UNU-Cornell Africa Series Two - The Governance Dimension of the MDGs in Africa

May 21, 9:15 am to 6 pm, Dag Hammarskjold Library Penthouse

The second symposium of the Africa Series will focus on the "Governance Dimension of the MDGs in Africa". The Millennium Declaration recognizes governance as critical for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It makes explicit reference to good governance in two paragraphs stating that "democratic and participatory governance best assures the rights to live in dignity, free from hunger and from fear of violence, oppression or injustice (para.1.6)" and that "success in meeting the objectives of development and the elimination of poverty depends on good governance" (para. III. 13). Governance is regarded today as an essential prerequisite for human development. The concept has evolved from its original focus on economic process and administrative efficiency to one with stronger links to democracy, the rule of law and participation. The Millennium Declaration represents the most forceful and explicit commitment by the UN member states to date to the principles of good governance. In the second symposium, we aim to contribute to policy analysis of governance and development by not only undertaking a diagnostic study of the state of governance but evaluating the effectiveness of efforts aimed at ensuring good governance.

This second symposium is co-organized in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSSA), the UNU Research and Training Programme on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), the UNU Office at the UN in New York (UNU-ONY), Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, the Institute for African Development at Cornell University, and the Food and Nutrition Program for Human and Social Development at Cornell. Speakers will include practitioners and academic researchers who are experts on Africa, many of them being from Africa, North America and Europe. Please click here to read the biographies of the speakers.