Event Date: 19 Jun 2015 10:30 AM - 19 Jun 2015 12:00 PM

Event Venue: Tower Building, Level 2, CREATE Seminar Room

CARES Seminar Series:

“Socially Sustainable Development: Global Perspective”

by Dr Esuna Dugarova,

Research Fellow, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva

Seminar Abstract:
Even since the concept of sustainable development was popularized by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 and further taken up by the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012, there has been a tendency to associate sustainability with economic growth and environmental protection, neglecting its social dimensions, despite the fact that the three dimensions (i.e. social, economic and environmental) are intimately interlinked.
 
Despite progress in economic performance, reduction of poverty and expansion of educational opportunities around the world, today we face multiple crises and challenges related to rising inequalities, exclusion and unemployment, among others. This has shown that economic growth alone is not sufficient to ensure equitable and sustainable outcomes for all. A number of innovative policies and programmes have been implemented in many countries to address these challenges. Among such initiatives are “eco-social” policies which ensure that carbon-intensive sectors like housing, transport and energy are implemented in an ecologically beneficial and socially fair way.

This talk will discuss key issues related to social dimensions of sustainable development and shed light on what social dimensions are, how they can be addressed and why they matter for sustainable development. It will reflect on achievements and challenges from a global perspective and also provide examples from the transformative experience of Singapore. Holding this talk is a timely and useful endeavor, as in 2015, Singapore marks 50th year of independence, the United Nations celebrates 70th anniversary and its Member States including Singapore adopt a new global development agenda, which will determine the future of the global community.

Speaker’s Biography:
Dr. Esuna Dugarova is Research Fellow at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) in Geneva where she specializes in social dimensions of sustainable development, social policy and family support policy in emerging and developing economies. Her experience involves multidisciplinary research, analysis and evaluation of policy issues at the London School of Economics and Political Science, World Bank and European Commission, and lecturing at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and Cambridge University. Originally from the Republic of Buryatia in Russia, Esuna holds a PhD in Asian Studies from Cambridge University and a BA in Chinese and Burmese Studies from St Petersburg State University. With her mother tongue being Buryat, Esuna is fluent in Russian, English and Mandarin Chinese and also knows French and Burmese.

Please indicate your attendance at the talk using the following link: http://goo.gl/forms/JbqZ8Qn6dT