The future of international development

Location
online event
Dates
Thursday 8 October 2020 (13:00-14:00)
Contact

Elizabeth Kirsch, Public Affairs Manager: e.h.kirsch@bham.ac.uk

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In light of the recent merge of FCO and DFID, what does it mean for the UK to be ‘a force for good’ in international development?

The UK Government announced the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in June 2020, creating a new department – the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. In addition to the challenges faced by any major machinery of government change, the FCDO is starting during a global pandemic and a domestic economic recession.

This debate will see our panel provide fresh perspectives on this important topic including how can the FCDO best respond to its existing long list of development and foreign policy challenges? Can the FCDO avoid mistakes made in the past, such as the Pergau Dam scandal? And, how should the FCDO balance the tensions between the Government’s ‘prosperity agenda’ and national security when it comes to official development assistance?

Speakers

  • Chair: Professor Richard Black, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Head of the College of Social Sciences
  • Professor Heather Marquette, Professor of Development Politics, University of Birmingham
  • Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, Former Secretary of State for International Development, University of Birmingham
  • Clare Short, Former Secretary of State for International Development

Register now to find out how an integrated foreign and development policy should respond to the challenges of the current global pandemic.

The event will be open to staff and students, key stakeholders and members of the public.

Register now via Eventbrite