Several consultations and meetings with civil society and other stakeholders took place at the OECD in the past few weeks. The Business and Industry Advisory (BIAC) and Trade Union Advisory (TUAC) Committees were consulted in advance of the Ministerial Council Meeting. The OECD’s Working Group on Bribery held its annual consultation with representatives from civil society and the private sector to discuss recent developments in the international fight against the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions. You can find more details in an article on recent OECD consultations, meetings and events with civil society.

OECD 2010 week—held at OECD headquarters in Paris on 25-28 May—was kicked off by the OECD Urban Roundtable for Mayors and Ministers: Cities and Green Growth. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría discussed with mayors, ministers, and senior business executives how cities can grow their economies, create jobs, give their citizens high-quality urban services, and protect the environment. The roundtable was followed by the OECD Forum Road to Recovery: Innovation, Jobs & Clean Growth, which was attended by over 1400 stakeholders from member and partner governments, as well as leading representatives of business, labour, NGOs, academia, and the media. It featured 15 sessions on a range of topics including the jobs crisis, green growth, trade, innovation, and business ethics. Discussions at the Forum fed directly into the two-day OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, chaired by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

OECD member countries agreed on 10 May to invite Estonia, Israel and Slovenia to become members of the Organisation, paving the way for the Organisation’s membership to grow to 34 countries. Chile officially joined as the 31. member country on 7 May. “Estonia, Israel and Slovenia, along with Chile […], will contribute to a more plural and open OECD playing an increasingly important role in the global economic architecture,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said. A special MCM accession ceremony on 27 May—with the presence of Prime Ministers Andrus Ansip (Estonia), Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel) and Borut Pahor (Slovenia), as well as Chilean Finance Minister Felipe Larrain—marked the occasion.

Civil society has a key role to play to boost innovation, according to the OECD Innovation Strategy, which was launched on 27 May. “Knowledge is the main driver of today’s global economy” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría at the launch. The Strategy says that universities, colleges and vocational training centres are essential connections in the innovation system, both producing and attracting the human capital needed for innovation. They act as essential bridges between the different players in broader and more open systems of innovation. They also contribute to the local quality of life and thus can help to attract the highly skilled from around the globe. More generally, innovation is about people and their ability to generate the ideas and knowledge that power innovation. People apply this knowledge and the resulting technologies, products and services in the workplace and as consumers. Users and consumers play a growing role with firms involving them in the innovation process. A critical mass of users and consumers can support and encourage innovation and the competitive process. More information: www.oecd.org/innovation/strategy

On the occasion of the 2010 OECD MCM, ministers and representatives from BIAC and TUAC welcomed the Interim Report of the Green Growth Strategy. The Report provides some first insights into how countries can achieve greener growth, and discusses what steps countries have already taken, as well as some of the barriers and challenges associated with the transition. It also proposes a framework for green growth strategies to help ensure an efficient shift to more sustainable economies while maximising opportunities for new green industries, jobs and technologies.
For more information visit: www.oecd.org/greengrowth. The OECD has also set up the International Green Growth Dialogue (IGGD), an initiative to share and exchange information between a wide range of stakeholders on a host of green growth issues. The IGGD secure web site provides a platform for sharing different perspectives and activities, and hosting a discussion about the next stage of the Green Growth Strategy. If your organisation wants to join this online community, please send your representative’s title (Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs), first name, last name, organisation name, and e-mail address to greengrowth@oecd.org.

The Honourable Michael Kirby has been selected by the privacy advocacy and research organisation Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) as the 2010 recipient of the International Privacy Champion Award. Justice Kirby was recognised for his leading role in the development of the OECD Privacy Guidelines in 1980. This year the OECD is marking the 30th anniversary of the Guidelines with a series of events, in preparation for a review in 2011 to assess whether the Guidelines need to be revised. The award was given at a 10 March reception that followed an OECD roundtable on the impact of the Guidelines.

Development Co-operation Report 2010

This 2010 edition of the OECD Development Co-operation Report describes how the Development Assistance Committee has responded to the economic, food and climate change crises of recent years and how DAC countries are working to make aid more effective.
Now available from the Online Bookshop

OECD Reviews of Migrant Education
Closing the Gap for Immigrant Students
Policies, Practice and Performance

This book offers comparative data on access, participation and performance of immigrant students and their native peers and identifies a set of policy options based on solid evidence of what works.
Now available from the Online Bookshop

Educational Research and Innovation
Educating Teachers for Diversity
Meeting the Challenge

This publication sheds light on the evidence base that can be used to redesign initial and continuing teacher education to help practitioners effectively teach diverse students.
Now available from the Online Bookshop

Atlas of Gender and Development
How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries

Gender inequality holds back not just women but the economic and social development of entire societies. This atlas presents a new measure of gender inequality which examines women’s status according to family situation, physical integrity, son preference, civil liberties and ownership rights.
Now available from the Online Bookshop

Economic Policy Reforms 2010
Going for Growth

Going for Growth 2010 examines the structural policy measures that have been taken in response to the crisis, evaluates their possible impact on long-term economic growth, and identifies the most imperative reforms needed to strengthen recovery.
Now available from the Online Bookshop