On 27 September Committee for Development Policy (CDP) member Sakiko Fukuda-Parr participated as speaker in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) side event ‘Curse or Cure? Leaving No One Behind in an Age of Technological Revolution’ organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The discussion took stock of the challenges and opportunities posed by the fourth industrial revolution, considering policy innovations occurring around the world and how they aim to ensure that technological transformations are leveraged in ways that leave no one behind.

On 24 September Committee for Development Policy (CDP) member Lindiwe Sibanda participates in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) side event ‘Data to end hunger’ as part of a group of storytellers from ‘The Moth Global Community Program’ who will share compelling accounts of how agricultural statistics impact lives.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) approved the new members of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), nominated by the Secretary-General, for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2019 and expiring on 31 December 2021.
The experts are nominated in their personal capacity and reflect a diverse range of expertise, geographical balance and gender balance.

The World Economic and Social Survey 2018 reviews the advances in frontier technologies – automation, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, biotechnologies and artificial intelligence – and analyses their economic, social and environmental impact. Join Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Liu Zhenmin, and Chief of the Development Research Branch at UN/DESA, Hamid Rashid, at the launch of the Survey on Monday, 8 October 2018 2018, 11 am EDT.

Alex Julca, Economic Affairs Officer in the Development Research Branch attended the 6th International Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rome, Italy on 12-13 September 2018. The conference provided an opportunity for a thorough understanding of structural and technological challenges that many countries face, while addressing poverty reduction, quality economic growth, health inequalities, climate risks, water-energy-land linkages, and skills upgrade and diversification-related challenges. 

On 15 August the CDP Secretariat delivered a training workshop in Thimphu, Bhutan, on the Gradjet LDC graduation platform (www.gradjet.org), attended by 30 government officials, private sector and civil society stakeholders. Consultations with government and the UN Resident Coordinator were subsequently held with a view to future development and use of the tool.

More information:
Gradjet

On 27 July the CDP Secretariat published an interview with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) about graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category.
The interview explains the LDC category and what it takes for an LDC to graduate; which challenges an LDC faces on the road to graduation; and how the international community can support those graduating LDCs.

On 24 July the Coordination and Management Meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) reviewed the Report of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) on its twentieth session.

This second lab, organized by the Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) together with the Division for Inclusive Social Development and held on 16 July, addressed measures taken at national level in selected countries to improve the condition of the poorest and most vulnerable people. The Vice-Chair of the CDP, Prof. Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, moderated the lab and presented key findings of the recent analysis of the VNR reports conducted by the CDP, outlining which groups are among those furthest left behind.

The meeting, organized by the Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) and the Division for Sustainable Development Goals and held on 16 July, constituted the inaugural session of the VNR labs and featured two country representatives from Cabo Verde and Finland. After opening remarks by Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, the Chair of the CDP, Professor José Antonio Ocampo, presented key findings of the recent analysis of VNR reports conducted by the CDP.