Our five IDS International Initiatives in Brazil, China, Europe, Ghana and Pakistan produced a vast scope of work this year. From new thinking on Brazil’s overlooked Cerrado region to a flagship human development report in Pakistan, research goals have made progress through events, networking, and publications.
Now in their second year, the Initiatives create spaces where researchers from participating countries can share, learn and work with IDS researchers, governments, civil society, communities, and the private sector to tackle development challenges.
Situated in geographies at the leading edge of development, each location this year contributed new perspectives that will further the overall aim of strengthening development thinking and practice.
Challenging agribusiness in Brazil’s Cerrado
Workshops hosted by IDS and the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Brasília have re-evaluated agribusiness domination of Brazil’s huge Cerrado region for intensive soybean and beef production. In December 2021, the Newton Researcher Links Workshop series drew 37 early career researchers from universities in Brazil and the UK to share work on agrifood systems and territories in the country.
The discussions resulted in a Policy Brief that challenges the prevailing narrative of agribusiness success in the Cerrado and demands support for traditional peoples dispossessed of territories. A collection of related working papers, journal articles, and an issue of the IDS Bulletin, are planned for release later in 2022.
Exploring China’s international development relationships
In 2021, the IDS China Centre convened several events and publications that explored China’s development relations with South Asian and African countries. The China and Global Development Seminar Series offered presentations from collaborators on the Belt and Road Initiative, hydropolitics and hydropower. IDS with the London School of Economics published a Policy Briefing on China–Africa economic zones, while a special IDS Bulletin appeared on China and International Development: Knowledge, Governance and Practice.
The Global Development Perspectives and Policies online training course attracted 27 participants from China and the UK, and positive feedback. Three visiting fellows and two PhDs were confirmed under the Chinese Scholarship Council scheme, to join IDS in 2021–23.
Flagship report and high-profile talks at Pakistan Hub
The Pakistan Hub, a partnership with the Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre (MHRC) at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and IDS, convened a range of successful events. Five high-profile lectures, including by Professor Mariana Mazzucato (University College London) and Professor Leonard Wantchekon (Princeton), marked the inaugural 2021 Mahbub ul Haq Distinguished Lecture series, held on the LUMS Live platform with more than 200,000 views. A political economy of development webinar series and a global challenges webinar series were also held. The events complemented ongoing work to co-develop the upcoming flagship periodic South Asia Human Development Report.
Ghana Hub sets course for future work
Identifying critical research questions, and mutual strengths and expertise for future collaboration was the focus for webinars held at the Ghana Development Studies Hub, co-convened with IDS and anchor partners, the University of Ghana and the University for Development Studies. Subjects addressed so far include latest thinking on migration and mobility in Ghana and beyond; and pastoralism and climate change in West Africa.
Europe-based events champion youth political engagement
More than 30 distinguished academics, policymakers and practitioners from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Africa joined the IDS-led Youth Engagement and Politics Series in June 2021. The series prompted follow-up engagements with Oxfam, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German development agency GIZ, and the International Institute of Social Studies.