Warwick holds Development Summit

The Warwick International Development Society (WIDS) hosted a “MasquerAID” launch party on Friday 14 November at Saint Bar in Leamington Spa. It leads up to their three day on-campus summit the weekend of 21 – 23 November.

The party took place from 9pm to 2am and included free shots, face-painting, shisha and music.

The summit, which is the largest student-run international development conference in the United Kingdom, starts on Friday 21 November from 6pm to 9pm and continues on to the following two days from 9am to 5pm on each day.

Co-president of the summit, Stephanie Ifayemi, stated: “WIDS this year promises to be the most exciting and multidisciplinary summit yet! If you are interested in international development, or finding solutions to the world’s most pressing issues, we have talks from over 30 speakers, with chances to network during the day and at our wine reception (with exceptional canapé selections), attend seminar sessions and speak to our partner organisations.”

She added that over the weekend there will be talks from some of the world’s leading development thinkers and specialists, as well as discussions, panel debates and workshops. She further commented: “This year we want to create an engaging platform, encouraging innovative discussion and ideas. We hope to engage, inspire and inform the next generation of development hopefuls!”

The talks will cater to a variety of interests, whether that is setting up your own business, standing up for child rights, discussing political conflict in the Middle East or trying to expand the impact of healthcare in Africa.

It will help students to understand world issues and what they can do, personally, to impact positive social change at a global level. It is an opportunity for students to connect what they are learning in their lectures and from their readings to real life events and issues.

One speaker in attendance from the field of education will be Natalie Samarasinghe. Having obtained degrees from the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics, she is the first woman to be the executive director of the United Nations Association – UK and is engaged in campaigning, advocacy, outreach, fundraising and education activities.

There will also be a talk by the economist Sir Richard Jolly, who has been the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, the Deputy Executive Director in UNICEF, Special Adviser to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and architect of the Human Development Report.

His work includes forming UNICEF’s strategy for support to countries in reducing child mortality, implementing the goals agreed at the 1990 World Summit for Children and co-authoring the book Adjustment with a Human Face.

Stephanie Ifayemi further stated: “Our 2014 vision, to look at development through the lens of diversity, offers students from all disciplines a chance to engage in the post 2015 discussion as we approach the end of the Millennium Development Goals.

“One lucky attendee will have the chance to have a one-on-one session with any speaker of their choice, whether it be Dr. Norman Finkelstein, Sir Richard Jolly or Dr. Allan Pamba – we have a speaker of interest to everyone in every sector!”

Another summit speaker will be Professor Franklyn Lisk. He is engaged in research and policy analysis on global health governance focusing mainly on HIV/AIDS responses and on the political economy of African development, in particular, employment and labour market challenges and China-Africa relations.

Furthermore, journalism enthusiasts can listen to Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the Arab world’s first Huffington Post-style digital news and opinion website. He is also a regular contributor to the Guardian, the Scottish Herald, Gulf News and the Turkish Star Gazette.

Those interested in technology, innovation, environment and consultancy can listen to Bryony Everett, the associate director of IMC Worldwide, an international development consultancy which provides management and consulting services in developing countries.

Their work includes upgrading schools in Pakistan, expanding Uganda’s road network, paving the way for greener cities in Rwanda and building schools that also function as cyclone shelters in Bangladesh.

Also in attendance will be Beatrice Lindstrom, a human rights lawyer from the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). IJDH accompanies Haiti’s poor majority in the fields of law, medicine and social justice activism.

It gathers information about human rights violations in Haiti and relays it to the international human rights community, and media and grassroots groups. Its lawyers represent political prisoners and persecuted journalists, and document cases of murder, torture and destruction of property.

Tickets for the summit cost £16 for members and £20 for non-members.