Irish Aid/IIEA Development Matters Report
Sponsored by Irish Aid, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In 2017, the IIEA and Irish Aid continued our joint series of development focused events, entitled Development Matters which was chaired by IIEA Director General, Barry Andrews. The goal of these events was to bring critical issues in development to the attention of a wider public in Ireland and to bring leading international policy figures to Dublin. The Development Matters series therefore provides a unique opportunity for Irish stakeholders to engage with global leaders in the development field and to communicate the priorities in development to the wider public.
A full report on the series can be downloaded here.
Theme for 2017
The primary purpose of the Development Matters series in 2017 was to make a tangible contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by providing a forum to engage stakeholders in a critical discussion of the international development agenda. The main theme of the 2017 Development Matters Series was the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its national and global dimensions were reviewed at the UN High-Level Political Forum in June 2017. As the vision of Irish Aid continues to focus on empowering people to overcome poverty and hunger, the 2017 series reflect this vision by focusing on two core areas:
- Health, relating to:
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being
- SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
- Poverty Reduction, relating to:
- SDG 1: No Poverty
- SDG 5: Gender Equality
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
The speakers for the 2017 lecture series included: Joe McHugh T.D. – Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development; Dr Selim Jahan – Director of the UNDP’s Human Development Report Office; Volker Türk – Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Office of the United Nations; Dr Joan Clos – UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat; Caroline Petit – Deputy Director of the UN Regional Information Centre (UNRIC); Dr Mike Ryan – Deputy Executive Director in the WHO Health Emergencies Programme; Andrew Gilmour – Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Pierre Krähenbühl- Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA); and Charlotte Petri Gornitzka – Chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee.
