Media advisory

Launch of report: Perspectives on Global Development 2021: From Protest to Progress?

Tuesday 6 July 2021: 16.00-17.30 CET

Between the 2008-09 global financial crisis and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, protests and political instability surged around the world. The pandemic cleared the streets but only for a moment; civil unrest is expected to worsen in its aftermath. People’s trust in public institutions is collapsing; so too is their trust in each other. Political systems in many places are failing to meet people’s demands for change. New technologies are creating new divides within society. A vicious circle is emerging, whereby social discontent and divisions are preventing the collective action needed to address the factors behind this discontent. Given the scale of the challenges of the 21^st century, new approaches to social challenges and international cooperation are needed.

The seventh edition of the OECD Development Centre’s flagship report examines the factors behind discontent. Perspectives on Global Development 2021: From Protest to Progress? also identifies how societies, especially in developing countries, can respond to rising discontent in ways that not only improve livelihoods but also strengthen social cohesion. The report, produced during the COVID-19 crisis, is intended to promote more inclusive societies in the wake of the pandemic – an ambition that countries can only realise if they engage citizens at all levels and in all places, from the grassroots of local communities to the top of the most powerful multilateral institutions.

The report will be launched on the occasion of an online DEV Talks event. Participants include:

• Milindo Chakrabarti, Visiting Fellow, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries – RIS, New Delhi, India
• Andrea Costafreda, Programme Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Oxfam
• Colin Crouch, Emeritus Professor of the University of Warwick
• Mario Pezzini, Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General on Development
• Alexander Pick, Head of Unit, New Development Policies and Institutions, OECD Development Centre

Register here.

Requests for interviews or information on the report should be sent to Bochra Kriout (Bochra.Kriout@oecd.org ; Telephone : +33 145 24 82 96) at the OECD Development Centre’s Press Office.