Delivering Development: Journeys, Directions and Lighthouses

Reception and Registration

Inaugural Session

Welcome Remarks: Jagannatha Kumar, CEO, Reliance Foundation, India

Opening Remarks: Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator – India

Video Launch of Report:
Ideas, Innovation, Implementation: India’s Journey towards the SDGs

Launch of Report and Keynote Address:
Ruchira Kamboj, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations

Host: Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation, India

Session 1 | The India Lighthouse: Serving the Farthest First

India has the potential to be a major partner for other Global South countries in supporting their sustainable development aspirations and bringing back lessons to enrich its own. In this context, this panel discusses some crucial questions (1) What have been the major challenges in developing wide- ranging programmes and public services, and what are the lessons to be kept in mind? (2) How are various stakeholders with their own challenges and advantages, such as the private sector, and local governments engaged in these? (3) How can India’s experiences be translated for other geographies and equally, what lessons can India learn from other countries?

Spotlight Address: Christopher Elias, President, Global Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Speakers:

Chandrika Bahadur,Chief Executive Officer, The Antara Foundation, India

Hemang Jani, Senior Advisor to Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka, The World Bank Group

George  Ronald  Gray,  Head  of  Strategic  Policy  Engagement  and  Chief Economist, UNDP

Änjali Kaur, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Asia, USAID

Moderator: Dhruva Jaishankar,Executive Director, ORF-America, USA

Transition

Session 2 | #SheLeads: The Green Shoots of Change

There is an emerging global discourse for more women in decision-making positions in politics, entrepreneurship, civil society, and business. Are there justifications beyond the argument that greater female representation at all levels of society is a social necessity? What arguments and examples can we find across the world about the economic and social impact of ecosystems that empower women? Will communities that build these systems effectively have an edge in rapidly changing times? How can both public and private institutions overcome traditional barriers that curtail the effective participation of women in policy and politics?

Speakers:

Melissa  Fleming,  Under-Secretary-General  for  Global  Communications, United Nations

Nitya Mohan Khemka,Director – Strategic Initiatives, PATH

Maggie Sprenger,General Partner, Audere Capital LLC, USA

Vaishali Nigam Sinha, Co-Founder and Chairperson of Sustainability, ReNew, India

Moderator:   Vanita Sharma,Advisor, Strategic Initiatives, Reliance Foundation, India

Tea/Coffee Break

Session 3 | Beyond the SDGs: Perspectives, Propositions, Pathways

The SDG Mid-Term Review – which was launched in July 2023 – is identifying the development milestones attained by UN member states so far, assessing gaps in progress, and re-setting the targets that must be met by 2030. How can the global community come together in these seven years to achieve what it set out in 2015? What are the chief lessons learned from the SDG implementation exercise? Who are the key actors who might define the next phase of international development, and what kinds of new strategic partnerships might one expect? Could existing development blueprints like Africa 2063, and India’s roadmap for becoming a net zero emitter by 2070, help shape novel pathways for global inclusive growth and green futures?

Speakers:

María Fernanda Espinosa,Former President of the United Nations General Assembly

Arvind  Panagariya,  Professor  of  Economics  and  the  Jagdish  Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy, Columbia University, US

Luciana Servo,President, Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), Brazil

Ankur Vora,Chief Strategy Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Ayoade Alakija,Special Envoy, ACT Accelerator, WHO

Moderator: Jagannatha Kumar, CEO, Reliance Foundation, India

Networking Lunch