- When: 03-06 August 2021
- How to Join: Click here to Register.
About BRICS Academic Forum (BAF)
The BRICS Academic Forum (BAF) is a platform for deliberations and discussions among the leading academic institutions of BRICS countries. The forum strengthens dialogue amongst the academic communities and proposes ideas and solutions on numerous social, environmental and educational issues. BAF has over the years, discussed the most pressing development issues of BRICS countries, including economic growth, investment cooperation, digitalization, sustainable development, energy, infrastructure, food and environmental safety, education and healthcare. BAF was established in 2009, in the first meeting of BRICS countries’ academic experts, held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The BRICS Academic Forum 2021 is being jointly held by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS). This four days event, where experts and scholars of the academic communities from the member countries meet and engage, has four main themes: (1) Post-Pandemic World Order: Challenges and Opportunities for BRICS; (2) Road to COP26: BRICS Climate Agenda; (3) BRICS agenda for trade and resilient supply chains; and (4) Building a post-pandemic workforce: An agenda for jobs. The aim is therefore to encourage academic exchange, strengthen dialogue with civil society, as well as provide policy advice.
AGENDA
Tuesday, 3 August 2021 at Inaugural: Opening Plenary: Post-Pandemic World Order: Challenges and Opportunities for BRICS
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the shifting dynamics in international relations. A new imperative emerged for global governance which saw all nations reconfigure their priorities and partnerships. Some developments are for the short-term, others for the long-term. What are the characteristics of the post-pandemic world order? What kind of challenges and opportunities does it offer to BRICS? This session will examine the transformations in geopolitics and geoeconomics and explore what BRICS can do to shape the emerging world order.
- Opening Remarks: Dr. Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation
- Inaugural Address: Dr. S. Jaishanker, Union Minister for External Affairs, Government of India
- Vote of Thanks: Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries
Speakers
- Dr. Ivan Tiago Machado Oliveira, Director of Studies on International Economic and Political Relations, Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), Brazil
- Dr. Vyacheslav Nikonov, Chair of the Board, Russian National Committee on BRICS Research, Russia
- Dr. Jin Xin, Secretary-General, China Council for BRICS Think Tank Cooperation (CCBTC), China
- Prof. Siphamandla Zondi, Chair, SA BRICS Think Tank and University of Johannesburg, South Africa
- Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, India
- Moderator: Amb. H.H.S. Viswanathan, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India
Wednesday, 4 August 2021 at Road to COP26: BRICS Climate Agenda
As the clamour for Net-Zero emissions gains steam, it is clear that the road to COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, will be one where political considerations override any firm commitment to climate action. The panel will explore the global progress on the Paris Agreement and will take stock of how the developed and developing nations have fared in their commitments. The session will look to outline a BRICS proposition on climate negotiations, targets and partnerships, which can ensure climate action in conjunction with developmental goals.
Speaker
- Dr. Ana Toni, Executive Director, Institute for Climate and Society (iCS), Brazil
- Dr. Igor Makarov, Head of the School of World Economy, National Research University – Higher School of Economics, Russia
- Dr. Lan Hong, Professor, Director of ecological finance research center, Renmin University, China
- Ms. Romy Chevallier, Senior Researcher, South African Institute of International Affairs, South Africa
- Amb. Manjeev Puri, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, former ambassador and DPR of India to the UN and former lead negotiator for India at climate change negotiations, India
Thursday, 5 August 2021 at BRICS agenda for trade and resilient supply chains
The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted the deficiencies in existing global trading arrangements and supply chain networks. As the world grappled to secure essential supplies, many nations chose a nation-first approach. This panel will explore how the BRICS grouping can formulate a 21st-century international trading framework, which can serve the needs of developing and emerging nations. The session will look to put forth a BRICS-led international trading regime that reduces disruptions and streamlines regulations to promote greater flow in goods and services.
Speaker
- Dr. Flavio Lyrio Carneiro, Researcher, Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), Brazil
- Ms. Olga Ponomareva, Research Fellow, Institute of International Economics and Finance, Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry for Economic Development, Russia
- Dr. Tan Ya, Assistant Professor of School of International Trade and Economics, Researcher of Center for BRICS Studies, University of International Business and Economics, China
- Mr. Cyril Prinsloo, Senior Researcher, South African Institute of International Affairs, South Africa
- Dr. Nisha Taneja, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, ICRIER, India
- Moderator: Amb. Mohan Kumar, Chairman, Research and Information System for Developing Countries
Friday, 6 August 2021 at Building a post-pandemic workforce: An agenda for jobs
The COVID-19 Pandemic has catalysed the transformational shifts already underway in the nature of work, jobs, and livelihoods. Increasing digitalisation and technology adoption have disrupted the 20th-century playbook on social security, education and skilling, and employment relations. In light of these rapid changes, particularly post-pandemic, this session will discuss how social safety and protection can be ensured even as the nature of work increasingly takes on more informal characteristics. The panel will explore the new models of education and skilling that are required to equip the present and future workforces and look to best practices among the BRICS nations that can be further adapted and adopted. The session will also lay emphasis on how the future of work can be made more inclusive, ensuring 20th-century inequities are not replicated in the 21st century.
Speakers
- Dr. Luis Claudio Kubota, Researcher, Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), Brazil
- Mr. Alexander Ignatov, Researcher, Center for International Institutions Research, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration
- Dr. Wang Yanzhong, Director-General, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China ;
- Dr. Ning Yafang. Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China
- Mr. Njabulo Sithebe, Special Advisor to the Co-Chair of the Economic Cluster in the South African Government
- Dr. Sandhya S. Iyer, Associate Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India
- Moderator: Ms. Sabina Dewan, Founder and Executive Director, JustJobs Network
For more details, visit the ORF website.