Ministerial Lunch a Discussion on Gender and the Sdgs and Launch of the Sdgs&Her Initiative

Ministerial Lunch A discussion on Gender and the SDGs and launch of the SDGs&Her initiative

DATE: Friday, April 20th, 2018

TIME: 12:15– 2:15pm

LOCATION: Private Dining Room (PDR A/B/C) MC C1 level. World Bank Main Building

BACKGROUND: The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a stand-alone goal, Goal 5, on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Yet these global goals are intrinsically inter-dependent. To achieve gender equality, we must make progress on maternal health, girls’ access to education, and women’s economic empowerment, among other goals – and successful interventions must be scaled up.

Women’s financial inclusion and enhancing girls’ and women’s voice and agency are key enablers to achieving many SDGs. There is strong evidence that increasing financial access for women leads to greater spending on health, education, and other important indicators of well-being. Closing these gender gaps will not only help advance towards SDG 5 but will also diversify economies, raise productivity, and improve prospects for the next generation.

The SDGs&Her Initiative: The objectives of the initiative are to: (1) recognize women implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including women business owners of microenterprises; (2) reach non-traditional audiences; (3) collaborate with private sector partners on all SDGs, but SDG5 in particular; to share best practices and innovative ideas.

Partners will promote the competition to women entrepreneurs through their networks and community platforms. Women-owned and -led micro-level enterprises (1-9 employees; USD 10,000 loan eligibility) will fill out a short online template to enter the competition, describing their work and linking their initiative/product to 1 or more SDGs. Entries will be screened by a university partner and then judged by an expert panel. Judges will determine the winners based on the impact on the SDGs, vision and purpose, and clarity of the entries. The top winners will be recognized at an event at the margins of the 2018 UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York. The stories of the winning women entrepreneur (and many other notable entries) will be shared through partners’ social media and websites.

Event: The Honorable Minister for Investment and International Cooperation, Arab Republic of Egypt and the chair of the African Caucus with the Office of the World Bank Group (WBG) Senior Vice President for the 2030 Agenda, UN Relations and Partnerships, will co-host a Ministerial Lunch at the WBG-IMF Spring Meetings on April 20 to: 1. highlight the importance of women’s economic empowerment for reaching the SDGs; and 2. formally launch the SDGs&Her competition for women microentrepreneurs, co-sponsored by the WBG, Wharton Business School’s Zicklin Center, UNWomen, and UNDP.

FORMAT: This will be an informal Chatham House Rule conversation. Mahmoud Mohieldin, SVP for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations and Partnerships, will moderate the discussion. Ms. Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General will provide opening remarks. The Honorable Minister for Investment and International Cooperation, Arab Republic of Egypt and the chair of the African Caucus, H.E. Dr. Sahr Nasr will make remarks as the co-host of the event.

Each principal will be given the opportunity to present opening reflections, after which the two key themes will be discussed by participants.

PARTICIPANTS:

Participants:

Moderated by Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations and Partnerships

1. Ms. Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General 2. H.E. Nikolai Astrup, Minister of Development, Norway 3. H. E. Amadou Ba, Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, Senegal 4. H.E. Ms. Kanny Diallo, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea 5. H.E. Issa Doubragne, Minister of Economy and Development Planning, Chad 6. H.E. Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations 7. H.E. Elissa Golberg, Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy, Canada 8. H.E. Luis-Fernando Mejia, Director of National Planning, Colombia 9. H.E. Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance, Rwanda 10. H.E. Fayval Williams, Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Jamaica 11. Mr. Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator 12. Mr. Yannick Glemarec, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women 13. Mr. Hart Schafer, Vice President Global Themes, World Bank 14. Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) 15. Ms. Caren Grown, Senior Director, Gender, World Bank 16. Ms. Henriette Kolb, Head, IFC Gender Secretariat 17. Prof. Djordjija Petkoski, Wharton Business School

LOGISTICAL INFORMATION:

• The attendance for the Ministerial lunch is by invitation only and is limited to Principal plus one. • The speaking order for the opening and closing segments are arranged by country name, alphabetically. • Please send any dietary preferences, by cob on Friday, April 13, 2018 to Devy Damayanti [email protected]. • All participants for the Ministerial lunch are requested to arrive at the Private Dining Room (PDR A/B/C) MC C1 level. World Bank Main Building by 12:05pm later than 12:10pm, please. 2

• The Spring Meetings badges are required to get access to the Bank/Fund buildings on Saturday, April 22. Attendees will need to submit their online registration at www.BankFundMeetings.org as Bank Guests. • Please let us know if you have further questions. We would be happy to address them. Very happy to touch base at your earliest convenience regarding the questions on logistics and format.

Agenda and Running Order:

Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President for the 2030 Welcoming remarks Development Agenda UN Relations and Partnerships, World Bank Group—Moderator

Opening Remarks Ms. Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General

Remarks by the Co-Host H.E. Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister of Investment, Arab Republic of Egypt. Chair of the African Caucus.

World Bank Group’s work on Mr. Hartwig Schafer, VP, Global Themes, World Bank Gender Ms. Caren Grown, Senior Director, Gender, World Bank Ms. Henriette Kolb, Head, IFC Gender Secretariat

Opening reflections from H.E. Nikolai Astrup, Minister of Development, Norway Honorable Ministers H. E. Amadou Ba, Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, Senegal H.E. Ms. Kanny Diallo, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea H.E. Issa Doubragne, Minister of Economy and Development Planning, Chad H.E. Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations H.E. Elissa Golberg, Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy, Canada H.E. Luis-Fernando Mejia, Director of National Planning, Colombia H.E. Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance, Rwanda H.E. Fayval Williams, Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Jamaica

Remarks by UNDP Mr. Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator

Remarks by UNWomen Mr. Yannick Glemarec, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women Perspective from UNECA Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

The SDGs&Her Initiative Prof. Djordjija Petkoski, Wharton Business School

Discussion • How gender can act as an enabler and accelerator for all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? • It is no longer a not a choice, but an imperative to close gender gaps in education, entrepreneurship, health, labor markets and other areas. What are the major achievements and what more is being planned? • Around the world the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work remains an enormous barrier to progress for women. What steps are being taken to address this?

Closing reflections from all H.E. Nikolai Astrup, Minister of Development, Norway Ministers H. E. Amadou Ba, Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, Senegal H.E. Ms. Kanny Diallo, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea H.E. Issa Doubragne, Minister of Economy and Development Planning, Chad H.E. Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations H.E. Elissa Golberg, Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy, Canada H.E. Luis-Fernando Mejia, Director of National Planning, Colombia H.E. Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance, Rwanda H.E. Fayval Williams, Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Jamaica

Closing Remarks Mr. Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator

Thank you and wrap-up Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, SVP

BIOs:

Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President, 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations and Partnerships, World Bank Group

Mr. Mohieldin is the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations and Partnerships.

Before joining the World Bank, Dr. Mohieldin held numerous senior positions in the Government of Egypt, including Minister of Investment from 2004 until 2010. He also served on several Boards of Directors including the Central Bank of Egypt and the banking and corporate sector. He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

He is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Cairo University, an Honorary Professor at Durham University and member of the Advisory Board of the Durham Business School. He also held leading positions in national and regional research centers and think tanks. He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of international finance, economics, and development in English and Arabic. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick, M.Sc. in Economic and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, and B.Sc. in Economics, first in the order of merit, from Cairo University.

Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations

Amina J. Mohammed is the current Deputy Secretary-General to the United Nations. Previous to her mandate, she was the Nigerian Minister of Environment under President Buhari and was charged with steering the country’s efforts to protect the natural environment and conserve resources for sustainable development. Prior to this role, she was the Special Adviser to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning, a post she was appointed to in 2012. She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms. Mohammed brings to the position more than 30 years of experience as a development practitioner in the public and private sectors, as well as civil society. She was the former CEO/Founder of the Center for Development Policy Solutions, a think tank to address the policy and knowledge gaps within the Government, Parliament and private sector in development and civil society for robust advocacy materials. Ms. Mohammed is also Adjunct Professor of the Master’s Programme for Development Practice at Columbia University, New York. Prior to that, Ms. Mohammed served as the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the Millennium Development Goals after serving three Presidents over a period of six years. In 2005 she was charged with the coordination of the debt relief funds ($1 billion per annum) towards the achievement of Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria. Her mandate included designing a Virtual Poverty Fund with innovative approaches to poverty reduction, budget coordination and monitoring, as well as providing advice on pertinent issues regarding poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development. From 2002-2005, Ms. Mohammed served as coordinator of the Task Force on Gender and Education for the United Nations Millennium Project. Prior to this, she served as Founder and Executive Director of Afri- Projects Consortium, a multidisciplinary firm of Engineers and Quantity Surveyors (1991-2001) and worked with the architectural engineering firm of Archcon Nigeria in association with Norman and Dawbarn UK (1981-1991).

Ms. Mohammed currently serves on numerous international advisory panels and boards, including the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Secretary General’s Global Sustainability Panel, the Hewlett Foundation on Education, African Women’s Millennium Initiative, the ActionAid International “Right to Education Project”, the Millennium Promise Initiative, and the Institute of Scientific & Technical Information of China. She is a Governor of the International Development Research Centre in Canada, and currently chairs the Advisory Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Monitoring Report on Education. Ms. Mohammed received the National Honours Award of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2006 and was inducted in the Nigerian Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007.

Born in 1961, Ms. Mohammed is married with four children.

H.E. Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Arab Republic of Egypt

Her Excellency Dr. Sahar Nasr was sworn in as the Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation on February 16, 2017, following her appointment as Minister of International Cooperation on September 19, 2015.

Dr. Nasr earned her Professorship from the Supreme Council of Universities. She is a Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo and a Lecturer at several Egyptian and foreign universities. Throughout her academic career, she published over 60 research papers, technical reports and books. Since assuming her role as Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Dr. Nasr has made several strides in enhancing the business environment and the investment climate, with the ultimate objective of promoting private sector participation; most recent of which is the passing of the long-awaited Investment Law which brings new features to the investment landscape and introduces incentives with the objective of making Egypt one of the top investment destinations in the region.

She has also exerted tremendous efforts towards restructuring and reforming the Ministry, such as the establishment of a unit for monitoring and evaluation and a policy development and strategic planning unit in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Egypt, in addition to the establishment of a unit dedicated to addressing investors’ problems at a very early stage. Dr. Nasr has focused on strengthening Egypt’s ties with its existing international partners, as well as exploring new opportunities for cooperation, all through the establishment of mutually-beneficial partnerships. This has involved consolidating Egyptian-Gulf relationships, expanding and deepening ties with African states, and exploring new relationships with Asian partners.

Dr. Nasr also serves as Governor of Egypt to several institutions such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Dr. Nasr has been a member of the Economic Development Council of the Presidential Office through which she provided economic consultations to the President and drafted several proposals for the development of Egypt’s economic policies, boosting economic development efforts, coordinating and streamlining development initiatives and programs across different ministries and authorities, as well as to ensure the modernization of the economic performance system. Her Excellency was granted the 2015 prize of the most influential woman in the Arab economic sector. Dr. Nasr has extensive experience in negotiating and securing international grants and loans, especially within her role as Program Leader and Lead Economist at the World Bank. She has managed funds exceeding US$ 4.3 billion that were injected into the Egyptian economy in the areas of economic reform, economic policy development, small and medium enterprise (SME) development and social housing.

Dr. Nasr’s career heavily involved designing and supervising numerous reform and finance programs in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe. She has accomplished numerous success stories in the areas of economic and financial strategy design; monitoring progress and implementation of financial sector programs including legislative, supervisory and structural reforms; development of SMEs to promote inclusive growth and job creation, design and management of social housing finance programs, as well as constructing partnership schemes between the World Bank Group, Governments of a diverse group of developing countries and other local/international organizations.

Mr. Hart Schafer, Vice President, Global Themes, The World Bank

Hartwig Schafer became Vice President, Global Themes on July 1, 2017. In this position, he oversees the World Bank Groups’ engagement in the corporate priority areas of Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV), Gender, Infrastructure/PPPs/Guarantees, Climate Change and Knowledge Management. This Vice- Presidency strengthens multi-Global Practice collaboration and overall responsiveness to clients. In his most recent role as Vice President, Operations Policy and Country Services, Mr. Schafer was responsible for the World Bank’s business policies, practices and procedures for lending products and knowledge services for client countries. He led a number of key reforms, including roll-out of the Bank’s new policies on procurement and environmental and social safeguards and innovation of the Bank’s lending and knowledge instruments. Mr. Schafer, a German national, has worked for over 27 years in technical and managerial positions in the World Bank, as well as the European Commission. He brings strong operational experience across several regions and sectors. His academic background is in Economics (PhD) and Agricultural Economics. Previously, Mr. Schafer served as the World Bank’s Country Director for Djibouti, Egypt and Yemen in the Middle East and North Africa Region. He was Director for Strategy and Operations in the Sustainable Development Network. Mr. Schafer has also served as Director for Operations and Strategy in the Africa Region, Country Director for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe and Chief Administrative Officer in the Africa Region.

Ms. Caren Grown, Senior Director, Gender, The World Bank

Caren Grown, Senior Director for Gender at the World Bank Group, is recognized internationally as an expert on gender and development. Before joining the Bank Group in 2014, she was Economist-in- Residence and Co-Director of the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics at American University. From 2013-2014, she led the UNU-WIDER program on aid effectiveness and gender equality, and from 2011-2013 she served as Senior Gender Adviser and Acting Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at USAID. Among her previous positions, Dr. Grown has been Senior Scholar and Co-Director of the Gender Equality and Economy Program at the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College, Director of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Governance team at the International Center for Research on Women, and Senior Program Officer at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Ms. Henriette Kolb, Head IFC Gender Secretariat

Henriette is the Head of the Gender Secretariat at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. She serves as an advocate for gender equality issues in the private sector and leads a team that works with IFC’s clients to include both women and men as entrepreneurs, employees, consumers, community stakeholders and leaders.

Before joining IFC in September 2013, Henriette was the CEO of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, where she remains involved as a senior advisor. Henriette also serves as a member of Secretary Hillary Clinton's International Council on Women's Business Leadership.

Earlier in her career, Henriette was the UN representative in the Middle East Quartet team advising Tony Blair in Jerusalem. She also worked for the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO). She has held positions as governance advisor with the European Commission Delegation to Tanzania, the German Technical Cooperation Agency in Germany, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Tanzania, where she worked on conflict reduction, civic education, and socioeconomic issues in East Africa.

Henriette graduated with an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and received her MA from Freiburg University, Germany. Henriette is a Bucerius and Hertie summer school alumna and a frequent contributor to blogs hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, Huffington Post, and Business Fights Poverty.

H.E. Nikolai Astrup, Minister of Development, Norway

Nikolai Astrup is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party who has served as Minister of International Development since January 2018. Astrup holds a master's degree in European Politics and Governance and a bachelor's degree in International Relations, both from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was elected Member of Parliament from 2009 to 2018 and leader of the Conservative Party in Oslo from 2012 to 2018. In parliament, Astrup sat on the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment from 2009 to 2015, and from 2016 to 2017 he chaired the Standing Committee on Transport and Communication. After the election in 2017, he was appointed chair of the Standing Committee on Finance. Astrup was the editor of the conservative periodical Minerva from 2001 to 2008.

H.E. Amadou Ba, Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, Senegal (bio awaited)

H.E. Ms. Kanny Diallo, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea (bio awaited)

H.E. Issa Doubragne, Minister of Economy and Development Planning, Chad

Honorable ISSA DOUBRAGNE is the Chadian Minister of Economy and Development Planning. His career has spanned work in the public and nonprofit sectors. He is a passionate advocate of development strategies with a focus on beneficiary participation, in a transitioning context from humanitarian to development.

Dr. DOUBRAGNE was since 2013 the Founder and National Director of an NGO named Humanitarian Initiative for Local Development. His leadership and advocacy brings together a peaceful coexistence between refugees and indigenous people in Goré (south of Chad) and more access to agricultural land for refugees. Concurrently to holding that position, he was a teacher in Geography and Urbanization at the University of Moundou. Prior to that, Dr. DOUBRAGNE served as coordinator for Africare from 2007 to 2013 and Professor at the University Adam Barka in Abéché in 2006. He served also at the Board of various national NGOs and nonprofit organizations. Dr. DOUBRAGNE earned his Master’s degree and PhD in Geography at the University of Paris I, Pantheon Sorbonne.

H.E. Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations

Prior to his appointment as the Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mr. Edrees was the Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs from 2015 to January 2018. He served as Ambassador of Egypt to Ethiopia, as well as his country’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, from 2011 to 2015.

From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Edrees was Deputy Assistant Minister for Arab-Orient Affairs, while from 2007 to 2010, he was Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He previously served as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Nations in New York from 2006 to 2007 and as Deputy Chief of Mission at Egypt’s Embassy in Damascus, Syria, from 2001 to 2005. Prior to his diplomatic service, he was a resident doctor within the Ministry of Health. Mr. Edrees holds a Master of Arts in political science from the University of London and a Bachelor of Science in medicine and surgery from Cairo University. Born on 31 May 1960, he is married and has a son and a daughter.

H.E. Elissa Golberg, Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy, Canada

Elissa Golberg was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister – Strategic Policy at Global Affairs Canada in September 2017. She is also currently the department’s champion for innovation. Ms. Golberg has successfully pioneered complex policy and multi-million dollar program initiatives, and led multi-disciplinary teams working on significant international peace and security, human rights, emergency management, and sustainable development challenges.

From 2015 to 2017, she was Assistant Deputy Minister – Partnerships for Development Innovation at Global Affairs Canada, where she oversaw Canada’s multi-sectoral and multi-country investments in sustainable development through civil society organizations and led the department’s development innovation agenda. Prior to that, from 2011 to 2015, Ms. Golberg served as Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and to the Conference on Disarmament (2011-15) where she chaired several important global processes including in relation to a fissile material cut-off treaty, polio eradication, violence against women, human rights special procedures, humanitarian action and forced displacement. Other recent previous roles have included Director-General of the Canadian Government’s Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (2009- 11); and Representative of Canada in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2008-9).

Born in Montreal, Ms. Golberg holds a Master’s degree in International Relations, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. She is a recipient of the NATO ISAF General Service medal, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the Public Service Award of Excellence, and 3 Ministers’ Awards for Foreign Policy Excellence. She has been a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and a member of the Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Violence and Fragility. She has published articles on humanitarian, fragile state and public policy related matters.

Luis Fernando Mejia, Minister National Planning, Colombia

Luis Fernando Mejía, Director-General at Colombia’s National Planning Department, is an economist with Master’s studies at Universidad de los Andes (Bogota) and PhD studies at the University of Chicago. Previously, he served as Sectoral Deputy Director-General at the same entity, Technical Director for Macroeconomic Policy at the Ministry of Finance, and researcher at Colombia’s Central Bank and the Inter- American Development Bank. He has also worked as a lecturer on Macroeconomics at the universities of Chicago, Los Andes and Javeriana. Among other distinctions, Mr Mejía was chosen by the magazine Dinero as one of Colombia’s top 50 leaders under 40, obtained the University of Chicago’s Margaret Reid Memorial Fund award, as well as its Martin & Margaret Lee prize for best Money & Banking Preliminary Examination. He is the seventh top cited economist in Colombia according to RePec.

H.E. Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance, Rwanda

Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana is the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda. Prior to his appointment as Finance Minister, he was the Minister of State in charge of Economic Planning in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN). Before joining the Finance ministry, he was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, from May 2011 to July 2014. He served in different leadership positions as the Vice Rector of the National University of Rwanda from (2007 – 2011), and as the Rector of School of Finance and Banking in Kigali, Rwanda (2002 -2007). Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana is an Economist, holding a PhD in Economics (1998) and a MSc. Economics, with specialization in International Trade. He started his career as a Lecturer at the National University of Rwanda in 1999, Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences and Management, before joining the government in 2002. He speaks Kinyarwanda, French, English, Swahili, Polish, and basic Portuguese.

H.E. Fayval Williams, Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, Jamaica (bio awaited)

Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Achim Steiner became UNDP Administrator on 19 June 2017 and will serve for a term of four years. The United Nations General Assembly confirmed his nomination on 19 April 2017, following his nomination by Secretary-General António Guterres. Mr. Steiner is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Development Group, which unites the 32 UN funds, programmes, specialized agencies and other bodies that work to support sustainable development.

Over nearly three decades, Achim Steiner has been a global leader on sustainable development, climate resilience and international cooperation. He has worked tirelessly to champion sustainability, economic growth and equality for the vulnerable, and has been a vocal advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Prior to joining UNDP, he was Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, University of Oxford. Mr Steiner has served across the United Nations system, looking at global challenges from both a humanitarian and a development perspective. He led the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), helping governments invest in clean technologies and renewable energy. He was also Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. Achim Steiner previously held other notable positions including Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams.

Achim Steiner has lived and worked in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the United States. He graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (MA) from Worcester College, Oxford University and holds an MA from the University of London/School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Mr. Yannick Glemarec, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women

Mr. Yannick Glemarec serves as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Programme for UN Women since March 2015. In this capacity, he is responsible for setting the direction and guiding the planning, coordination, management and oversight of all activities and services provided by the Programme and Policy Bureau. He serves as one of two Deputies to the Executive Director of UN Women. Mr. Glemarec brings 30 years of specialized experience in international policy development, large-scale programme management, and financing. Prior to joining UN Women, he was the Executive Coordinator of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office), a facility which manages a portfolio of USD 8 billion across approximately 100 UN pooled financing mechanisms for humanitarian, conflict and post conflict, socio-economic development and climate change assistance worldwide.

Earlier Mr. Glemarec led the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Global Environmental Facility (GEF) for almost six years. He oversaw the formulation and implementation of a USD 3 billion portfolio in 140 countries for access to clean energy, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management.

Mr. Glemarec also spent more than 12 years with UNDP in management positions of increasing responsibility in Viet Nam, China and Bangladesh. He oversaw large-scale programmes in social and economic development, human rights and the environment. He worked closely with national and contributing partners to strengthen results-based management, ensuring that resources were used effectively and efficiently to make a positive difference in the lives of the people he served. Mr. Glemarec began his career in 1985 with an international non-governmental organization in an intensely disputed region during the Ethiopian–Eritrean conflict.

He holds a PhD from the University of Paris in environmental sciences, and two Master’s degrees in hydrology and in business administration. He has authored and co-authored several publications in the field of disaster risk management, sustainable development, clean energy and climate finance.

Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) (bio awaited)

Vera Songwe took up her new role as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on 3 August 2017.

She brings to ECA and the position of Executive Secretary a long-standing track record of providing policy advice on development and a wealth of experience in delivering development results for Africa, as well as a demonstrated strong and clear strategic vision for the continent.

Until recently, she was Regional Director of the International Finance Corporation, covering West and Central Africa. In addition, she continues to serve as a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative. She is also a member of the African Union institutional reform team under the direction of the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and a board member of the African Leadership Network and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Previously, she was Country Director for the World Bank, covering Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea- Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal. She was also Adviser to the Managing Director of the World Bank for Africa, Europe and Central and South Asia and a lead Country Sector Coordinator for the organization. She had earlier served as the World Bank’s Senior Economist in the Philippines. Prior to joining the World Bank, she was a Visiting Researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota and at the University of Southern California.

She holds a PhD in Mathematical Economics from the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics and a Master of Arts in Law and Economics and a Diplôme d’études approfondies in Economic Science and Politics from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan. She is also a graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes College in Cameroon and has published widely on development and economic issues.

Prof. Djordjija Petkoski, Wharton Business School (bio awaited)

Dr. Petkoski is a Lecturer and Senior Fellow at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and the founder and managing director of Global CDL, a strategy-consulting firm. During his 20- year tenure at the World Bank, he held various positions, including head of the Business, Competitiveness and Development Program. At Wharton, he teaches courses on responsibility in global management, social impact, and corporate responsibility and ethics and has thought at several Executive Development Programs at Wharton and Harvard Business School. Dr. Petkoski serves as a consultant and advisor to the World Bank, ILO, OAS, national governments, corporations, and other institutions. He is the author or co-author of 15 books and over 180 articles and reports, including several Harvard Business School case studies and has engaged with over 100 leading global companies with consulting experience across a broader range of industries including agribusiness, food and beverage, and high technology industries. Since 2014, Dr. Petkoski is co-leading the World Bank and Wharton Ideas for Action (I4A) Initiative. Dr. Petkoski was a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard University in the early 1990's and a Visiting Scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979-80. In addition to two Ph.D. (one in Economics and one in Electrical Engineering), he has a MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.