SUDAN AT A CROSSROADS: Towards a Vision for the Future & Youth Empowerment
Saturday 14th January 2017 from 13:45 to 16:20 (BST) VENUE & DIRECTION
13:30-13:45 Arrival
13:45-15:15 Session One
15:15-15:30 Break
15:30-16:20 Session Two
Target audience Academic, professionals, research, youth, NGOs, civil society groups, businesses, and other stakeholders.
Focus Sudan
Hosts
World Association for Sustainable Development (WASD)
UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY)
Sudan Knowledge (SK)
Middle Eastern Knowledge Economy Institute (MEKEI)
The Sudanese diasporic community is relatively large and has a significant impact on Sudan development on account of the size and volume of financial remittances. However diasporic contribution is largely neglected within national sustainable development policy and strategies in Sudan. Therefore the main aim of this debate is to ensure Sudan is benefiting from its Diaspora (particularly youth) towards the vision for the future and involve them directly in formulating the objectives and desired outcomes of any policy, and the best means of achieving them in Sudan. Moreover the debate will also explore the role of the government, academic and research institutions as well as the private sector as recommended by the World Bank’s World Development Report 2016 to enable Sudan reap the digital benefits form the global growth in the digital jobs and knowledge economy particularly for the country’s Digital Natives (Youth).
From bread-basket to knowledge economy: what should government do for its digital natives and YOUTH empowerment!
Allam Ahmed, President WASD, Founder Sudan Knowledge and Director MEKEI, UK (Chair)
An overview of the current economic situation in Sudan
Mohamed ElNair, Associate Professor of Accounting, Almughtaribeen University and Sudan University of Science & Technology, Sudan
Whole system approach to health care planning in the Sudan
Mayada Abu Affan, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, West Midlands and Honorary Lecturer, University of Birmingham, UK
The role of the manufacturing sector in the future of Sudan
Adil Dafa’Alla, Specialist, Aero Data for Loads, Airbus UK, UK
Anti-corruption: assets tracing and recovery in international law, case study of Sudan
Nagi Idris, Director, London Centre of International Law Practice, UK
The ethnic conflict in Darfur and the motives of the participating parties
Nagmeldin Karamalla-Gaiballa, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Warsaw, Poland
Democratic transition in Sudan: challenges and lessons learned from some African and Arab countries
Ahmed Hussain Adam, Visiting Fellow, Cornell University Institute for African Development and Former Visiting Scholar and Co-Chair of the Two Sudan Project, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, New York, USA
Youth perspective and reflection
Basma Khalifa, International Fashion Journalist, UK (Discussant)
Sudan is at a crossroads facing many crisis and vulnerabilities such as economic and monetary crisis; nearly half of Sudanese live below the poverty line and 3 million children starving; wars and fighting in most parts of Sudan including Darfur; health inequalities with high prices for medicine; deteriorating education system; immigration and terrorism; environmental problems particularly energy including the loss of more than 70% of oil resources in Sudan following the declaration of South Sudan independent in 2011; high levels of unemployment particularly among the youth; international sanctions led by the US; and many other problems and challenges. Faced with all of these problems, it is not surprising that for many people it is becoming very hard to be optimistic about Sudan’s future.
Moreover, the debate which is a follow up on the Third International Diaspora Conference held at the University of East London in the period 25-26 July 2016, is an excellent opportunities to report the various views and contribution of the Sudanese Diaspora in the UK and other parts of the world on the future development of their country of origin. It is hoped that the debate will be a good opportunity for students, researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, ordinary citizen to reflect on the recent situation in Sudan.
This multi-disciplinary debate is part of our Sustainability Debate Series aims to provide the participants the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences from all over the world on major global issues; the emphasis is on the importance of evidence-based planning to overcome the challenges facing global efforts to achieve a sustainable future. For more details watch presentations from WASD’s previous events.
Join us for this exciting debate, where international experts and high level Diaspora from the public and private sectors will give their views on the critical situation in Sudan and how the Diaspora can contribute to shaping the future of Sudan. During the debate the panel will answer questions posted by the participants, please send your question for the panel to the debate coordinator Olivia Allen (Olivia.allen@wasd.org.uk) by the 10th of January 2017.
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