First round of development lectures in 12 emerging donors
Experts from around the world delivered lectures on development and development cooperation at universities in the 12 new European Union countries. The series of “Kapuscinski Lectures”, named after Ryszard Kapuscinski, a Polish reporter and writer who covered developing countries, was organized jointly by the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme and partner universities.
The lecture series offered students from the 12 new member states of the European Union an unprecedented opportunity to learn and discuss development, and issues related to development cooperation. These 12 countries have recently become mature donors supporting developing nations. Their combined development assistance should reach 1 billion EUR in 2010.
As mature donors, the new EU member states also faced important questions, which were addressed during the meetings: 'are we rich enough to help other countries; what is our current role as donors in the EU; should we keep development aid in times of economic crisis; should we postpone the fight against climate change until the global economy recovers; how to ensure that development aid is not wasted and reaches the poor; how is terrorism and instability rooted in unequal development; which lessons can be learned from the transition economies in Eastern Europe.'
Those and other questions were answered by the “Kapuscinski Lectures,” which were organized in October-December 2009. Lectures were followed by roundtables with national development experts and policy-makers. The lectures form part of the preparations for, and promotion of, European Development Days, the biggest global event on development.
The lectures honor the name of Kapuscinski, a Polish journalist and writer, who died two years ago. Kapuscinski, whose books were translated into many languages, was often named the “Third World Chronicler” or the “Voice of the Poor” for his famous reportages and books describing developing countries on all continents. Among other books, he was famous for the following: “The Emperor” on Ethiopia, “Shah of Shahs” about Iran, “The Shadow of the Sun” about Africa, “Another Day of Life” about Angola, and “Imperium” about the Soviet Union.
Participating countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia.
Past events
22 May 2010
Estonia, English College -
Lecturer: Paul Collier
17 May 2010
Poland, Warsaw University - Lecturer: Andris Piebalgs
2 March 2010
Slovakia, Economic University in Bratislava - Lecturer: Gasana Ndoba
15 January 2010
Bulgaria, Sofia University - Lecturer: François Bourguignon
7 December 2009
Romania, University of Bucharest -
Lecturer: HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
26 November 2009
Malta, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies - Lecturer: Simon Maxwell
26 November 2009
Czech Republic, University of Economics - Lecturer: Paul Collier
17 November 2009
Slovenia, University of Ljubljana - Lecturer: François Bourguignon
6 November
2009
Cyprus, Center for European and International Affairs/University of Nicosia- Lecturer: Carol Lancaster
20 October
2009
Lithuania, University of Vilnius - Lecturer: Eveline Herfkens
19 October 2009
Latvia, University of Latvia - Lecturer: Dirk Messner
15 October 2009
Hungary, Budapest University of Technology and Economics - Lecturer: Simon Maxwell
8 October 2009
Estonia, University of Tartu - Lecturer: David Hulme
