Odi Live Events Podcast

Chair Sorcha O'Callaghan – Director of the Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI Speakers Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety – Former United States Ambassador to the African Union and Vice Chancellor of University of the South, Tennessee Nasra A. Ismail – Humanitarian Expert, Somalia Ben Ramalingam – Lead Consultant, Innovation for Development, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Hugo Slim – Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford Description 2020 has been a momentous year. But will it force a reset, or a rethink, of a humanitarian system highly resistant to change? As the year has worn on, traditional assumptions about crisis, fragility and solidarity have been overturned. Soaring coronavirus death rates and crisis mismanagement in richer countries have called into question traditional assumptions of a ‘competent global North’ and ‘struggling global South’. The civil unrest in the US in the wake of the murd

Chair Marta Foresti – Director of ODI Europe, ODI Opening remarks Sandra Breka – Member of the Board of Management, Robert Bosch Stiftung Speakers Sir Suma Chakrabarti – Chair of the Board, ODI and former President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Obiageli Ezekwesili – Senior Economic Advisor, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI) and Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, Robert Bosch Academy Description 2021 will be an important year for Africa-Europe relations. Covid-19 has dealt a severe blow to the continents, both in human and economic terms, and a strong partnership will be key for recovery. This will need to be a partnership of equals, where states as well as businesses, civil societies and local actors must play a role to strengthen cooperation across borders. Stronger cooperation will be key ahead of the high-level African-European Union summit that will determine the future relationship between the two continents. Migration remains a highly contentious issue in A

Chair Emma Proud – Head of Learning and Adapting, Brink Speakers Ena Fernandez – OIC Director, Philippines House of Representatives Sam Sharp – Research Officer, ODI Stacey Young – Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer, USAID Toby Lowe – Visiting Professor, Centre for Public Impact Yuen Yuen Ang – Professor, University of Michigan Are bureaucracies today fit for purpose to address what are often complex and multidimensional challenges on housing, education, pandemics, international development and beyond? Public servants and experts alike are increasingly questioning the wisdom of mainstream approaches embodied in new public management, arguing that tackling complex challenges calls for different ways of working. Public organisations need to be able to learn from and adapt to rapidly shifting and uncertain environments, and work iteratively to refine policies. Covid-19 is a prime example: governments have had to rapidly adapt to keep pace with the unpredictable and emergent natur

Among the many failures laid bare by the coronavirus, the failure of ‘club diplomacy’ to adequately respond to the current global pandemic is one of the most damaging to the cause of global prosperity, safety and stability. Held in the run-up to the G20 Summit in Riyadh over November 21-22, we explore several questions with leading scholars and policy makers relating to the future of the G20 as a pre-eminent institution of global governance. We discuss why there has been a failure of the G20 to respond to Covid-19 and whether this derives from broader institutional failures. We also discuss what, if anything, could take the G20’s place and what reforms might allow it to become a more robust platform for global policy-setting. This discussion will consider the G20’s role as a financing coalition for global challenges and whether its consensus-based decision-making procedures represent a fatal flaw. This event is part of the ODI at 60 series, challenging decision-makers to provide more sustainable and equita

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted lives across the world, highlighting the potential of the digital technologies but also exposing the need for more equitable opportunities for young people to use tech and advance their educational capital and skills for work. With an increasingly connected world ahead, we explore what is needed to help youth be more prepared for life and work. This includes not just the skills needed to amplify youth voices as leaders of tomorrow, but also the skills needed to best prepare young people for an ever-evolving future of work. Bolder, more innovative solutions and collaborations are critical to support youth and should be forged across sectors – government, education stakeholders, tech companies, and future employers – while young voices should be at the heart of these conversations and plans. We build on key youth-focused discussions from the ODI-led Youth and digital technologies in sub-Saharan Africa consultation supported by the Mastercard Foundation’s Youth Forward initi

With over half of internet users under the age of 25, young people are central to any discussion about peace and security in the digital space. Young people are leading the way with using the internet in innovative ways and creating online peacebuilding initiatives where millions of active users are thriving in challenging contexts. Yet, while digital peacebuilding can help shape positive discourses of peace, it comes with challenges too. We explore how young people are using digital spaces to practice political and civic participation to foster peacebuilding in fragile contexts. We interrogate assumptions about the use of technology for youth-led peacebuilding, including the suggested deepening of inclusivity across age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds, and the widening of participation that technology provides to peacebuilders. This event is part of the ODI at 60 series, challenging decision-makers to provide more sustainable and equitable pathways for the future.

The search for durable solutions is at the heart of policy debates on internal displacement, but gender is still frequently sidelined from those conversations. Displacement affects all aspects of life – security, access to services, housing, social and political engagement – with implications felt in distinctive ways by people of different genders. With the establishment of the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement and increased focus on humanitarian development efforts, there is renewed focus on durable solutions. However, this will not be possible without understanding and addressing gendered inequalities. Our expert panel explores these issues, challenges assumptions about what internal displacement means for men, women and gender minorities, and addresses how humanitarian actors should respond.

A recent analysis by ODI found that a small share of development finance investment is explicitly directed toward the health sector. However new health sector initiatives from the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the UK’s CDC following the onset of the Covid-19 crisis indicate that this may be changing. In response to the crisis, development finance institutions (DFIs) have supported clients that have traditionally been outside the health sector to refocus their operations in support of the global crisis response. Our research also highlights DFI risk taking and innovative approaches in the health sector; examples which demonstrate the ability of DFIs to mobilise much needed investment into health. The use of pooled investment vehicles, volume guarantees, first loss guarantees and development impact bonds (DIBs), exemplify how DFI investment can act as a catalyst for market development in different areas of health supply chains. We explore how DFI investment could support and complement public s

The past five years have been pivotal for advancing disability inclusion in the humanitarian sector. The World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in 2016 was a key moment at which it was recognised that while persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by conflicts, disasters and other emergencies, they also face barriers to accessing life-saving humanitarian assistance. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee guidelines on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action, is the latest in a range of commitments, standards and guidance developed in the wake of the Summit to address these barriers. Despite this progress challenges to effective inclusion remain. Chief among these is acknowledging that persons with disabilities and their organisations are not passive beneficiaries but agents of change, rights holders and key actors in humanitarian response. The lack of data about people with disabilities that any efforts to strengthen inclusion depend on is another important gap. Drawin

The November 2020 pledging conference in Geneva will provide a vital platform for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) and the international community to demonstrate progress and recommit to a peaceful future for the country. Given the recent deal between the United States of America and the Taliban, and tentative steps forward on an intra-Afghan dialogue including all key domestic actors, the outcomes of the pledging conference will be decisive in determining how Afghanistan grasps the present prospect of a peaceful and stable future. Ensuring justice for all, in line with Afghan and international commitments to achieving SDG16+, is an essential prerequisite for a durable peace. Today, only 38% of Afghans who experience an everyday justice problem are able to access help; among key state institutions, the courts are the least-trusted by ordinary citizens. Access to justice will enable Afghan women and men to assert and enforce their rights, obtain redress for grievances, and resolve

The UK contributes around £181 million a year to the three organisations that make up the African Development Bank Group, representing around 1.3% of the UK’s development budget. A recent review by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) found that the institution’s reach and deep expertise in Africa meant that contributing to the Bank could be a more effective way for the UK to achieve development impact and economies of scale. But the review also highlighted concerns about the UK government having 'crossed a line' by unilaterally imposing performance measures on the Bank in 2017. ICAI also expressed concern about the Bank’s critical lack of resources in key areas such as environmental and social safeguards and highlighted the need for greater engagement with civil society. The review also noted that the UK should do more to build the Bank’s capacity to manage trust funds if it is going to continue to invest in them. This event, co-hosted by ODI and ICAI, explores how the UK can strengthen its st

In 2018, the ILO estimated that approximately 42% of the global workforce, 1.4 billion people, were in vulnerable employment, for developing countries this proportion was 76%. The 2020 Covid-19 crisis will significantly reduce the number of people in jobs and proportionally increase the number in vulnerable employment. As market demand comes to a sudden halt, developing country firms that are linked into, and supply global value chains face major challenges. Looking forward, lead firms are also likely to shorten their supply chains, potentially cutting high productivity and high-income jobs in manufacturing in poorer countries. This presents an opportunity for Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to strengthen firms in their target markets, through strategic, practical and financial means. In the short-term, finance and specialist guidance could be provided to more productive firms at risk of closure to ensure that higher productivity jobs are maintained, as these will act as the engine driving economic r

The negotiations for COP26 were always going to be tough, but the need to secure more ambitious nationally determined commitments now comes at a time of profound economic turmoil within the global economy due to Covid-19. On the one hand, there are concerns that efforts to address climate change will receive less priority as efforts to reboot economies dominate. On the other hand, efforts to build back better can address both climate and trade-related vulnerabilities. International trade has a powerful role to play. But divergences between the climate, trade and development communities must be bridged. During Climate Week NYC 2020, we bring together climate and trade negotiators to discuss what’s on the negotiating table at COP26, the trade related implications and how development friendly outcomes can be secured.

2020 was set to be the year when governments upped their ambition for action on climate and biodiversity. Yet, we know the reality – exacerbated by the coronavirus – has been different. The world has only a few years left to deliver drastic greenhouse gas emission reductions and stem the loss in biodiversity, or we lose any realistic chance of addressing the climate crisis successfully. While policy makers wrestle with the challenges of Covid-19 and economic recovery, the climate emergency continues and cannot be put on hold. While there is recognition of possible trade-offs between the different pathways of recovery, there is little concrete discussion to pin down the level of ambition for a green recovery and the political, social and economic space to achieve that ambition. We discuss the level of ambition we should aim for on climate action while the world recovers from the Covid-19 crisis and the opportunities and barriers to achieving this level of ambition. This event is part of the ODI at 60 series

Governments worldwide are relying on cash and tax transfers to households with children in response to the Covid-19 crisis, amid growing calls to strengthen and expand cash transfers and social protection. A recent UN SDG report states: 'It is particularly urgent to rollout or expand social assistance to families, preferably through the use of universal child benefits.' Universal child benefits (UCBs) can play a critical role in reducing poverty and inequality while promoting social cohesion and public support for social protection. In countries with established UCBs, they constitute a cornerstone of national social policy systems and have proved effective in scaling up social protection in times of crisis. Drawing on recent country experience and on new policy analysis, this live digital event discusses key issues and emerging lessons concerning the challenges and trade-offs policymakers face when introducing or expanding a child benefit; the administrative and political economy implications of universal v

The behavioural challenges of post-conflict life by Overseas Development Institute

Please note this podcast is in Arabic. To listen to the event in English, please visit https://soundcloud.com/odi-live-events/coronavirus-and-local-peacebuilding-efforts-in-north-africa-soundcloud-e. في مارسوسط جائحة كوفيد19 و بعد أن دعا الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة أنطونيو غوتيريس إلى وقف إطلاق النار في العالم ، رأى العديد من المحللين السياسيين فرصة للسلام. ومع ذلك، فإن الواقع في العديد من مناطق الصراع اليوم يظهر أن هذه الفرصة قد ضاعت. فقد تم تجاهل وقف إطلاق النار - وهو اتجاه له تداعيات إنسانية خطيرة. لكن في شمال إفريقيا، لم يمنع الوباء وما تلاه الجهات الفاعلة المحلية من مواصلة عملها، مع بعض النتائج المثيرة للإعجاب. انضم إلى USIP و ODI لإجراء مناقشة تضم خبراء وممارسين في بناء السلام من شمال إفريقيا. تبحث المحادثة في تداعيات Covid-19 على بناء السلام على المستوى المحلي في ثلاثة سياقات خاصة بشمال إفريقيا: ليبيا وتونس ومصر. In March, after UN Secretary-General Antοnio Guterres called for a global cease-fire amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many political analysts saw an opportunity for peace. However, the stark

Please note this podcast is in English. To listen to the event in Arabic, please visit https://soundcloud.com/odi-live-events/coronavirus-and-local-peacebuilding-efforts-in-north-africa-soundcloud-a. In March, after UN Secretary-General Antοnio Guterres called for a global cease-fire amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many political analysts saw an opportunity for peace. However, the stark reality in many conflict zones today shows that, so far, that opportunity has been missed. Cease-fires are being ignored, and the politics of the pandemic have enabled violence rather than deterred it – a trend that has serious humanitarian implications. But in North Africa, the pandemic and subsequent surge in violent conflict have not stopped local actors from continuing their work, with some impressive results. Join USIP and ODI for a discussion featuring peacebuilding experts and practitioners from North Africa. The online conversation looks at the implications of Covid-19 on peacebuilding at the local level in three partic

As governments wrestle with the trade-offs between continuing their lockdowns in support of public health during the Covid-19 crisis and easing restrictions to boost ailing economies, everyday life is changing. While it is hoped that some aspects of life before Covid-19 will resume, a new ‘normal’ will also likely emerge. And this is also the case with research and data collection. As this webinar reveals, the pandemic has brought new and existing challenges to the fore, not least in relation to doing research and data collection to inform programming and policy. Drawn from first-hand practical experience of research in Nigeria, Gaza, Tanzania and Bangladesh, this live interactive event co-hosted with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explores adaptations and solutions to the challenges of doing research during Covid-19 including the role of digital technology; how researchers are keeping safe and how ethical issues are being addressed; and the need to reconsider potentially extractive prac

We discuss the recent announcement by the UK government to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with perspectives from the Commonwealth, Development Assistance Committee countries and the aid sector.