The conference will take place in Bochum (Germany) from 16-20 October 2023 and is hosted by the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE) of Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). The conference is a collaboration between the MA in Development Management (MADM; IEE), the MA in International and Development Economics (MIDE; HTW Berlin), the Small Enterprise Promotion and Training Programme (SEPT; University of Leipzig), the MA in Development and Governance (Institute of Political Science (IfP)) and the MA in International Relations and Development Policy (Institute for Development and Peace (INEF)); both University of Duisburg-Essen.
The conference topic
The four-day conference at RUB debates a topic that currently occupies a large space in the development policy discourse. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, there has been widespread discussion about the effects of the pandemic on the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine and its resulting global consequences, negative effects on the realization of sustainable development have been exacerbated, not least with regard to absolute poverty (SDG 1) and food security (SDG 2). The concurrence of such multiple crises aggravates trends that have been discussed in development politics during recent years:
- It accelerates the contouring of a multipolar world, intensifies competition between different systems and thus the legitimation pressure for development projects which aims include the promotion of democracy, human rights and civil society,
- it disturbs or disrupts supply chains, reinforces inflation not only in the provision of energy and poses particular challenges for the private sector in developing countries,
- it leads to a financial burden for public budgets, which manifests itself in budget reallocations in donor countries to the detriment of the promotion of international cooperation and in recipient countries to the detriment of expenditure on services of general interest, and
- it is particularly drastic in those developing countries whose food production and food security are dependent on fertilizer and/or food imports.
The conference aims at further discussing these trends with international experts, Alumni and current members of the cooperating Master programmes. Keynote speeches, a panel discussion, and interactive workshops (topics listed below) will provide extensive room for exchange and mutual learning. In each workshop, the participants conjointly reflect on the implications of multiple crises on the current state of development cooperation based on selected participant pitches.
In addition to professional training, the conference offers participating Alumni a platform for establishing and expanding networks with experts, practitioners, and scientists that they can use in the context of their professional activities. The conference ends with a “Networking & Career Day”, offering room for further networking with other Alumni and current students of the cooperating master programmes.
