimated $28 trillion to global GDP by 2025, but the inequalities to be targeted exist in many different sectors. A wide digital gender gap exists, women in the bottom of the income pyramid earn 30-50 percent less than their male counterparts, making technology, communication, and internet access prices prohibitive, hindering economic inclusion. Women are still underrepresented in managerial positions, with fewer than a third of senior and middle-management positions being held by women from 2009-2015. And based on data from 90 countries, women spend around three times as many hours as men in unpaid domestic and care work. How can women become more employed? Why are there so few women employed in the technology sector? And how can we further improve women's access to finance?
This event is part of the "Chevron Forum for Development" series focused on the SDGs and made possible with general support from Chevron. So far, we have hosted events on the role of the private sector, SDG#7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG#16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and SDG#17: Partnerships for the Goals.
A negotiated settlement may be the only solution to end the 18 years of war in Afghanistan. Though peace is possible, it feels like a distant hope. Afghans and others are cautiously talking about life after armed conflict, but a much-desired peace brings its own challenges. Chiefly among them is to address the livelihood needs of former fighters, some 2 million returned refugees, more than 2.5 million internally displaced persons, and many other vulnerable people.
The panel of distinguished experts will discuss challenges, options, and opportunities as Afghanistan attempts to address employment for these at-risk segments of the population. During the panel session, Dean Piedmont of Creative Associates will present a white paper on disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of former fighters in the country.
Please join us for this timely discussion on Tuesday, July 23rd.
This event is made possible by the support of Creative Associates International.
The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat all rely on biodiversity – but the demands of a growing population and the practices of unsustainable agriculture are compromising access to humanity’s most basic needs. This was the message from two recent reports launched by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) publications: Biodiversity for Sustainable Agriculture and The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.
The reports detailed the impact of environmental degradation and the impact diminishing biodiversity has on vulnerable ecosystems and food systems, including agriculture and health. Once biodiversity is lost, we cannot recover it. What is driving these changes in nature and how will it impact daily life? What policies and practices need to be put in place to save our planet and our food security?
Join us to hear from experts on the linkages between biodiversity loss and its impact on the global food system. The distinguished panel will reflect on the importance of safeguarding biodiversity for food and agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is key to reversing trends that lead to biodiversity loss, damaged ecosystems, deforestation, and the overall deterioration of our natural resources. The event will include an in-depth, multidisciplinary discussion as well as a nuanced conversation on the two reports.
This dialogue is part of the joint CSIS Global Food Security Project and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Liaison Office for North America speaker series on agricultural development.
Global supply chains are critical to development. Over the past few years, there have been major changes in how goods are produced and delivered, led by the growing role of technology. Digital technologies and innovations like drones as well as management information systems which incorporate blockchain and artificial intelligence offer unique opportunities to strengthen supply chains and spur economic growth. Development practitioners and the private sector are looking to use supply chain data to improve traceability, decrease waste, and make sure that goods and services are reaching their intended targets in developing countries. This event will examine the opportunities to strengthen and track global supply chains through new technologies.
This event is made possible by generous support from Chemonics International.
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For many developing countries, the absence of quality infrastructure is a significant bottleneck to sustainable economic growth. A large number of studies have demonstrated that quality infrastructure yields large scale and long-term economic dividends. Political leadership in host countries is required to ensure that quality infrastructure investments are made. With support from donor countries and multilateral development banks, such efforts to pursue sustainable quality infrastructure can be supplemented with planning and procurement practices that look at long-term economic efficiency and life-cycle costs.
CSIS, with generous support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, undertook a comprehensive research study to examine the importance of transparency and sustainability in achieving quality infrastructure, the findings from which have been captured in a short policy brief. Through this public event, CSIS and its panel will share insights that build on the emerging consensus among G20 member states ahead of the Osaka summit. The inputs and recommendations of the policy brief will enable more quality infrastructure.
Please join us at CSIS for this timely discussion on quality infrastructure in the context of the upcoming Osaka G20 Summit.
This event is made possible through generous support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
A group of sovereign countries came together out of the ashes of World War II and created the United Nations – the formal name given by the allied countries who won World War II – to solve collective global problems. The United Nations built upon hard lessons learned from the failure of the League of Nations. Senator Arthur Vandenberg was one of the key architects of the United Nations as we know it.
In 1945, seeking bipartisan support for rebuilding the world, President Truman called upon Senator Vandenberg to join him as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Conference in San Francisco. Senator Vandenberg worked across party lines with President Truman and played a pivotal role in standing up the United Nations Charter, which assured that the U.S. held veto power in the Security Council. Senator Vandenberg returned to the Senate and ensured that the United Nations Charter received overwhelming support. Thanks in part to his efforts, the United Nations remains the preeminent international problem-solving body in the world today.
Although there are existing criticisms surrounding the United Nations, a functioning United Nations remains in the U.S. interest. One of the most critical roles the United Nations plays is addressing global problems and burden sharing the costs of security, development, and other public goods. CSIS would like to use this opportunity to identify areas of bipartisan agreement over the U.S. role in the United Nations.
Please join us for a public armchair discussion with Governor Bill Richardson and Catherine Bertini which will reflect on the progress made at the United Nations since its formation and will examine how the United States can partner with the United Nations for its economic and national security interests.
This is the second event in a CSIS series focused on “Building Bipartisan Solutions for Foreign Policy Issues: The Arthur Vandenberg Legacy Initiative.” The first event was held in March 2019 focused on “The Case for U.S. Foreign Assistance” where CSIS convened Senator Tom Daschle and Senator Norm Coleman. CSIS has also released a video on the legacy of Arthur Vandenberg.
This event is made possible through generous support from the Meijer Foundation.
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The CSIS Global Food Security Project invites you to join a discussion with a world-renowned expert and advocate on the opportunity for U.S. foreign policy and business to improve global nutrition. Dr. Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), was awarded the 2018 World Food Prize for his exemplary leadership in maternal and child nutrition and efforts to significantly reduce childhood stunting. Please join us to learn Dr. Haddad’s views on why and how the U.S. government should strengthen public-private engagement in its foreign policy to provide optimal nutrition for all.
The current state of all three forms of malnutrition—underweight, overweight or obese, and micronutrient deficiency—is unacceptable. With one in three people experiencing malnutrition, every country faces the damaging effects malnutrition has on country-level prosperity and security.
Although the current food system faces many challenges today, the private sector must be part of the solution to decrease malnutrition. Industry can play a more integral role in making nutrient-dense food more affordable and available to all populations; this means maximizing profits and prioritizing food and nutrition security and health. U.S. policymakers should build an environment that fosters public-private engagement, fortifies accountability, and shares decision-making.
This event is made possible by the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Climate, disasters, and other shocks put hard-won progress at risk of crumbling. Anticipating these challenges can help to preserve gains and prevent domino effect collapse. But there are many emerging tools for policymakers and planners to anticipate changes, shocks, and fragility in the developing world.
In Spring 2019, KPMG will publish its annual Change Readiness Index (CRI) as a tool to evaluate a country’s ability to grow and respond to global issues, meet goals, cultivate opportunities, and mitigate challenges. The CRI helps to plan for the shocks described above which can disrupt global development progress, policy, and planning. In the age of information, with competing national priorities and goals, myriad news and analysis sources, and emerging technological tools for evaluating global progress, the CRI is one of the best sources of information that can feed into planning and executing international development strategies.
Please join CSIS for opening remarks from Laura Frigenti, followed by a public panel discussion that will evaluate how public goods like the CRI—in addition to other tools— can help increase preparedness in developing countries with modern analytics.
This event is made possible by generous support from KPMG.
Please join us for May 31 for the public launch of our report, Rethinking Taxes and Development: Incorporating Political Economy Considerations in DRM Strategies.
This report analyzes the political economy opportunities and constraints of domestic resource mobilization on the road to self-reliance. CSIS, in partnership with DAI, conducted research in Kampala, Uganda and Monrovia, Liberia to assess the current political and economic conditions affecting DRM reform efforts. Uganda and Liberia were selected because both are low-income countries struggling to expand their respective tax bases, increase tax-payer morale, have equitable tax administrations, and implement reforms to mobilize more domestic resources. Many of the constraints in both countries relate to transparency, corruption, underdeveloped systems and low capacity of tax authorities. However, many of the constraints are more political in nature, including a lack of support in parliament, outsized influence of the elite, entrenched bureaucratic interests, resistance from the private sector, unpopular changes to legislation and general distrust of government by civil society.
This report offers a fresh perspective for U.S. policymakers and other development agencies on how they can better partner with developing country governments on the shared goal of increased DRM, focusing on addressing the political economy opportunities and constraints to increasing the impact of development efforts.
This report is made possible by DAI's generous contributions to and cooperation with the Project on Prosperity and Development.
On May 21, the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development will be releasing an essay anthology on the fourth industrial revolution. The authors include Romina Bandura, Christina Campbell-Zausner, William Carter, MacKenzie Hammond, Sonia Jorge, Casper Klynge, Aaron Milner, Maiko Nakagaki, Peter Raymond, Nilmini Rubin, Daniel Runde, and Steven Zausner.
There are not going to be driverless Ubers in Lagos anytime soon. Robots are not going to steal millions of jobs from American miners or factory workers. Nor will our genes be spliced with technological enhancements to defeat diseases and to supercharge our neurons. Not yet, at least.
But we are beginning to see symptoms of the globally disruptive phenomenon known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)*. Rapid periods of past technological industrialization have created tectonic shifts in societies throughout human history. Diverse technologies have grown and scaled to knock off behemoths and traditions to become the next giants themselves.
Some of these technologies that will define next-generation human enterprise, connectivity, and lifestyles already are here, but they haven’t been scaled to everyday utilization. For example, the vertical lift technology for flying cars has been around for years, but the regulatory environment, legal considerations, and other issues currently outweigh the benefit to innovate. Just because society has these technologies does not mean they will roll out. There are growing speed bumps to technology around privacy, competition, and equitable access. Technologies’ dramatic impact on everyday life could take a long time, but just like previous revolutions, if we do not plan for these evolutions now, we won’t benefit from them in the future.
This event is made possible through generous support of the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington D.C.
In many countries, financing development challenges such as humanitarian disasters, communicable diseases, and basic social services have, until recently, relied heavily on foreign aid or official development assistance (ODA). The landscape has been slowly shifting towards a development approach that is more “demand-driven”: steered and owned by developing countries in partnership with donors.
In many developing countries, especially low-income countries, foreign aid still plays a significant role in financing government priorities and will continue to play a crucial role in the years to come. Yet foreign assistance is not adapting to the changing landscape of developing countries, and there is concern whether donors like the United States are able to deliver the level of flexibility and variety that countries are demanding. This shift towards demand driven development and increased country ownership requires rethinking the way aid is delivered, and the relationship between donor and recipient countries. In order to ensure that low-income countries—particularly fragile and conflict-affected states—make progress, the United States and other donors will need to embrace new approaches and instruments to tackle persisting challenges.
This event will launch a new report that discusses the concept and importance of a demand-driven approach to development from a U.S. perspective. The discussion will focus on the programmatic and policy changes that need to take place to fully adopt the principles of a demand driven approach.
This event is made possible through generous support of the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington D.C.
CSIS and USA for IOM cordially invite you to a book launch of We’re in Danger! Who Will Help Us? Refugees and Migrants: A Test of Civilization with author James Purcell.
While millions of people are displaced around the globe and thousands more contemplate dangerous journeys in search of a better life, We’re in Danger! Who Will Help Us? draws on lessons from the “refugee decade” to inform responses to today’s crises. During the 1980s, major humanitarian emergencies erupted throughout the world. Indochina was the first complex refugee crisis the global humanitarian community faced after World War II. The international community devised new and creative approaches, with victims of crises at the center of policy decision-making, toward humane and durable solutions. Knowledge gained from Indochina and simultaneous crises in other regions proved invaluable in addressing critical challenges in various parts of the world. Mr. Purcell shares his experiences leading the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Refugee Programs (now called Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to call for multilateral approaches—incorporating refugee-decade lessons learned—to solve current and future humanitarian crises.
Please join us for a conversation with James Purcell, author of We’re in Danger! Who Will Help Us? and Chairman of USA for IOM followed by a reception. Mr. Purcell is the Former Director General of the IOM and Former Director of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for Refugee Programs.
Mr. Purcell will be available for book signing from 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM. The public event will run from 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM and will be followed by a food and beverage reception from 5:15 PM – 6:00 PM.
Books will be available for purchase and signing before the event. Ten percent of all proceeds will benefit USA for IOM and their work to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance for people displaced by natural disasters and conflicts, as well as assistance to survivors and victims of human trafficking.
This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.
The CSIS Global Food Security Project and the CSIS Africa Program invite you to join a discussion on the economic decline and food insecurity crisis in Zimbabwe. According to the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee’s 2018 Rural Livelihoods Assessment, nearly 2.4 million people in rural Zimbabwe were projected to be severely food insecure by March 2019. In the wake of Cyclone Idai, Zimbabwe's dire condition seems poised to worsen. If the current trends continue, Zimbabwe could be facing a severe humanitarian crises that rivals some of the worst in the world.
Is Zimbabwe prepared to reform its economy, address its food security challenges, and develop a sustainable strategy to response to natural disasters? How can the international community and the U.S. government support peace and prosperity in the wake of this disaster? Panelists Ashok Chakravarti, Jason Taylor, and Peter Thomas will tackle these questions and shine a light on the escalating situation in Zimbabwe to the Washington policy community.
This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Please join the CSIS International Security Program and Project on Prosperity and Development for a discussion on pursuing effective and conflict-aware stabilization in light of the new Stabilization Assistance Review framework, released by the U.S. administration in June 2018.
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: Keynote * Dr. Denise Natali, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, U.S. Department of State * Moderator: Erol Yayboke, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development, Project on U.S. Leadership in Development, Center for Strategic and International Studies
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Panel Discussion * Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Director and Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University * Frances Brown, Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace * Robert Jenkins, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development * Moderator: Melissa Dalton, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, International Security Program, and Director, Cooperative Defense Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies
This event is made possible by support from Chemonics International.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been widely hailed for his promises to open political space, usher in economic liberalization, and remake the country’s poor record on human rights. However, to truly transform his country, Dr. Abiy must first transform agriculture, which is the nucleus of the Ethiopian economy and by far the largest employer.
Please join us for the launch of our newest report, Building a Big Tent for Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia, which examines the past wins, current endeavors, and future challenges of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA).
Following a keynote message from ATA’s CEO, Khalid Bomba, an expert panel will compare and contrast Ethiopia’s experience in agricultural transformation to that of other countries and explore the role that donors like the United States government can play to support such efforts for country-led development.
This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Download the Report Download the Brief Over the next 15 years, it is projected that more infrastructure will be built globally than currently exists. Please join the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project and the Project on Prosperity and Development for the rollout of a new report discussing how the United States can strategically shape the global infrastructure buildout.
Opening remarks by:
Matthew P. Goodman
Senior Vice President, Simon Chair in Political Economy and Senior Adviser for Asian Economics, CSIS
Featuring a Panel Discussion with:
Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky
Senior International Partner, WilmerHale
Former U.S. Trade Representative
Stephen J. Hadley
Principal, RiceHadleyGates LLC
Former National Security Advisor
Peter Raymond
Senior Associate, Reconnecting Asia Project and Simon Chair, CSIS
Former Global Advisory Leader, Capital Projects & Infrastructure Practice, PwC
Moderated by:
Daniel F. Runde
Senior Vice President, William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, Project on Prosperity and Development, CSIS
This event is made possible by generous support from Bechtel Group, IBM, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
The U.S. was instrumental in creating the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1919, an organization dedicated to promoting labor rights and decent work around the world. The U.S. joined the ILO in 1934 --- America’s first membership to a multilateral institution --- thanks in large part to the efforts of then U.S. Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins. This event commemorates the 85 anniversary of U.S. membership to the ILO and will discuss U.S. engagement with the institution, collective achievements, and the future of work.
Please join us for opening remarks from U.S. Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta followed by a discussion with Director-General of the ILO, Guy Ryder; Ed Potter of the U.S. Council for International Business; Cathy Feingold of AFL-CIO; and Kirstin Downey, author of “The Woman Behind the New Deal.”
The public event will run from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM and will be followed by a reception with food and beverage from 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
This event is made possible through generous support of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Join CSIS's Burke Chair in Strategy for a discussion with Dr. Munqith Dagher, who will present findings from a major series of public opinion surveys and analyses of Iraqi public opinion on the country's political and social landscape 16 years after the invasion. His presentation covers critical issues like the level of national unity versus polarization and divisions by region, party, ethnicity, and sect. He address level of support for the new government, reactions to the fighting, and goals for the future.
These are critical inputs to U.S. policy in addressing its future relations with a key strategic partner, and in understanding the level of U.S., Iranian,and other outside competition for influence and support in Iraq.
Dr. Dagher is the Chairman of the Al Mustakilla Research Groups (IIACSS), and a leading Iraqi expert on polling and public opinion analysis.
Hosted by Anthony Cordesman, Dr. Cagher's presentation will explore the current Iraqi landscape, what it means for Iraq's immediate future, and the prospects of progress towards near-term stability.
This event was made possible by general support to CSIS.
The Trump administration released its first National Security Strategy (NSS) in 2017 which recognizes the importance of confronting challenges related to conflict and fragility to protect U.S. national security interests. This strategy was complemented by the release of the Stabilization Assistance Review (SAR) in 2018 which serves as a framework to improve interagency coordination and effectiveness in fragile states. The SAR delineates the roles and responsibilities of the Department of State, USAID, and the Department of Defense in stabilization operations. The Department of State has a critical leadership role in the implementation of the SAR, and as such will need to plan and coordinate how to translate it into an operational strategy across the departments and agencies. Furthermore, the recently passed “Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act” is an essential policy response that places reducing global violence at the forefront of U.S. stability operations. These strategic documents represent a growing consensus among interagency actors for the need to improve the U.S. approach to fragile states.
Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Kiron Skinner, Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State, to discuss the Trump Administration and State Department’s approach to fragile states and why it matters for diplomacy in the 21 century.
This event was made possible through general support for CSIS.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, please join the Center for Strategic and International Studies for a Smart Women, Smart Power conversation with Dr. Jody Olsen, Peace Corps Director. She will discuss the importance of the Peace Corps as a development agency and its work on women’s economic empowerment.
Dr. Olsen was sworn into office as the 20 Director of the Peace Corps in March 2018. Prior to returning to the Peace Corps in 2018, she served as Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland – Baltimore School of Social Work and Director of the University’s Center for Global Education Initiatives.
Dr. Olsen began her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer, serving in Tunisia from 1966-1968. She has since served in the agency in multiple leadership positions – as Acting Director in 2009; Deputy Director from 2002-2009; Chief of Staff from 1989-1992; Regional Director, North Africa, Near East, Asia, Pacific from 1981-1984; and Country Director in Togo from 1979-1981.
She also oversaw health research projects in Malawi while teaching courses on international social work, global social policy, and global women and children’s health. Throughout her career, Dr. Olsen has championed the expansion of service, learning, and international opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds.
This event is made possible through support from Citi.
Please join us on March 7th for a discussion of Sustainable Development Goal#17 which aims to strengthen global partnerships to support and achieve the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda, bringing together national governments, the international community, civil society, the private sector, and other actors.
After rapidly increasing for many years, official development assistance (ODA) has remained relatively constant for the last five years. Without significant increases in ODA, developing countries will need to identify new sources of development finance in order to meet growing and changing global challenges. Private sector and development finance institution (DFI) spending will soon make up a much larger percentage of development assistance than ODA. Current public-sector funding cannot (and should not) close the $2.5 trillion annual investment gap necessary for reaching the sustainable development goals (SDGs), nor is the public sector as adept at scaling impact and growth across emerging markets. What are the opportunities for public-private partnerships to meet the SDGs? How can blended finance be used to increase financing for the goals?
Please join us at CSIS (1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20036) for this important discussion.
This event is part of the "Chevron Forum for Development" series on the Sustainable Development Goals and made possible with general support from Chevron. So far, we have hosted events on the role of the private sector and on SDG#7 on affordable and clean energy.
The “Careers in Global Development” series features U.S. senior-level, multilateral and NGO officials who have worked in the field of development for at least twenty years. The series is aimed at young professionals who are interested in working in development and will include a one-hour dialogue on both the specific expertise of the speaker, as well as the speaker's career path and influences along the way. It will focus on specific areas of interest, including the role of humanitarian assistance in development and U.S. foreign policy; development as a tool to counter violent extremism; and sectoral issues such as food security, health, and education.
This session features Clarence D. Edwards, Senior Adviser for the Embassy of Australia's International Development Policy. Edwards' areas of specialization include policy advocacy, strategic communications, and political analysis. He has successfully advocated for increased attention towards neglected tropical diseases on behalf of the Albert Sabin Vaccine Institute, and for more funding for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs on behalf of Bono and the ONE Campaign, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Institute for One World Health. Edwards' background also includes managing the congressional program at the Council on Foreign Relations, handling relations with the foreign media as a Clinton Administration political appointee at the State Department, and managing political research for a corporate lobbyist. He has been named an Aspen Environmental Forum Scholar and a future leader by Atlantik-Brücke and the German Marshall Fund.
Edwards has a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.
Please join us in welcoming Clarence Edwards with questions surrounding his work or career advice on Thursday, February 14th.
This event was made possible through the support of the Chevron.
Please join the CSIS Global Food Security Project for the launch of our newest report, Risk and Resilience: Advancing Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria through Feed the Future, by Julie Howard and Emmy Simmons. The report examines what the new Feed the Future strategy's emphasis on resilience means in Nigeria, one of the newly-designated target countries. Nigeria, with the continent’s largest economy, is arguably the most important partner for the United States in Africa and is on the verge of a critical presidential election. Through the lens of Nigeria, especially the northeast, the report examines the risks and opportunities related to extending the highly-regarded U.S. global hunger and food security initiative to more fragile countries.
The event will feature a dialogue on why the United States’ leadership on global food security, particularly in fragile, climate, and conflict-affected regions, is critical to U.S. national security and reducing global poverty and malnutrition. How can the U.S. adapt its successful experience with facilitating inclusive, private sector driven agricultural development to more fragile environments? Can boosting resilient systems, jobs, incomes, and nutrition in the agricultural sector – where most people live and work – help address the root causes of fragility and conflict in Nigeria and other regions?
This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In a recently released report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) about 344 million additional jobs globally are needed by 2030 to sustain a rapidly changing workforce. Another 190 million jobs need to be created to address unemployment, as nearly 34 percent of those unemployed are youth. As part of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, creating decent and sustainable work opportunities is a precedent and integrating the nearly 2 billion people that are in informal employment globally will be an essential part of that challenge. Added challenges such as social, economic, and political shifts that are influencing greater instability and uncertainty will require a globally coordinated, collective response. As part of the Global Commission on the Future of Work, the ILO has released its report "Work for a brighter future" which aims to address some of the key concerns related to the future of work. This report discusses the challenges that are driving global changes in the labor market, investments in lifelong learning, social protection systems, and how institutions can forge pathways to formality and reduce poverty. This event will bring together major players who have produced "future of work" reports to have an in-depth discussion on the different views on the issues and recommendations put forth by the ILO.
This event is made possible through the support of ILO and general support to CSIS.
Afghanistan has made major social, economic, and political gains over the past 17 years. Unfortunately, conversations regarding Afghanistan in Washington and elsewhere often focus solely on the challenges and problems. It is true that problems lie ahead, but what is almost never discussed are the many gains that have been achieved since the turn of the century. During Taliban rule, girls were prohibited from attending school. Today, there are roughly 4 million girls in school in Afghanistan. Moreover, millions of cellphones have empowered people by connecting them to the world, GDP per capita has increased by over three-fold, and the government's capacity to collect tax revenue for its own security and development has improved significantly from almost nothing in 2002.
As the Afghans stand up, we can responsibly stand down. A precipitous withdrawal of our security forces, our financial support for the Afghan army, and/or our foreign aid would be a moral disaster and strategic setback for the United States. The United States should be seeking a "Finish Strong" strategy that keeps the faith to our commitments through 2024; we can negotiate a gradual, sensible burden shift towards the Afghans if we stay the course, partner with our Afghan friends, and work with our allies.
Please join us on Thursday, February 7, for this timely conversation with H.E. Ambassador Rahmani. This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.
For 25 years, the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte has been an unsung hero in the fight against food insecurity. As Dr. M. Jahi Chappell put it, “The course to universal food security will never run smooth[ly], but steps forward have and can be made. Belo Horizonte has walked a bit farther down the path than most.” Annually, the municipal government’s Under-Secretariat of Food and Nutritional Security spends upwards of $27 million running affordable “Popular Restaurants” that serve 14,000 meals per day; supporting retail “Food at Low Cost” outlets that annually move 50 million kilograms of produce; and making lunch from scratch for 150,000 schoolchildren. In addition, the government procures nearly all the produce required for these programs from small- and medium- sized family farms in the peri-urban area.
Please join us for a keynote address from Belo Horizonte’s Food and Nutrition Secretary, Ms. Maíra Colares, as we examine the promise, challenges, and determinants of durable municipal governance in food security policy. The keynote will be preceded by a special video message from Olivier de Schutter, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, and followed by a panel discussion with Secretary Colares and Chris Shepherd-Pratt from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Drawing on the experiences of Belo Horizonte, the panel will explore a number of issues:
- What special role can municipal governments play in food security, compared to regional, national, and international governments?
- What enables government institutions to maintain their commitments to food security over the long-term?
- How can U.S. development policymakers best support local governance?
Join us after the event for a holiday celebration with food and drink.
This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
For over 50 years, more than 230,000 Americans have volunteered with the Peace Corps in 141 countries to develop sustainable solutions in the sectors of agriculture, health, community economic development, education, environment, and youth in development. Dr. Olsen's experience, global outlook, and passion for the Peace Corps are indicative of a prosperous future for the agency. Empowered by the use of technology and innovative service models, Dr. Olsen is leading a call to lifelong service and dedication to the three goals of the Peace Corps.
Please join us at CSIS for this armchair discussion featuring Dr. Jody K. Olsen and Mark L. Schneider on Monday, December 10th.
Prior to returning to the Peace Corps in 2018, Dr. Olsen served as Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland-Baltimore School of Social Work and Director of the University's Center for Global Education Initiatives. She also oversaw health research projects in Malawi while teaching courses on international social work, global social policy, and global women and children's health.
Dr. Jody K. Olsen was sworn in as the Director of the Peace Corps in March of 2018. Dr. Olsen began her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer, serving in Tunisia from 1966-1968. She has since served the agency in multiple leadership positions—as Acting Director in 2009; Deputy Director from 2002-2009; Chief of Staff from 1989-1992; Regional Director, North Africa, Near East, Asia, Pacific from 1981-1984; and Country Director in Togo from 1979-1981.
This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.
Please watch us for a public Chevron Forum focused on how the international development community, governments, and the private sector can work together to help developing countries provide affordable and clean energy (Sustainable Development Goal#7).
In September 2015, the 193-member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Development Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), built off of the Millennium Development Goals. The SDGs are not an official treaty, but a form of soft law aimed at eliminating extreme poverty, building partnerships, and spurring economic growth around the world. SDG#7 aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Progress is being made, but in 2017, 1.1 billion people still lacked access to electricity. In 2016, 3 billion people (41 percent of the world’s population) were still cooking with polluting fuel and stove combinations. What are the biggest challenges to achieving SDG#7 and how can different actors collaborate more effectively?
Please join us at CSIS (1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20036) for this important discussion.
This event is part of the "Chevron Forum for Development" series and made possible with general support from Chevron.
Authoritarian regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have led to sociopolitical turmoil, economic disruptions, and human rights abuses. From March 2017 to June 2018, over 800,000 Venezuelans fled to Colombia amid political and economic chaos in Caracas. In Costa Rica, nearly 8,000 asylum claims from Nicaraguans were registered between April and July 2018. As many as 23 percent of all Cubans in the U.S. arrived within the last 8 years. These countries are considered three of the four least "free" countries in Latin America and the Caribbean according to Freedom House's "Freedom in the World 2018."
This event will bring together U.S. development agencies and policymakers with democratic leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to share diverse and bipartisan views on how we can move closer towards a hemisphere of freedom. This event will also be an opportunity to recognize Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's many years of tireless and effective service to advance freedom in the Western Hemisphere.
Please join us on Friday, November 30th for an armchair conversation from 9:00-10:00 a.m. and a public panel discussion from 10:00-11:30 a.m.
This event was made possible through support from CSIS.
8:30 AM —Registration Opens
Opening Remarks
9 — :00 AMSenator Bob Menendez
— 9:15 AMAdministrator Mark Green
— 9:20 AMCongresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
First Public Armchair Discussion 9:00 AM — 10:00 AM
Featuring
Administrator Mark Green
U.S. Agency for International Development
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
U.S. House Representative for Florida's 27th District
Carl Gershman
President of the National Endowment for Democracy
Dan Runde
Senior Vice President; William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, Project on Prosperity and Development
Honoring Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen 10:00 AM — 10:15 AM
Second Public Armchair Discussion 10:15 AM — 11:15 AM
Featuring
David Smolansky
Former Mayor of El Hatillo in Caracas, Venezuela
Rosa Maria Payá
Cuban Dissident and Freedom Fighter
Miriam Kornblith
Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy
Moises Rendon
Associate Director and Associate Fellow, Americas Program
Audience Q&A 11:15 AM — 11:30 AM
The dramatic changes in the flow of migrants across international borders, as well as accelerating internal movements of rural migrants towards cities, are reshaping our world. For many smallholder farmers and herders, moving away from rural areas is an attractive opportunity to diversify livelihoods, escape slow-onset events such as climate change and environmental degradation, seek improved social services, and reunite with family members.
For both origin and receiving communities, migration presents challenges and opportunities. Unfortunately, much of the migration dialogue has only focused on the former. Are there good examples of policies in receiving countries that empower the displaced and capitalize on opportunities that can arise from a global population shift?
Join us to hear from experts on the linkages between migration, agriculture, and rural development. The distinguished panel will reflect on the implications of global demographics and how it impacts smallholder food producers and our ability to nourish the world. How can we enhance the development potential of migration to achieve zero hunger? The event will include the North American launch and discussion of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2018 The State of Food and Agriculture report, which narrows-in on these very topics.
This dialogue is part of the joint CSIS Global Food Security Project and
FAO of the United Nations, Liaison Office for North America speaker series on agricultural development.
U.S. foreign assistance is overdue for a major review and update. The world’s development landscape is dramatically different from even just 15 years ago. Major assistance reforms will require leadership from the Executive Branch in partnership with the U.S. Congress. After accomplishing the near legislative miracle of the BUILD Act, it is timely and appropriate to turn to the bigger question of how to best leverage U.S. foreign assistance and seek to align assistance with the U.S. National Security Strategy. The Trump Administration is currently conducting a review of U.S. foreign assistance. There is an opportunity for the Trump Administration to make major changes in the realm of foreign assistance, but such changes will only succeed if done in partnership with Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
Please join us on Wednesday, November 7th for a public panel discussion with Ambassador Rick Olson, Nilmini Rubin, Richard Bissell, Lester Munson, and Mark Lopes on how the U.S. can make the most of its Foreign Assistance Review.
This event was made possible through general support from CSIS.
Enterprise funds are an innovative U.S. foreign policy tool created in the early 1990s that use U.S. government funding to stimulate economic development by investing in the private sectors of developing countries. Unlike grants or loans directed to foreign governments, enterprise funds use U.S. government funding to invest in private equity and credit in emerging markets. This paper makes a case for launching a third wave of enterprise funds. It provides an overview of the enterprise fund model and its achievements, offers suggestions for improvements, and recommends six countries and one region in which current economic and political conditions are ripe for the launch of new enterprise funds. Using a set of criteria, we identify two categories of countries as candidates for a new round of enterprise funds. Ultimately, the choice for the next round of enterprise funds will follow a political decisionmaking process. The objective of this paper is to inform policymakers on the merits of enterprise funds as a strategy for sustainable economic development and to offer a select list of countries of geostrategic importance to the United States where enterprise funds could be established in the immediate future.
Please join us for a discussion with Jim Harmon, Agnes Dasewicz, Bert van der Vaart, and John Simon on how we can leverage enterprise funds to supplement existing development tools.
This event is made possible by general support to CSIS.
The CSIS Africa Program invites you to join, The Future of AMISOM, a panel discussion addressing the evolution, challenges, and future of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Deployed in 2007 to counter the threat of al-Shabaab in Somalia, AMISOM remains the African Union’s most extensive and dangerous military intervention. Eleven years later, however, Somalia’s security challenges persist. As al-Shabaab continues to stage deadly attacks, questions linger regarding AMISOM’s transition, the commitment of its Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) and the ability of the Somali National Army to stand on its own.
The event will feature Paul D. Williams, and his recent book, Fighting for Peace in Somalia: A History and Analysis of the African Union Mission (AMISOM), 2007-2017, which offers a meticulous account of AMISOM since its deployment. Paul Williams will present insights from his book on the history and obstacles of AMISOM, and address how AMISOM’s funders and troop contributors envision its future. Amanda Dory, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs, will then weigh in on potential avenues through which AMISOM could transition from Somalia.
This event is made possible by the generous support of CSIS.