OECD Forum 2013 - What is the Greatest Challenge We Face Today?

Held in Paris each May to coincide with the annual OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, the OECD Forum has emerged as a major international stakeholder summit. 

Leaders from all sectors of civil society gather to debate the most pressing social and economic challenges confronting society. Together with current and former heads of state and government, Nobel Prize winners, top CEOs, leaders of key non governmental organisations and trade unions, and prominent members of academia and media
... YOU TOO can play your part in helping shape responses to global challenges.

The big question at this year’s OECD Forum is 

‘what is the greatest challenge we face today – jobs, inequality, economic growth?’ 

Over the course of two days, panels discussed Promoting Inclusive Growth, Rebuilding Trust in economic and social interactions, Fostering sustainability and Inequality.

This blog gives you a brief overview of the Forum. 

You can find out more on the Forum, here or follow #OECDwk or for twitter updates.

Tuesday 28 May

10:00-10-30am: OECD Better Life Index presentation and the launch of the BLI in Spanish

10:00-12:00  Three Parallel Sessions

• The 21^st Century Production Revolution 

• What’s Up with Banks?

• SMEs – Backbone of the Economy

Lunch Time Debates

13:45 – 15:15   Three Parallel Sessions

• The Asian Century 

• The Unemployees 

• Old Politics, New Politics 

15:15 – 16:45  Three Parallel Sessions

• Austerity vs Growth: A False Dilemma

• The New Societal Contract 

• From School to Work 

17:00-18:30  Two Parallel Sessions

• Trade in Value Added: The World Factory

• Out with the Old, In with the New

18:30   Reception and Video Competition Award - See one of he videos below. 

Wednesday 29 May

9:00 – 10:30  Three Parallel Sessions

• Addressing Inequalities for a More Inclusive Society (follow @Wikiprogress live tweeting)

• Too Big to Pay Tax? 

• Women of Influence (follow @Wikigender live tweeting)

10:30-11:00 – Keynote Address by Ministerial Council Meeting 

11:00 – 11:40 – Presentation of the Economic Outlook 

11:45 – 13:00 – Economic Outlook Debate – Growth and Jobs 

Lunch Time Debates

15:00 – 16:30  Two Parallel Sessions

• The African Renaissance

• The Enterprising State

16:30 – 17:00 – Forum Closing Session

See the full list of 100 plus speakers, here.

A great deal was packed into the two days so we hope this article helps you to  identify your areas of interest and navigate your way through the different sessions.

Wikiprogress has a page on the Forum, click here!

We hope you enjoy finding out about the 2013 OECD Forum

Before you go check out this video on the OECD's Better Life Index!

The Wikiprogress Team 

Governance: Our new theme of the month!

‘Governance is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development.’ The World Bank

So it’s a new month, and you all know what that means, a new Wikiprogress theme! Over the last period we have focused on Post 2015 and Health and during the next few weeks we will be looking at Governance in relation to progress and well-being. Responsive and answerable institutions are key in contributing to societal well-being. Countries with effective, accountable and transparent governing bodies prosper ‘in a range of dimensions of human development and social cohesion’ (How’s Life Report). This blog is a means of introducing our new theme and highlighting a number of key resources related to governance that we plan to reference in the coming weeks.

- OECD’s Better Life Index  - The OECD Better Life Initiative provides a comprehensive understanding of what drives the well-being of people and nations and identifies what needs to be done to achieve greater progress for all. The Index uses eleven dimensions, including Civic Engagement and Governance in an attempt to present accurate, comparable and comprehensive well-being indicators.

According to the report a cohesive society is one where a citizens have a high confidence in their governing institutions and public administration. It seems that more than ever, citizens are demanding greater transparency from their governments. In the United Kingdom for example, the ruling parties are under permanent scrutiny from the country’s media and focus organisations like Transparency International. The Index cites transparency in communication and open access to regulations as promoters of government accountability, resulting in high voter turn out, increased participation in the legislative process and compliance with rules.

- 4^TH OECD World Forum, New Delhi - At the Forum in November last year, the OECD ran a session on Building effective and responsive institutions with the likes of Sue Taylor, the Director of the Social and Progress Reporting of the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Arun Maira, a member of the Planning Commission in the Government of India speaking:

‘If you want to understand well-being ask the citizens. They understand.’ Arun Maira

The discussion identified some of the common characteristics of successful governing institutions including; effective regulatory frameworks, streamlined and efficient public services and tough anti corruption practices. It concluded by emphasizing the necessity of NGOs, civil servants and governments to work collaboratively in an effort to improve the well being of citizens.

- ODI – Politics and Governance – The Overseas Development Institute focuses much of its work on governance, providing resources on Democracies in Transition, Justice and Security Sector Reform, Politics and Service Delivery and Applied Political Economy. Since two-thirds of the world’s population now lives in a democracy of some sort, the ODI explores the socio-political and economic factors that shape transition processes in a bid to support hybrid democracies that are vulnerable to backsliding. The organization is currently focusing on elections, the interaction between different dimensions of governance transitions and political voice and accountability in a bid contribute to the post 2015 framework.  

Finally, make sure you check out the Wikiprogress page where all our articles related to the theme are kept. We look forward to bringing you governance related articles over the next month.

The Wikiprogress Team

Well-being goals for all

On October 16, 2012 almost 400,000 babies were born in the world. On that same day, approximately 1000 people from around the world, including economists, statisticians, policy-makers and representatives from business and civil society, met to talk about the future lives of these babies. The 4th OECD World Forum on Measuring Well-Being for Development and Policy Making was held in New Delhi, featuring around 70 presentations, four roundtables and several keynote lectures. The Forum provided a great opportunity for sharing knowledge and networking on Well-Being and Development.

Photo sourced by OECD

Issues discussed by participants included: factors shaping trends in poverty and inequalities; business models and practices holding greater promise to improve well-being at work and beyond; links between effective and responsive institutions and people’s well-being; obstacles to gender equality and the type of environment needed for the start-up and success of women-owned businesses; policies helping children and at-risk youth to move into adulthood; preventing environmental degradation; improving the capacity of people, business and policy-makers to manage the consequences of disasters and conflicts; how to strengthen social cohesion.

The OECD World Fora on ‘Statistics, Knowledge and Policies’ have become one of the most important rendez-vous of the global community working on Well-Being. 

The 4^th OECD Forum followed those held in Palermo (2004), Istanbul (2007) and Busan (2009). However, this forum marked a shift in the international well-being agenda. While previous Fora focused mainly on the “why” and the “how” to measure well-being, the 4^th OECD Forum looked at how well-being can be made actionable. The discussions at the Forum built on the OECD Better Life Initiative, an initiative which lies at the heart of this attempt to use improved well-being metrics to influence policy making.

But knowing what matters to citizens and where societies want to go is not enough to ensure that we will get there; this is one of the main messages coming out of the discussions held in New Delhi. 

We need to build our knowledge regarding what works or does not work to achieve better lives. We need new evidence and models to understand how people think and behave, and how policies can raise well-being given our new understanding. Part of the evidence is already there, though, and models are being developed. But the journey is long and will require the involvement of all actors—researchers coming from a range of disciplines, decision-makers, business, ordinary citizens.

Four additional key messages came out from New Delhi, and you can read the summary of conclusions here. The first is that the well-being agenda has made giant steps all over the world and that it is based on a common understanding of the issues. The second is that progress in measuring well-being has been uneven, with great advancements in areas such as subjective well-being but much more modest ones on measuring sustainability for example. The third is that more research is needed on the determinants of well-being, particularly on the role of policies. The fourth is that the well-being agenda is relevant for both developed and developing countries, although priorities may differ. The next OECD World Forum will take place in 2015 and be aligned with discussions on the outcomes of Rio+20 and the post-2015 agenda. The 5th Forum will thus be an important landmark to judge whether Development Goals will have become, indeed, Well-Being Goals for all.


By Martine Durand, OECD 

This blog fist appeared on the OECD Better Life Index site on 23 November, 2012 and is also available in French here. 

For further information on the 4th OECD World Forum on Measuring Well-Being for Development and Policy Making.

The week in review

Hello, glad you could join us for the Wikiprogress week in review - a handful of headlines that have caught our eyes over the last week. You can find all news articles and blog posts on the progress community in the Wikiprogress Community Portal .    

On wikis
2012 Top 100 NGOs: #1 Wikimedia Foundation (The Global Journal 26.01.2012)
The Wikimedia Foundation is best known for its most famous initiative, Wikipedia. The Foundation operates under the belief that information is a not-for-profit commodity; the Wikimedia Foundation has been instrumental to the global phenomenon of user-generated content and the mass sharing of information.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on wikis

On growth and development
Sustainable Humanity (Project Syndicate 31.01.2012)
Developmental Economist Jeffrey Sachs calls for the mobilisation of new technologies shaped by social values in ensuring sustainable development incorporates equality in economic growth and protection of natural resources.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on sustainable development

On measuring progress
The OECD recently produced the video, How’s Life: Measuring Progress – asking experts, “What well-being and sustainability measures are needed to go ‘Beyond GDP’”?
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on the Better Life Initiative

On social development
UN Commission on Social Development kicks off with focus on poverty and youth (UN News Centre 02.02.2012)
In 2011 there were 75 million youths without a job; UN figures show that young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Over the next 10 days the UN Commission on social development will focus on youth unemployment, poverty eradication and socially inclusive policies.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on employment rates

On gender equality
Land rights for women can help ease India’s child malnutrition crisis (Guardian 20.01.2012)
India has developed significantly over the past decade; however malnutrition rates are among the worst in the world with 45% of children under 5 suffering from malnutrition. New research shows that allowing women ownership of the land they farm could drastically reduce these figures.
See more and contribute to the Wikigender article on access to land

In the Spotlight: UN High Level Panel Report on Global Sustainability - Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing (United Nations 30.01.2012)

A 22-member Panel was established by the Secretary-General in August 2010 to formulate a new blueprint for sustainable development and low-carbon prosperity. The Panel's final report, "Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing", contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice and to mainstream it into economic policy as quickly as possible.

Read more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on sustainable development.

We hope you will tune in the same time next week. In the meantime, if anything interesting passes your desk that you would like to see in the next Wikiprogress week in review, please tweet it to us  @Wikiprogress  or post it on our  Facebook page

Yours in progress,

Philippa Lysaght