Conference on Economic Crisis and Children

UNICEF and ODI are jointly hosting a conference in London November 9-10, 2009 entitled: The global economic crisis – Including children in the policy response.This conference will bring together development practitioners, policy experts and academic researchers from around the world to develop a deeper understanding of the ways in which the food and fuel price volatility, financial market volatility and global economic slowdown are affecting children, women and other vulnerable groups, and how policy responses to the crisis can put these most vulnerable groups first.

At the conference, ODI will present a report on past crises based on research it has undertaken for UNICEF as part of this broader partnership.UNICEF and ODI are hosting speakers as well as panelists who will represent a broad range of disciplines and sectors to encourage discussion of these issues of vital importance to children. Attendees will include academics, representatives from both developing and developed country governments, members of the private sector, partner agencies and IFIs and donors.

This space will house information on conference logistics, e-proceedings from the event, and active disussion of original research papers submitted by participants. Please contact us at globalpolicy AT unicef.org with any questions or comments.

Agenda

UNICEF UK, 30a Great Sutton Street, London, UK
9-10 November 2009
Conference Agenda

Monday November 9th

9.30am – 10.00am: Check in and coffee

10.00am – 11.30pm
Opening and Presentation of ODI/UNICEF Report
Richard Morgan, UNICEF; Diane Elson, Essex University (TBC); Caroline Harper, ODI; Isabel Ortiz, UNICEF.

1. Presentation by Isabel Ortiz
2. Presentation by Caroline Harper

11.45am – 1.30pm
Lessons learned in past crises and expectations for the current crisis
Chair and opening presentation: Sanjeev Gupta, IMF

Papers:

1. Quantifying the impact of past financial crises on the health of children and households.
   Karen Grépin, NYU, USA.
2. Impact of economic crisis on the well-being of children. Almudena Fernández, UNDP.
3. The impact of the global economic crises on the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable groups in deprived societies. Dr. Prince Osei-Adjei, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.

--Lunch (provided) --

2.45pm – 4.30pm
From potential threat to current realities: emerging impacts on children of the current crisis
Chair and opening presentation: Kevin Watkins, UNESCO Education for All Report

Papers:

1. The Global Economic Crisis, public budgets and child-sensitive social protection in Sub-Saharan Africa. Andy Sumner, IDS, UK.
2. Survival in Mexico: Remittances and access to private healthcare among children and women left behind. Jeronimo Cortina, University of Houston, USA.
3. Consequences of the financial crisis with respect to children in Egypt. Huda Al-Kitkat, Information and Decision Support, Egyptian Cabinet, Egypt.
4. Food price hikes and household food security in agrarian societies: Assessing children’s vulnerability in Bangladesh and Ethiopia. Zenebe Bashaw Uraguchi, Nagoya University, Japan.

5.00pm – 6.00pm
Recovery with a Human Face: Discussion with authors of UNICEF’s ‘Adjustment with a human face’ on what has and hasn’t been learnt from past experiences
Richard Morgan, UNICEF (Chair); Sir Richard Jolly, IDS and Professor Frances Stewart, Oxford.

6.00pm – 7.00pm: Reception


Tuesday November 10th

9.00am – 10.45am
Childhood and vulnerability: Compounding risk during crises
Chair and opening presentation: Jody Heymann, McGill University, Canada

Papers:

1. Impact of the economic crises on early childhood: An examination of mediating pathways with implications for national policy. Pia Rebello Britto, Yale University, USA.
2. Global economic crisis: The challenges of girl-child education and alternative jobs in Nigeria. Femi Tinuola, Kogi State University, Nigeria.
3. Children’s perspectives on risk and vulnerability in contexts of poverty and change. Uma Vennam, Oxford, Young Lives, UK.
4. Crisis impacts on children vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Ken Legins, UNICEF.
   

11.15am – 1.00pm
Including children in policy responses: Past lessons and future scenarios
Chair and opening presentation: Richard Blewitt, HelpAge International, UK

Papers:

1. Social protection responses to economic crises and their impacts on children: Learning from past lessons. Rica Garde, Save the Children, UK.
2. Simulating the impact of the global food, fuel and financial crises on children and policy responses in Burkina Faso. John Cockburn, University of Laval, Poverty and Economic Policy Network, Canada.
3. Towards understanding the impact of the international financial crisis on child poverty in South Africa: A micro-macro simulation perspective. Servaas van der Berg, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and Dr. Ramos Magubu, South Africa Fiscal and Financial Commission, South Africa.
4. Appraising the impacts of the 2008/9 global economic crisis and of policy responses on children in Cameroon. Christian Arnualt Emini, University of Yaoundé II, Cameroon.
   

--Lunch (provided) --

2.15pm – 4.00pm
Snapshots of responses in progress
Chair and opening presentation: Bella Bird, DFID, UK

Papers:

1. Child-sensitive social protection at times of crisis: Addressing the social impacts of the global economic crisis in CEE/CIS. Gordon Alexander and Petra Hoelscher, UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS.
2. Adolescents, crisis and risk: Are CCTs adequate policy answers? Valeria Llobet, New School University, USA.
3. The impact of the financial and economic crisis on the family and child in the Republic of Moldova and suggested responses. Sergiu Buruiana, UNICEF Moldova.
4. The impact of the global food, fuel and financial crises and policy responses: A child-sensitive approach. Suwanee Khamman, National Economic and Social Development Board, Thailand.

4.00 pm
Closing remarks and ways forward
Isabel Ortiz, UNICEF; David Stewart, UNICEF; Caroline Harper, ODI.

Conference coverage

Photo from the opening panel at the UNICEF-ODI conference in London

Please visit Karen Grepin's blog to see her take-aways from the conference. Many thanks, Karen, for your post!

Also visit the UNICEF website to read an article posted about the conference.