Archive for poverty

Prospects for 21st Century African Agriculture

Top flight events are a mainstay at SIPA.  For some evidence, check out what is happening this Monday.  The good news is that if you wish to participate from your computer, you can.  See the end of this entry for details on how to view the event live.

Prospects for 21st Century African Agriculture

Time: Monday, 6:30 pm

Type: Discussion

Moderator(s):

Mamadou Diouf
Professor of History, Director Institute for African Studies
Committee on Global Thought
Columbia University

Speaker(s):

Kofi Annan
Former Secretary General
United Nations

Jeffrey Sachs
Director, The Earth Institute
The Earth Institute

Program Notes:

It is widely recognized that agricultural development can play a key role in eliminating hunger, reducing poverty and food insecurity, increasing trade, and promoting wealth in Africa.  However, the full potential of African agriculture is far from being realized.  Part of the 2010-2011 World and Africa Series, this panel seeks to explore the possibilities for boosting the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of African agriculture in the 21st century.  It will consider those cutting edge programs, policies, and technologies that are paving new roads forward with regard to unleashing the full potential of the continent’s agricultural economies.


Kofi Annan was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, serving two terms from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006 and was the first to emerge from the ranks of United Nations staff. In 2001 Kofi Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace with the citation praising his leadership for “bringing new life to the organisation”. In 2009, Annan was named a Columbia Global Fellow by University President Lee Bollinger.

Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals.

This event is co-sponsored with The Earth Institute.

This event can also be viewed via live webcast.

Real:

http://www.columbia.edu/acis/networks/advanced/events/live.ram

Windows Media:

http://akami.cc.columbia.edu/asxgen/wmtencoder/live.wmv.asx

State of the Planet 2010 Conference

Professor Jeff Sachs has helped organize a conference on many of the challenges currently facing our population and planet.  Climate change, poverty, economic recovery, and international systems are topics of the State of the Planet 2010 Conference taking place on the Columbia University campus on March 25th.  The following is noted on the Web site:

Around the world, people will be able to participate via webcast and interactive elements. And at event sites in Beijing, New Delhi, London and Nairobi, speakers and attendees will be directly linked to the international debate, moderated from New York.

An introductory video can be viewed on the conference Web site.

stateoftheplanet

Jeff Sachs on ABC

SIPA professor Jeff Sachs recently appeared on a segment of ABC news to discuss investment in alternative forms of energy.  Professor Sachs is a Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and from 2002 to 2006 was the Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015.

To read the article and view the accompanying video, please click here.

Mohammed Yunus: Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism

As mentioned a few weeks ago on this blog, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Muhammad Yunus, visited SIPA and outlined his vision for a new business model in his talk on ” Creating A World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism.” The event was co-sponsored by Center for the Study of Human Rights, Center for the Humanities, SIPA’s Economic & Political Development Concentration, and Committee on Global Thought.

We are happy to say that his full talk is available for your viewing.  Simply click here to view the video.  The whole presentation is 71 minutes in length.

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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