Channel “Unrisd”
http://www.unrisd.org/
During the conference "Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilization" we interviewed some of the speakers. Here you can find all the videos of this mini-series about inequalities.
Inequalities are one of today’s greatest challenges, obstructing poverty reduction and sustainable development. Such disparities are catalysed by elite capture of economic and political power, a reinforcing process that compounds inequality, which—in its various dimensions—undermines social, environmental and economic sustainability, and fuels poverty, insecurity, crime, and xenophobia.
As the power of elites grows and societal gaps widen, institutions representing the public good and universal values are increasingly disempowered or co-opted, and visions of social justice and equity side-lined. As a result, society is fracturing in ways that are becoming more and more tangible, with the growing divide between the privileged and the rest dramatically rearranging both macro structures and local lifeworlds.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development seeks to overcome such disparities, “leaving no one behind”. But how can this ambitious vision be achieved in the current climate, in which those in power act to protect the status quo from which they benefit? How can we build progressive alliances to drive the political and policy changes needed for an equitable, inclusive 21st-century eco-social compact?
Find out more about the conference HERE
Income inequality has skyrocketed in the United States. Since 1980, the richest 1 percent doubled their share of the nation’s earnings, and these high earners are concentrated in the financial services industry. Today, hedge fund managers earn an average annual income of $2.4 million, astronomical payouts that have mostly gone to elite white men. Megan presents an insider’s look at the industry. Have a watch!
We spoke with Megan Tobias Neely during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organized by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
Find out more about UNRISD here: http://www.unrisd.org
Who owns the future of our cities? Who determines how they develop? Who decides what does it mean a “dream city”? How can we challenge the unequal power distribution?
Listen to Fritz Nganje, a lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg.
Mr. Nganje’s current primary area of interest focuses on the international relations of sub-national governments, and more specifically on how provinces, regions, and municipalities come together to promote city cooperation and inclusive urban governance and development.
We spoke with Fritz Nganje during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organized by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The title of his presentation was :
City-to-City Cooperation and the Promise of a Democratic “Right to the City”
When city partnerships are designed and implemented in a manner that fails to challenge unequal power relations, the urban elite tend to use their position as gatekeepers of the institutional landscape of cities to determine which foreign ideas are localized and how, undermining
the transformative potential of city-to-city cooperation.
Find out more about UNRISD here: http://www.unrisd.org
How do the needs of indigenous communities transform over time, and how can these same communities integrate themselves into a rapidly changing society?
We sat down with Sudheesh Ramapurath, an ethnographer and a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, to talk about his research on Land and Livelihood struggles in India, his homeland. More specifically, Sudheesh’s research focuses on the struggles of the Paniyas, a community that is part of India’s indigenous peoples, the Adivasis. Sudheesh analyzes how, over time, starting from pre and post-independence periods right up to the modern day and age, the Paniyas are still living under the poverty line.
Why? What do they want? What do they need? What is the role of research?
What changes are needed?
We met Sudheesh Ramapurath, during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organized by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The title of his presentation was :
Persistence of Poverty in an Indigenous Community
in Southern India: Bringing Agrarian Environment to
the Centre of Poverty Analysis.
Find out more about UNRISD here: http://www.unrisd.org
Is there hope for a structural change?
We sat down and talked to Gabriele Köhler a Development Economist, former UN official, and Human Rights advocate, about what we foresee for our society, economy, and planet 20 years from now. In her paper ‘’Creative Coalitions’’, she explains how, in a world marked by increasing exploitation, an unequal concentration of wealth and unfettered capitalism, there is room for hope and optimism thanks to new coalitions of people in civil society coming together to fight repression and standing up for common causes, mandates and concerns.
We spoke with Gabriele Köhler during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organized by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The title of her presentation was :
CREATIVE COALITIONS IN A FRACTURED WORLD: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE?
Find out more about UNRISD here: http://www.unrisd.org
What does the future of equality and inequality look like in an interconnected world?
Listen to François Bourguignon, Emeritus Professor and Director of the Paris School of Economics.
We spoke with Prof. Bourguignon in Geneva during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organized by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The title of his keynote was:
Global and National Inequalities: A Worried Look into the Future
Find out more about UNRISD here: http://www.unrisd.org
What does politics look like in sub-Saharan Africa? How does it work and whom does it benefit?
Development Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Michael Danquah, explains the power plays in place to keep only a privileged few in rule of his country, while the rest of the population faces a stagnant economy that puts education, health, and public policies at risk.
Improving education, raising awareness and restructuring old and faulty concepts of power become keys to leading a country out of the darkness, and to help start to position them, little by little, on the path to economic, democratic and social development.
We spoke with Dr. in Geneva during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organized by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The title of his presentation was:
Inequality and Institutions: Exploring the Mediating Role of Political Settlements in Some Selected African Countries
“In this paper, we quantitatively examine the interplay of legal, political and economic institutions and political settlements on income inequality. We focus on the marginal effect of the institutional variables on income inequality conditioned on political settlements. The findings show that the marginal effect of legal, political and economic institutions contingent on competitive clientelist political settlements exacerbates income inequality significantly. This means that politics and power play in competitive clientelist political settlements are detrimental to equality and poverty reduction.”
What do inequalities look like in different parts of the world, and what can governments, civil servants, and citizens do to eliminate them?
In the second episode of our ‘Inequalities’ mini-series, Carla Beatriz de Paulo – General Coordinator in the Ministry of Social Development in Brazil – tells us about what hides behind the rise of a ‘new middle class’ in her home country, where dependence on State social programs from lower income sectors do not seem to be decreasing.
Touching on racial, gender and social issues, Carla gives us an insight into the needs and limitations that the Brazilian population faces everyday, and tells us how academia and field work can come together to bring about solutions to an unequal playing field.
We spoke with Carla Beatriz de Paulo in Geneva during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organised by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The title of her presentation was:
Brazil’s economic upsurge in the 2000’s : The rise of a “new” middle class or the fragmentation of the working class?
Because of the economic upsurge in the 2000s, part of Brazil’s working class started accessing durable goods and private services that had been historically inaccessible to them. This was interpreted by segments of the government and academia as a shift in class structure, and thus seen as the rise of a “new” middle class in Brazil that was less dependent on public services. This would then allow the state to restrict its role to regulating private services and providing public services to the poorest. This study suggests that interpreting this income shift as the rise of a “new” middle class is not only incorrect, but also potentially harmful to social change, since it incites fragmentation and disengagement within the working class. Alternatively, it argues that those who bene ted from the income shift are a fragment of the working class and far more dependent on state social services than advocates of the new middle class thesis suggest. In order to better understand this phenomenon, this study seeks to investigate the level of access to health and education services of those in this income range. The results obtained through data analysis reveal the predominant use of public health and education services by “new” middle class in 2008 and 2013, respectively.
Find out more about UNRISD here: http://www.unrisd.org
How does inequality look like through the political lens? What are the true details behind Government bias toward certain sectors of the population, and what is to be done about it?
By conducting a survey in countries like Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, Jonas Pontusson, Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Geneva, explains the intricacies of political inequality in developed countries, the importance of representation through political parties, and the role of these same parties in modern day politics and society.
We spoke with Prof. Jonas Pontusson in Geneva during the conference: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilisation, organised by The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The title of his presentation was:
On the Relationship Between Economic and Political Inequality: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go from Here?
Find out more about UNRISD here: http://www.unrisd.org
