ODI regularly hosts events series, which take an in-depth look at key development and humanitarian issues.
Irrigating fields in Tanzania
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In a year when Africa has been in the forefront of concerns ranging from the G8 to Tony Blair's Commission, this meetings series focused on the role of agriculture in lifting Africa out of poverty.
Two children stand together as heavy rain falls at a temporary shelter for around 19,000 displaced people during post-election violence in Eldoret February 7, 2008.
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meeting series examined different challenges in the design and implementation of social protection interventions that will impact on child poverty. Each session brought together a combination of speakers with different backgrounds and perspectives.
The Civil Society Partnerships Programme's first phase of work focused on learning more about how CSOs use evidence to influence policy processes, identifying northern and southern organisations helping them to do this, and improving ODI's own information and communication activities to be more useful and accessible for CSOs.
This series of two lunch-time meetings discussed the reconstruction and development framework jointly formulated by the Government of Sudan and Sudan People's Liberation Movement following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of January 2005, and ongoing challenges to livelihoods in Darfur as a result of the continuing conflict there.
series of research seminars addressed current developments in our knowledge of the inter-relationship between international trade and labour markets both in developed and developing countries. The broad theme of the seminar series was the implications of increasing trade, as one facet of globalisation, for labour markets, including employment, wage inequality and conditions of work.
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MDGs will feature prominently in 2005, not only in UK initiatives connected to the G8 and our EU Presidency, but also because of the UN summit on the topic in September. The debates about the MDGs are technical (Are these the right targets? Do we know how to reach them?) but also political (Can we raise the money? Will rich countries change their policies? Will they be accountable?).
series built on the 1999 series that ODI held at a time when a growing number of aid agencies were starting to develop and adopt policy statements on human rights. The end of the Cold War, the growing consensus on a multi-dimensional conception of poverty as central to development, and greater attention paid to state institutions created a favourable context for making use of the international, regional and national human rights frameworks as a part of mainstream development and humanitarian assistance.
seminar series aims to invite academics and practitioners from a variety of disciplines to critically explore key themes in water governance, assess empirical evidence for the efficacy of policies and evaluate methodologies used in policy making. The outcomes will inform theoretical debate, empirical research and policy initiatives across the water sector.
on voice and choice in public services are never far from the forefront of UK news today. Not only are these topical issues in the UK, they are also highly relevant to public service delivery in developing countries. The autumn lunchtime meeting series at ODI aimed to explore these issues in detail.
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the past decades, many new development initiatives have been introduced in Africa, each of which has been heralded as a new era in Africa's development, but all of which have failed to produce the much anticipated results. 2005 presents an important strategic opportunity for UK development co-operation. This meeting series looks at some of the key issues.