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Highlights for Monday, 28 April 2014
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 The Pan-African Conference on Inequalities in the Context of Structural Transformation opened on Monday, 28 April 2014, with traditional music and dance performed by the National Dance Company. Participants also viewed a short video presentation, which illustrated the impact of inequalities.
During the morning, participants heard opening speeches and messages of goodwill from dignitaries.
P. V. Obeng, Chairman, National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Ghana, expressed hope that the discussions taking place will produce activities that lead to more responsive and responsible governments, underscoring that people should be at the center of development.
John Dramani Mahama, President, Republic of Ghana, opening the Conference, said that the discussions at the Conference aim to invigorate African efforts to tackle the joint problem of inequalities. He cautioned against attributing inequality to a lack of diligence, discipline and willpower.
Participants engaged in a dialogue on African inequalities in the global development agenda. A high-level panel on inequalities took place, chaired by Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana. Panelists addressed various topics including: the role of gender in a transformational agenda; the role of politics for promoting social inclusion; progress of discussions for the post-2015 development agenda; and the role of regional integration in combatting inequalities.
In the afternoon, participants took part in a dialogue on understanding African inequalities, chaired by Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ghana.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, presented framing remarks on why structural transformation is important for Africa’s equitable development agenda and Africa 2063.
The panel discussion on understanding economic, social, political and spatial inequalities in the context of structural transformation was chaired by Anthony Mothae Maruping, Commissioner, Economic Affairs, African Union. Panelists addressed topics including: different types of inequalities; the environmental dimensions of inequalities; and mechanisms that perpetuate inequalities.
The discussion on country experiences and perspectives was chaired by Aidan Eyakuze, Society for International Development (SID). Participants heard case studies from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria and South Africa.
In the evening, participants were invited to attend a banquet hosted by the President of Ghana.
 Visit the web coverage for Monday, 28 April 2014.
Download the IISD RS summary report of the Conference in HTML or PDF format.
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Highlights for Tuesday, 29 April 2014
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The Pan-African Conference on Inequalities in the Context of Structural Transformation reconvened for its second day of discussions on Tuesday, 29 April 2014. Participants took part in a dialogue on lessons in addressing inequalities in Africa.
During the morning, participants heard a framing statement from Thandika Mkandawire, London School of Economics, on the lessons learned, possibilities and options for addressing inequalities in Africa. The subsequent panel session addressed perspectives from Africa and other regions. Topics touched upon included: rising economic nationalism in some countries; increased private sector support for small and medium enterprises as a source of economic growth; exploring Brazilian social protection systems; and going beyond public investments to redistribute income between financial classes.
Participants then convened in four parallel panel sessions on Employment and Entrepreneurship; Macroeconomic Policies for Inclusive Growth and Transformation; Financing Agenda for Structural Transformation and Equity; and Asset Inequalities. Topics addressed included land tenure systems as a contributor to asset inequality; the role of taxation in financing structural transformation; and the diversification of African economies towards labour-intensive industries and the service sector.
In the afternoon, participants heard a framing statement from Pali Lehohla, Statistician General, South Africa, on the importance of statistics for analyzing and assessing inequalities. A panel discussion followed, with participants discussing data for tracking progress and creating evidence-based policies. Following this, they convened in five parallel sessions discussing social and political inequalities in Africa. During discussions, participants reflected on: human rights, discrimination and marginalization; gender inequality, including on policy advocacy to empower young girls; political inequality; equitable access to quality social services; the measurement of progress in addressing inequalities, including strengthening African statistical systems; and challenges and priorities going forward.
Visit the web coverage for Tuesday, 29 April 2014.
Download the IISD RS summary report of the Conference in HTML or PDF format.
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Highlights for Wednesday, 30 April 2014
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The Pan-African Conference on Inequalities in the Context of Structural Transformation convened for the third and final day of discussions on Wednesday, 30 April 2014.
After highlighting progress made during the previous two days, participants took part in a dialogue on policy actions to move forward a global and African equitable development agenda. The morning's panel identified possible policy actions to effect an equitable development agenda, both globally as well as for Africa. They then convened in three parallel panel sessions on: Economic Inclusion and Equity; Social Inclusion, Social Protection and Equity; and Political Inclusion and Equity.
In the afternoon, a panel on aligning political leverage, knowledge and social mobilization discussed strategies and political action to promote the new agenda. The issues addressed by participants included education as a facilitative human right and the role of unions in promoting equality.
During closing plenary, Nii Moi Thompson, Economic Advisor to the President of Ghana, presented the Accra Declaration on Inequalities in the Context of Structural Transformation. The Declaration, inter alia, called for increasing focus on inclusive growth and policies to promote income and asset equity.
Paul Boateng, Former Treasury Secretary and Former High Commissioner to South Africa, UK, in his keynote speech, called for investments in statistics that force practitioners and policy makers to confront the issue of inequality and enable them to "make the hard decisions on priorities that…will be required."
Fifi Kwetey, Minister of State at the Presidency in-charge of Financial and Allied Institutions, Ghana, on behalf of Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Vice President, Ghana, congratulated participants on their hard work and answering the call of the President to go beyond identifying "what we want in Africa and discovering what we need." Grace Bediako, Conference Coordinator, providing final remarks, lauded participants for their work during the conference and for fostering cooperation and collaboration "with remarkable camaraderie."
The meeting was closed at 6.28 pm.
Visit the web coverage for Wednesday, 30 April 2014.
Download the IISD RS summary report of the Conference in HTML or PDF format.
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Panel (L-R): Takyiwaa Manuh, UNECA; Rita Matovu, Chairperson, Equal Opportunities Commission, Uganda; Seth Terkper, Minister of
Finance, Ghana; Regina Adutwum, Director General, National Development Planning Commission, Ghana; and Neil Pierre, UN Department for
Economic and Social Affairs
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Daily Web Coverage
(click on the following links to see our daily web pages)
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Conference resources
Conference website
Meeting programme
Background note
African Portal on Inequalities
IISD RS resources
Post-2015 Development Agenda Meeting Reporting
IISD RS summary and analysis of the Tenth session of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 31 March - 4 April 2014, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary and analysis of OWG-9, 3-5 March 2014, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS coverage from OWG-8, 3-7 February 2014, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
IISD RS coverage from OWG-7, 6-10 January 2014, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
IISD RS coverage from OWG-6, 9-13 December 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
IISD RS summary and analysis of OWG-5, 25-27 November 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary and analysis of OWG-4, 17-19 June 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary and analysis of OWG-3, 22-24 May 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary report of OWG-2, 17-19 April 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary report of OWG-1, 14-15 March 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS coverage of the Public Dialogue and Leadership Meeting on Addressing Inequalities in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 18-19 February 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark
IISD RS summary report of the Eighth Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD-8) and Africa Regional Implementation Meeting (Africa-RIM) in preparation for the Twentieth Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable (CSD-20), 19-21 November 2012, UN Conference Centre (UNCC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
SDG - A mailing list focused on internationally-relevant activities related to setting the Post-2015 development agenda
Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Post-2015 Development Agenda Activities
Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news
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Pan-African Conference on Inequalities in the 
