On 9 April, the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy (AHCD) and the United Nation Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) held a high-level panel discussion on the future of social development, in 2030 and beyond, and the role of research in driving transformative change.
 

Following introductory remarks by Marie-Laure Salles, Director of IHEID, and Azita Berar, Board Chair of the UNRISD, the first part of the discussion took place with contributions from the ambassadors of Finland, Chile, China and Gambia. Then, Prof. Jayati Gosh from the University of Massachusetts presented a framework of the current situation and emphasized the importance of social policies for global inequality, systemic crises, and pathways to inclusive growth.
 

The discussion continued with a debate led by Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Director of UNRISD, including activist Kumi Naidoo, Antón Leis Garcia, Director, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, Bilel Jamoussi from the ITU, and Yanina Welp, Research Fellow at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy.
The conservation focused on the current challenges of social development, and the importance of not slackening efforts, but on the contrary of deepening the work despite the international context and the threats to programme funding. 

The speakers also stressed the importance of research, illustrating the support provided by research in setting up social development projects, providing justification for their usefulness and an assessment of their effectiveness.