The 2nd Annual International Conference Development: Discourses and Critiques

The Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) hosted the 2nd Annual International Conference entitled "Development: Discourses and Critiques" from 25th to 27th March 2022 at the IBA, Main Campus.

Academics and policymakers from a wide range of disciplines were invited to critique, question, and reconsider the experiences of transnational, national, and sub-national actors in the development process. What does "development" mean for different actors, and how has this narrative shifted over time? How does development define and redefine power relations and what implications does this have for different groups? How have colonial experiences shaped futures and how does one deconstruct ideas rooted in these experiences?

The conference program included keynote speakers, technical research paper sessions, and panel discussions on the actual effects of development in terms of human experiences. Student circles were led by student societies, who along with their faculty mentors organized workshops on calligraphy, poetry, and wellbeing. University students from across Pakistan were invited to attend the conference, especially those from indigenous regions so they could benefit from the knowledge sharing and networking opportunities at the event.

The first keynote speaker at the conference was Dr. Mushfiq Mobarak, Professor of Economics at Yale University. He talked about his research on "Seasonal Poverty and Seasonal Migration" in South Asian countries. The second keynote speaker at the conference was Hans Timmer, World Bank's Chief Economist for South Asia.

National and international government officials and several other renowned personalities, including Najy Benhassine, World Bank Pakistan; Barbara Harriss-White, Oxford University; Cass Sunstein, Harvard University; Haben Girma, Harvard Law School; Ishrat Hussain, Professor Emeritus and Former Advisor to the Prime Minister; Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, Quaid-i-Azam University; Sultan Mehmood, New Economic School, Moscow; Hafeez Jamali, Anthropologist and Civil Servant; Abid Burki, LUMS; Mubbashir Rizvi, American University; Sanval Nasim, LUMS; Sheema Kermani, Artist; and Asma Shirazi, Journalist; participated in the conference.