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Where’s The Power In The New Development Paradigm?

Friday, March 27, 2009

Session Description

Development has been transformed over the last decade. Social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, celebrities, new NGOs, and global advocacy networks have injected new energy and ideas into the sector. This creates new opportunities, as additional resources and attention are brought to bear on persistent development problems, but also creates new challenges around coordination and alignment. Representatives from private and public organisations will discuss the challenges and opportunities this new paradigm presents.

 

Time & Location

Time:
09:00 - 10:30, Friday, March 27, 2009 BST
Speakers
  • Speaker
    CEO, Global Humanitarian Forum
    Walter Fust is CEO/Director of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva. Born in 1945, Walter Fust studied at St. Gallen University and graduated with a Master in Political Science. He worked in banking and public administration before entering the Swiss Diplomatic service in 1975, serving in the integration office (EFTA/EU) and as a personal advisor. He was managing director of the Swiss office for trade promotion (OSEC), Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior and Head of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Walter Fust is chairman of UNESCO’s International Program for Development and Communication (IPDC) and President of Globethics.net. He serves as member onboards including the Board of the International Risk Governance Council/Geneva.
  • Speaker
    Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, KickStart International
    As a pioneer in using business models to solve poverty, Martin is the co-founder & CEO of KickStart, a non-profit SE with a mission to enable millions of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to pivot from rainfed to irrigated farming, earn a lot more money, adapt-to-climate-change & climb out of poverty. KickStart designs & promotes lowest-cost irrigation technologies & to-date over 390,000 farmers have used its pumps to grow, harvest & sell high-value crops year-round, independent of rains. Their highly profitable & resilient farms have lifted 1.5M people out of poverty. With almost no irrigation in SSA, millions more can irrigate & gain income & food security. KickStart partners with hundreds of organizations to promote irrigation, develop new technologies, innovate new ways to reach & finance farmers, & advocate for system changes. With a Cornell BSc, a Stanford MSc & PhD, a Fulbright in Kenya, and many awards, Martin is a Skoll & Schwab SE & a Stanford Engineering Hero.
  • Speaker
    President and CEO, CIFF
    Jamie Cooper-Hohn is a co-founder of CIFF and serves as the Foundation’s President and CEO. Prior to the Foundation, she served as Co-Director of Shine Trust, a grant making trust supporting children in poverty in England through educational initiatives. She also served as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Development for Gould Partners in New York City and as Associate Director for the Center for Policy Alternatives in Washington, DC. Her other experiences include working for CBS News and the Atlanta Project, an initiative of President Jimmy Carter. Jamie received a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College and a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
  • Speaker
    Michael Green is Chief Executive Officer of the Social Progress Imperative. An economist by training, he is co-author (with Matthew Bishop of ‘The Economist’) of Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World and The Road from Ruin: A New Capitalism for a Big Society. Previously Michael served as a senior official in the U.K. Government’s Department for International Development, where he managed British aid programs to Russia and Ukraine and headed the communications department. He taught Economics at Warsaw University in Poland in the early 1990s. His TED Talks have been viewed more than three million times. His 2014 Talk was chosen by the TED organisation as one of the ‘most powerful ideas’ of 2014 and by The Telegraph as one of the 10 best ever.
  • Speaker
    Former President of Costa Rica / CEO , Concordia21
    H.E. José María Figueres, President of the Republic of Costa Rica (1994-1998), created a comprehensive national sustainable development strategy while President. In the international arena, President Figueres helped create and lead the United Nations ICT Task Force as its first Chairperson and strengthened corporate ties to social and governmental sectors as CEO of the World Economic Forum. Currently President Figueres is CEO of Concordia 21 in Spain, supporting organisations which promote development and democratic values around the world. He holds an Industrial Engineering Degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and a Masters in Public Administration from the JFK School of Government, Harvard University.