Our CoP Champion discusses the spread of social unrest in Latin America

New York. On November 20, our CoP Champion Luis Felipe López-Calva joined a panel of scholars to discuss the spread of social protests and the limits of political systems in Latin America. In his presentation, “Elusive Development in Latin America: challenges and the way forward”, Mr. López-Calva identified declining governance effectiveness - in the context of slow growth and persistent inequality - as a significant driver of social conflict in the region. He further stressed the importance of horizontal accountability as a key institutional mechanism to process tensions and demands for redistribution. Watch the full session here

Meeting the aspirations of citizens critical to achieving SDGs in Africa 

In a recent speech delivered to UNDP senior leaders for Africa at their annual regional meeting on “Africa’s Money for African Development”, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner highlighted the need for increased efforts to integrate the demands and expectations of African citizens into development work. “Only through becoming relevant to the aspirations and needs of citizens will we get to our collective goal of an Africa beyond aid”, he remarked. He also called for greater collaboration between governments, the UN, and other stakeholders towards the attainment of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. Read more

Learning more, earning less: The role of falling returns to education and experience in “reducing” inequality in LAC

In Latin America, income inequality has been on the decline, but not for the right reasons. This is the conclusion of a new paper co-authored by our CoP Champion Luis Felipe López-Calva. “Our results suggest that there has been a compression of the wage premium—meaning that those with higher skills have been losing in terms of the returns to their schooling and their experience, as well in terms of the level of their wages”. Bottom line: inequality reduction in LAC obeys more to declining returns of education among higher skilled workers than to increased earnings among the less well-educated ones. Read more

Jordan - First Civil Society Network Strengthens Social Cohesion

In Jordan, UNDP is working on a dialogue platform called MATEEN, the first and most extensive non-profit network in the country working on civil society. Its work has directly impacted the lives of over 45,000 people in five of Jordan’s twelve governorates since 2016. UNDP Jordan’s Country Office shared the success stories of funding the network to help people at the local level. Safa became a performer and activist with disability from MATEEN’s supported art theater troupe. Hanan, a widow and mother of seven, developed her existing skills in agriculture and created her own sustainable business through UNDP funded Kinana Women’s Society. And Al-Zuhour Society is helping people combat drug abuse and addicts. Read more 

Query for innovative initiatives to feature a regional dialogue

Barbara Auricchio
Latin America and the Caribbean gender team is looking for innovative and transformative initiatives and international experts on time use and daily mobility to feature a regional dialogue among cities. The objective is to make visible and recognize the dimensions of time and mobility as a pivotal axis to reduce inequalities and move towards greater gender equality. The dialogue is aiming to generate an exchange between national and local experiences for best practices. Learn more

Meeting Globalization's Challenges: Policies to Make Trade Work for All  

Globalization has brought human progress at an unprecedented scale, accelerating economic growth, poverty reduction, and people’s access to cheaper goods and services. Yet, it has also fueled dissatisfaction and despair among citizens out of rising housing prices, worsening job quality, and low social mobility. Deteriorating public’s perception of life opportunities has led to massive waves of protests around the world. This timely book offers a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of globalization and how innovative policy can be put in place to make it work for all.  Read more

When Markets and Mobility Collide

Looking at the ongoing wave of protests in Latin America, this piece explores the link between social unrest and the cost of mobility. While a small increase in the price of gasoline means little for the wealthy, for many, it may mean the difference between staying out of poverty and falling back into it. The article makes a case for improved access to quality transport services as a critical component of urban wellbeing.  Read more

Why Rich Cities Rebel

The last few weeks have seen the eruption of mass demonstrations across the world. Interestingly, protests are not taking place in impoverished areas but predominantly in wealthy cities. In this piece, professor Jeffrey Sachs argues that traditional wellbeing measures such as GDP per capita can often hide issues of distribution as well as people’s perceptions of systemic unfairness and injustice, which are likely behind massive social unrest.  Explore more

Iranian protesters strike at the heart of the regime’s revolutionary legitimacy

Demonstrative: a global wave of protest

Why is it about the world today that is bringing so many people onto the streets? This is the question that guides this podcast episode with Jonathan Rosenthal, Simon Long, and Leila Molana-Allen from The Economist. Mr. Rosenthal addressed the economic dimension of demonstrations in Zimbabwe. Mr. Long identified some common themes connecting protests worldwide, including economic injustice, demographic change, and deteriorating quality of government. Although there is not a single factor behind the protests, he emphasized, the spread of social media has been a critical driver of mass demonstrations globally. In this line, Ms. Molana-Allen discussed the smartphone phenomenon in Lebanon’s protests. Tune in now

Join the Online Consultation on: Using Technology to Connect Citizens and Governments 

Please join in this important online consultation: The Role of Technology in Building Citizen’s Trust in Local Governments, from November 20 to December 17, 2019. This consultation aims to shed light into how governments can embrace technology in a way that builds trust amongst citizens and increase effectiveness. Join the consultation now 

Join the event: Inequalities, conflict and change: Perspectives and cases from Latin America

On November 28, 2019, the International Inequalities Institute at LSE and the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES) will host researchers from Latin America to discuss how inequalities and different forms of exclusion relate with contemporary expressions of social conflict, political instability, and social transformation. Learn more

[MOOC] Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens 

In this six-week course, you will study a set of techniques to distinguish reliable information from fake news, propaganda, hoaxes, rumors, and other forms of misinformation in news reports. Learn where to find trustworthy information, how to apply news literacy concepts in real life, and how to meet the challenges of digital citizenship. It will be taught in English, but Chinese and Spanish subtitles will be available. Register now