Join us for the first webinar of a 4-part series where we will explore insights and recommendations from the Human Development Report 2023/24 for innovative governance programming!
In the first session co-organized by UNDP and UN Democracy Fund,
BACKGROUND
The UNDP Human Development Report 2023/24 "Breaking the gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world", highlights the challenges caused by the intensification of inequalities and political polarization, underscoring the importance of facing these issues with urgency and assertiveness to overcome the barriers towards advancing the development agenda.
The Report proposes three strategies to break this gridlock: (i) narrow agency gaps: enhancing people’s voices – especially the most vulnerable – in decision-making processes; (ii) dial back temperature to push back polarization: promoting new governance approaches that can reduce polarization and promote the building of bridges between different perspectives; (iii) build a 21st architecture for global public goods: promote new dynamics of cooperation with public goods as catalyzers for dialogue building.
Through a series of webinars, UNDP in collaboration with development partners, will discuss the implications and potential of these recommendations for boosting innovative work in governance programming.
What is ‘’deliberation’’? What do deliberative forms of citizen participation look like? Is deliberation possible in highly polarized and politically restrained environments? These are some of the key questions that we aim to address in conversation with leading scholars from academia and civil society leaders from Brazil, Malawi and Uruguay.
SESSION OBJECTIVES:
- Provide conceptual clarity on what deliberative democracy is in the context of HDR recommendations;
- Raise awareness on how deliberation can be applied to enhance citizen engagement in public sphere, reduce polarization and strengthen democracy;
- Amplify lessons emerging from inspiring practices of deliberative governance from Brazil, Malawi and Uruguay that demonstrate innovative methods and approaches.
SPEAKERS:
Annemarie Hou, Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships, UNDEF
Sarah Lister, Head of Governance, UNDP
Josefin Pasanen, Research & Partnerships Specialist, Human Development Report Office (UNDP)
Nicole Curato, Professor of Political Sociology, the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra
Oliver Escobar, Professor of Public Policy a/nd Democratic Innovation, University of Edinburgh
Silvia Cervellini, Co-founder and Coordinator, Delibera Brasil
Edwin Msewa, Social Accountability Manager, The Local Government Accountability and Performance Project, Malawi
Alfonso Fernandez, Resident Representative, UNDP Uruguay
MODERATORS:
Nirina Kiplagat, Governance and Peacebuilding Coordinator, UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa
Iain Walker, Executive Director, newDemocracy Foundation
The webinar series “2023/2024 Human Development Report and innovative governance programming” is intended to explore concrete steps and entry points to turning the HDR recommendations into action. Designed as a 4-part series scheduled to take place between October - December 2024, upcoming sessions will focus on “Measuring polarization”, “Public communication and (de)polarization” and “Media actors and the (de)construction of the ‘other’”.
UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) funds projects that empower civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. From the landmark publication “Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections” jointly published with newDemocracy Foundation to the funding of projects on deliberative democracy and climate change, UNDEF has been playing a leading role in promoting the application of deliberative principles to citizen participation.
Watch the recording of the session:
OTHER SESSIONS:
➡️Watch the recording of the second webinar on media actors here.
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