Please join us for a live webcast of a conversation in New York Wednesday June 7th with Cristovam Buarque, Senator from Brazil, Cheng Siwei, former Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress in China, and Rizal Ramli, Former Indonesian Minister of Finance, and Khalid Malik, Director of UNDP's Human Development Report Office. The program is being held at the Asia Society and will be moderated by Jamie Metzl, a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society. The webcast beings at 8:30 AM EST.
These eminent policymakers from Asia and Latin America will consider how mutually reinforcing social and economic policies act as enabling factors in the rapid transformation of their societies. Brazil, China, and Indonesia have all experienced extensive societal transformation during the past two decades. They have also emerged as significant players in the global arena, including the G20, and have largely weathered the global financial crisis. Income per capita has increased significantly in each country, leading to rapid reductions in the number of people living in extreme poverty. Yet all are also suffering from acute income inequalities. Brazil has been able to narrow these socioeconomic divides in recent years through job creation and social policy innovation, while strengthening human capital through increased schooling. What are the lessons to be drawn from the dramatic rise of these three countries on two continents? How can they remain successful in an era of increasing global economic uncertainty?
