Wids 2011 hailed “most successful summit ever”

The sixth annual Warwick International Development Summit (Wids), held at the end of Week 7, was described by organisers as “the most successful summit ever”.

The summit, held between Friday 18 November and Sunday 20 November, had several primary agendas: aid distribution, global climate, womens’ rights and the Arab Spring.

Some of the biggest names who spoke at the summit included John Sopel and Owen Bennett-Jones from BBC News, Branko Milanovic, lead economist at the World Bank, Kate Nustedt, UK Director of Women for Women International and Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International. Members of Warwick Economics Department also attended to speak to students.

The overall highlight of the summit was the aid panel, involving freelance journalist Linda Polman, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) research fellow Jonathan Glennie, Acting EU Director at ONE Alexander Woollcombe and chaired by John Sopel. “It was the best debate I’ve ever seen”, said Mariko Yamamoto, Wids Society Vice-President.

Other points of interest were the Happiness Economics talk by Nick Marks and the gender equality panel, during which Kate Nustedt presented a revealing study of women in the Afghan conflict and special guest Hannah Elsisi, a student activist from Sussex University, gave a personal account of the current fight for freedom in Egypt.

The summit was held in MS.02, in the Zeeman building, with other nearby rooms commandeered for the purpose of additional workshops held by some of the speakers. The attendance over the weekend was “impressive”, according to society President Aida Seferovic, with turnout estimated at approximately 500 people.

Some talks attracted more than others, with the high-profile figures proving the biggest draw, but large expanses of empty seats – an issue with last year’s event – were not reported. Even a 10am talk on the Sunday, enlightening students about the Western Sahara conflict, was received by a packed auditorium.

The most pleasing aspect for Seferovic, however, was the interest shown in the event from external students. “Students from multiple universities in the UK said they enjoyed the summit and were inspired,” she said. “Some of them are arranging development summits themselves, and are asking us for advice. I’m really proud for inspiring others.”

Reaction to the summit was extremely positive from almost all quarters. Nustedt commented, “I think it’s really amazing what the student group has done here, organising it all, being so professional, a really interesting mix of speakers.”

Sopel was very impressed with the participation levels. “I’ve done countless debates with politicians and the general public and I was amazed today when so many hands went up for questions [in the aid panel debate]. It’s brilliant, and it shows students have enthusiasm for this subject.”

The Wids talks team were delighted with the calibre of the speakers they had recruited. “We did a lot of research for the speakers,” said Ines Schjolberg, Deputy Talks Officer, “we wrote them some very flattering invitations”.

Jen Mcpherson, Heads of Talks, was already discussing future potential. “We see it as a long term 3-year thing… We were overloaded with speakers who wanted to come, we had to defer some of them till next year.”

Student opinion was overwhelmingly supportive. Describing why she chose to attend, Sugandha Srivastav, second-year Economics, Politics and International Studies (E-PAIS) Student, said, “It covered a wide range of developmental issues and beautifully balanced theory with current affairs.” First-time visitors were generally impressed with the open nature of the event.

A number of students attending had come the year before. Francis Wight, a third-year History and Politics Student and ex-Wids society member, commented, “I was overwhelmed by the improved numbers of people who wanted to attend a Summit at the weekend. I feel that this is real testament to the brilliant work put in by the Wids team this year, and the superb line-up of speakers booked.”

Amongst students, engagement and enthusiasm for the topics presented was also high. Third-year History and Politics student Kitt Long said, “Protecting Women in War’ was a fascinating discussion… NGOs supporting women on the ground in Afghanistan are actually desperate for NATO forces to stay… withdrawing the troops now would destroy the valuable progress that has been made in the region these last 10 years.”

_This article was edited on Tuesday 29 November 2011. Morika was changed to Mariko. Francis Wright was changed to Francis Wight. Friday 19 November to Sunday 21 November was changed to Friday 18 November to Sunday 21 November._