ISSUE 40: NOVEMBER 2005-FEBRUARY 2006
network of research and training centres/programmes
FRONT PAGE | ARCHIVE |
Workshops on regional integration at UNESCO forum
UNU Centre for Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) is co-organising a series of workshops on regional integration during the International Forum on the Social Science-Policy Nexus (IFSP) being held in Buenos Aires and Montevideo February 20-24.
The workshops, to be held in Montevideo February 21-23, will provide an opportunity for in-depth consideration of issues such as the reasons for the resurgence of regional integration, different models of regional integration, concrete cases of successes and failures, how to strike a better balance between the economic and social dimensions of regional integration, and the relationship between the state and regional integration scheme, all the while explicitly taking into account the research-policy nexus.
Effective regional integration models can empower people and national governments to better cope with, and benefit from, global economic forces. These agreements can foster powerful links among commerce, economic reform, development, investment, security and democratisation. However, because of the prevailing focus on economic issues, social aspects of regional integration tend to be ignored or lose out in terms of priority. Moreover, regional integration raises interesting and important questions for the sovereignty of national governments.
Preliminary agenda:
| February
21 6-7.15 p.m. |
Social Dimensions of Regional Integration in Mercosur, chaired by Jorge Brovetto, Minister of Education and Culture (Uruguay) |
| February
22 9.30-1 p.m. |
The Social Policy Dimensions of Regional Integration: Research and Policy Perspectives, moderated by Bob Deacon and Nicola Yeates (GASPP) |
| February
22 6.30-9 p.m. |
Regional Integrations and Social Dimensions: Emerging Issues and Regional Multilateralism, moderated by Luk Van Langenhove (UNU-CRIS) |
| February
23 9.30 a.m.-1 p.m. |
Regional Integration and Social Dimensions: Brainstorming and Suggestions for the Future, moderated by Pierre Sané, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO |
Convened by UNESCO, in conjunction with the Governments of Argentina and Uruguay, and with the support of a wide range of academic, policy, and NGO partners, the IFSP is coordinated by an International Steering Committee comprising representatives of the Governments of Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Peru and Mali; UNESCO; UNDESA; UNRISD; UNU-CRIS; ILO; UNDP; the World Bank; FLACSO, AICARDES; AASSREC; CODESRIA; the European Commission; the European Science Foundation; SAREC; SSHRC; ODI;GASPP and the ISSC.
© 2006 United Nations University