International experts, government officials, and business and international organisation members will participate in the Inception Workshop: “Vision and Strategies for 2018”. This will mark the beginning of the Task Forces’ work who will form part of Think 20 (T20) Argentina. The event will take place on 1-2 February at the Palacio San Martín in Buenos Aires.

The main objective of the event is for the Task Forces to generate public policy documents which will contain recommendations for the G20. There will be a number of activities during the two days, including four plenary sessions in which well-known specialists will debate topics relevant to Argentine priorities. These are: the future of work and education in the digital era, climate change and infrastructure for development and food security and sustainable agriculture. There will also be a new topic incorporated into the T20, put forward by the current engagement group, which will cover the challenge of social cohesion in uncertain political scenarios and the future of politics.

Inception Workshop Plenary Sessions schedule

Thursday 1st of February

10:00 Global Governance Issues in Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture

Moderator: Martín Piñeiro, Director of the Agricultural Committee, Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI) and co-chair of the T20 Argentina 2018 “Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture” Task Force

Panelists:

– Jikun Huang, Professor and Director of the China Center for Agricultural Policy, Peking University and co-chair of the T20 Argentina 2018 “Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture” Task Force

– Jamie Morrison, Senior Economist in the Trade and Markets Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

– Máximo Torero, Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay, World Bank Group

Concluding Remarks: Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla, Visiting Research Fellow and Head of the Latin American & Caribbean Program, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and co-chair of the T20 Argentina 2018 “Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture” Task Force

17:00 The Future of Work and Education for the Digital Age

Moderator: Dennis Görlich, Managing Director of the Global Economic Symposium (GES), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) and co-chair of the T20 Argentina 2018 “The Future of Work and Education for the Digital Age” Task Force

Panelists:

– Claudia Costin, Founder and Director of the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education Policies, Getulio Vargas Foundation

– Laura Ripani, Lead Labor Markets Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank

– Blair Sheppard, Global Leader for Strategy and Leadership Development, PwC

Friday 2nd of February

09:00 The challenge of social cohesion in uncertain political scenarios. Imagining the way ahead and implications for global governance

Presentation of the Social Cohesion, Global Governance and the Future of Politics Task Force: Julia Pomares, Executive Director, CIPPEC

Panelists:

– Sergio Bitar, Non-Resident Senior Fellow and Project Director of Global Trends and Future Scenarios, Inter-American Dialogue and President of Fundación por la Democracia

– Ana María Mustapic, Professor, Torcuato Di Tella University

– Dennis Snower, President, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) and co-chair of the T20 Argentina 2018 “Social Cohesion, Global Governance and the “Future of Politics” Task Force

– Richard Wike, Director of Global Attitudes Research, Pew Research Center

Coordinator: Colin Bradford, Non-Resident Senior Fellow of the Global Economy and Development Program at Brookings and Director of the Brookings-CIGI Global Governance Reform project in the Global Economy and Development Program at Brookings

10:45 Climate Action & Infrastructure for Development

Moderator: Miguel Lozupone, Director of Climate Change, National Defense University (UNDEF)

Panelists:

– Amar Bhattacharya, Senior Fellow of the Global Economy and Development Program, Brookings Institution and co-chair of the T20 Argentina 2018 “Climate Action and Infrastructure for Development” Task Force

– Magdy Martínez-Solimán, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

– Salvador Rueda, Director, Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona

Additionally, there will be a number of events during the Inception Workshop including keynote sessions from Jeffrey Sachs and Antonio Vergara, and a roundtable titled “What can the G20 achieve during 2018? Challenges and expectations”.

To see the full program of the Inception Workshop: “Vision and Strategies” for 2018, click here.