Shaping an equitable post-COVID world: The role of Global South think tanks

BackgroundSouthern Voice has organized two previous research conferences. The first one was held in 2015 in Istanbul, and the second one in 2018 in Bangkok. For 2021, the Research Conference will be organized virtually, given the on-going challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.
Previous editions have provided chances to highlight, as well as strengthen, research generated by Southern Voice scholars on the progress of the 2030 Agenda. Southern Voice organizes its General Assembly of members in conjunction with the research conference.
2021 is a unique time. One year into the pandemic, policy debates are focusing on a number of issues: the uneven rollout of vaccines, the dilemmas in dealing with the persistent virus, lessons from the crisis and building back better. While challenges persist in the Global North, the situation is much more dire in the Global South. Here, countries continue to face fatal waves of infections without enough vaccine doses.
Under these circumstances, Southern scholars play a critical role in refocusing the debates on the policy alternatives for an equitable recovery from this crisis on a national, regional and global level. The goal is to contribute to the 2030 Agenda Decade of Action and propose new global priorities to counter the unequal progress across the SDGs. The conference will create an opportunity to harness the collective knowledge of our vast network to chart a path towards a recovery that leaves no one behind.
Thematic focus
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact across the social, economic, environmental and institutional dimensions of sustainable development. It is making recovery prospects much more complex than in previous crises. In fact, the pandemic will not be “solved”, in the strict sense. Rather, solutions will represent reasonable compromise among various dimensions: technical, economic, political, environmental and social.
A critical concern among the Southern Voice network members is the fact that COVID-19 is increasing inequalities and exclusion across different dimensions of sustainable development. Recovery will not be an easy task. Policy decisions will need to consider how to use limited resources in a smart way.
The aim of Southern Voice’s conference is to seek solutions for an equitable recovery from the pandemic. We understand equity as an ideal state in which the pandemic does not exacerbate the existing inequalities. The crisis offers the opportunity to aid individuals and networks with resources and support for them to thrive. During the conference, we will proactively discuss how to promote an equitable recovery. We will pay particular attention to the role of think tanks from the Global South to foster transformative policies and rebalance power at multiple levels.
Outputs and outcomes
We will produce a joint statement (Call for Action) that will be made public and sent to decision makers. It will present solutions on tackling inequalities in the near future, and the role that think tanks should play in the process.
Modality
Each session will be of a maximum of 90 minutes. Interpretation between English, Spanish and French will be available. The Southern Voice Secretariat will host three sessions: a High-Level Opening Session, the Young Thinktankers Forum, and the General Assembly.
Schedule

Time / time zones
Tuesday 9
Wednesday 10
Thursday 11

5:00 am (UTC-5
NY)
11:00 am (UTC+1
Lagos)
15:30 (UTC+5:30
Delhi)
Migration as a
‘Win-Win-Win’ for the
countries of origin,
destination and the
individual
(led by PAC-India)

7:00 am (UTC-5
NY)
13:00 am (UTC+1
Lagos)
17:30 (UTC+5:30
Delhi)
Preparing for the next
Pandemic: Fostering
vaccine equity
(led by IEA – Kenya)
Transforming food systems
through evidence-informed
policy responses
(led by IPS – Sri Lanka)

9:00 – 10:15 am
(UTC-5 NY)
15:00 – 16:15
(UTC+1 Lagos)
19:30 – 20:45
(UTC+5:30 Delhi)
High Level Opening
Session
Shaping an equitable
post-COVID world:
the role of Global
South think tanks
Young think-tankers
Forum
A new generation of
researchers shaping a
sustainable and just
future
General Assembly
(Closed event to SV
Member Representatives)

10:30 am (UTC-5
NY)
16:30 (UTC+1
Lagos)
21:00 (UTC+5:30
Delhi)
Putting children first:
Latin American
approaches
(led by CIPPEC –
Argentina)
The equity conundrum –
Can Global South think
tanks glocalize the
Development Agenda?
(led by Nkafu Policy
Institute – Cameroon)
The impact of COVID-19
recovery on long term
economic transformation
(led by Southern Voice)

14:00 (UTC-5 NY)
20:00 (UTC+1
Lagos)
00:30 am
(UTC+5:30 Delhi)
Public-private
partnerships for
financing and equity in
health
(led by
INESAD-Bolivia)