CIDGA/CIDRN Global Development Cooperation Webinar Series
Context: The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic not only poses a threat to the health of all mankind, its impact on economic, political, social and cultural aspects also constantly reshape people’s perception and actions on international development cooperation. The success of a country ’s anti-pandemic cannot bring security and economic prosperity to itself unless all countries are clear from the contagious disease. At this critical moment, we need to realize that in a world where economies are fully integrated, only by fighting against the pandemic together can all countries completely overcome the epidemic and achieve common prosperity. In this context, discussing how to strengthen international development cooperation has become a relevant and urgent task for scholars, think-tanks, policymakers as well as development practitioners.
Objectives of the Webinar Series: The College of International Development and Global Agriculture(CIDGA) of China Agricultural University (CAU) and China International Development Research Network (CIDRN), will establish partnerships with international partners such as Institute for International Development (IDS), the Carter Center, and the ESCAP East and North-East Asia Office, the Southern Think Tank Network (NeST), and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), etc. to provide a platform for scholars, policymakers and development practitioners from all over the world to discuss how to strengthen effective development cooperation amid and post-COVID-19.
- Will and how does COVID-19 pandemic reshape future international development?
- What are the prospects for international development cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era? What changes need to be made to better adapt to new context?
- How does COVID-19 impact multilateral organizations?
- What impact does the pandemic have on Africa’s development? What are the lessons for China-Africa development cooperation?
- What are the implications of the pandemic for the new stage of the Belt and Road Initiative?
- What opportunities and challenges does the pandemic bring to East Asian regional cooperation?
- How do African countries fight the pandemic? What are the roles of government, private sector and civil society?
- How do multiple stakeholders participate in the international development cooperation against COVID-19, and how effective is it?
- How does COVID-19 impact South-South and Trilateral Cooperation?
Session I:
Topic: Will the COVID-19 pandemic reshape future international development?
Date and Time: 15 May 2020 08:00 PM in Beijing, Shanghai
Registration: Register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Click here for registration.
Description: As the COVID-19 causes upheaval to health systems, economy and social norms, a need for reflection on the importance of international cooperation is being felt all over the world. In the field of development cooperation, these questions are becoming increasingly pertinent: Will a new form of development cooperation -SNC- take shape post-COVID-19? If so, what will it look like? Will the international development agendas like Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement have to be adjusted because of the economic disruption? What opportunities and challenges will the pandemic bring to bilateral and multilateral cooperation? How can developing countries reduce their dependence on aid and achieve sustainable development in the new international context? In this webinar, we are honored to have experts and scholars from different parts of the world to discuss the future of international development cooperation after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Session II:
Topic: Development Cooperation in North-East Asia in Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic
Date and Time: 30 July 2020 2PM – 4PM (Beijing) | 3PM – 5PM (Seoul / Tokyo)
Registration: Please register to this webinar in advance by scanning the QR code on the poster below.
Description: The COVID-19 outbreak posed serious threats to developing countries, which have limited capacity to cope with the pandemic. The sense of urgency and call for cooperation is reflected in a resolution adopted by the governments of the Asia and the Pacific region at 76th session of the ESCAP Commission in May 2020. It calls for strengthened regional and global cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, with solidarity to support those most affected, particularly in developing countries. How to build back better from the crisis through regional cooperation will be the key theme for the discussion at the 77th Commission session in 2021.
China, Japan and Republic of Korea were some of the first hit by the pandemic, and responded with various policy measures including the fiscal expenditures at the unprecedented scale for their population. While these countries seem ahead of the curve in containing COVID-19, “no one is safe until everyone is safe” and supporting developing countries is of common interest for the whole society.
Responding to COVID-19 pandemic tests the fiscal resilience of most countries in the world. With shrinking fiscal space in both developed and developing countries, a key question for many developing countries would be the current and post-COVID landscape of international development cooperation. While the usual context of development cooperation, emergency assistance or humanitarian assistance, may be beyond the mandate /scope of the bilateral development cooperation agencies, the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly affected them in their operation, scope or scale.
This webinar aims to take stock and share the latest stories of the bilateral development agencies in North-East Asian countries on their responses to the pandemic, focusing on the following questions:
- What have the responses of the bilateral development cooperation agencies been to help other countries while their government is overwhelmed with domestic challenges?
- How COVID-19 has affected current development cooperation work (e.g., suspended operations, expanded scale of cooperation, etc?)
- Have current development cooperation initiatives changed the way and scale they operate?
- What would be the direction of post-COVID development cooperation on health issues?
