Response to crisis in changing world

Kristalina Georgieva

Simon Maxwell

Monday 07.03.2011

The event was open by the Rector of Sofia University Prof. Ivan Ilchev, who underlined the significance of the issue of development for Bulgaria and the world as a whole.

After the opening words Commissioner Georgieva delivered a lecture on the topic: “Influence of the Changing World Over the European Reaction to Crises”. She presented the current trends of economic development around the world with an emphasis on the growing risks of instability fueled by natural and social cataclysms in Middle East, Africa, and some areas in Southeast Asia and Latin America. The Commissioner analyzed the ongoing conflict in Libya as a case study and explained the measures undertaken by the European Union such as:
– Evacuation of the European Citizens,
– Humanitarian operations,
– Coordination mechanisms.

She paid special attention to the increasing number of natural disasters in the world in 2010, mainly connected with climate issues (90%), among which several mega disasters, as well as large-scale industrial accidents. Apart from climate change, the other major factor for the growth of crises worldwide appeared to be the growth of population and the resulting high levels of unemployment. The third outlined factor is growing urbanization.

Complex crises were discussed as well. In response to the complex crises, Georgieva presented a complex model for counteraction based on humanitarian aid networks, uniform system for reaction, complex risk prevention, and aid aimed at development.

Following Mrs. Georgieva, Sir Simon Maxwell made a short outline of the works of Ryszard Kapuscinski. He stressed on contemporary humanitarian risks and their impact. Given the complexity of the interconnected risk factors, Maxwell suggested a global partnership for development based on open and stable trading and financial systems, special attention to the least developed areas especially concerning their debts, access to medications and new technologies. In the framework of such partnership, Europe has a comparative advantage. In conclusion, Sir Maxwell presented the attitudes of European citizens towards the provision of foreign aid and the future benefits for the world from providing aid for sustainable development.
The third speaker, Mr. Andrey Kovachev, MEP, presented the role of Bulgaria in the process of development as well the tasks the country should undertake in that field.

Organized in partnership with:

University of Sofia

Kristalina Georgieva currently serves as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, a position she was selected for on September 25, 2019 and has served as since October 1, 2019. Before joining the Fund, Ms. Georgieva was CEO of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, during which time she also served as Interim President of the World Bank Group for three months. Previously, Ms. Georgieva helped shape the agenda of the European Union while serving as European Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources. In this capacity she oversaw the EU’s €161 billion (US $175bn) budget and 33,000 staff, as well as the EU’s response to the Euro Area debt crisis and the 2015 refugee crisis. Before that, she was Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, managing one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid budgets.

Simon Maxwell is the Senior Research Associate at the Overseas Development Institute, the UK’s think-tank on development. In addition, he chairs the Climate Change and Development Knowledge Network. He was the Director of ODI in 1997-2009. Maxwell is an economist who began his career working overseas, first in Kenya and India for the UN Development Program, and then in Bolivia for the UK Overseas Development Administration. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and an MA in Development Economics from the University of Sussex. Before joining ODI, Simon spent 16 years at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, latterly as Programme Manager for Poverty, Food Security and the Environment. He has written extensively on poverty, food security, agricultural development and aid, and his current research interests also include development policy, linking relief and development, global governance and bridging research and policy.

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