UNRISD Research Coordinator Presents at Forum in Hangzhou

UNRISD Research Coordinator Ilcheong Yi will present “Universalism, Transformative Social Policy and Development” during the “Lifestyle and Public Administration Innovation” panel session at the Life and Development Forum at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China on 8 November at 3.50 p.m. in the Yunying Conference Room.

The forum will focus on issues of lifestyle change and their implications in a context of societal progress and social development. It is co-organized by the Belgian-China Chamber of Commerce, Hangzhou Municipal Government, Madariaga College of Europe Foundation, Sino-Swedish Sustainable Business Program and Zhejiang University.

Yi’s paper will discuss the concept of universalism as an organizing principle for social, economic and political institutions. It will also explore social protection, rising standards of living and the role of the welfare state in the effort to reduce poverty and inequality.

Participants in the panel along Yi include Michele Schmiegelow, Director of the Asia Research Center at the University of Louvain, Belgium; Etienne Reuter, Director of Elliott Consultants; Yu Xunda, Deputy director of the Social Science Department at Zhejiang University; Hu Ping, Head of the United Fronts Department at the Zhejiang University of Technology; and Li Jinshan, Director of the Europe Research Center at Zhejiang University.

The first Life and Development Forum was held in Hangzhou in 2008.