Program of the Webinar

Inaugural session: Sept. 4, 2025, 10am Mexico time

A wave of populism and authoritarianism is spreading over the world and undermines the capacity of nations and peoples around the world to face their collective action challenges, cooperate peacefully and effectively, and tackle the threats of social dislocation, environmental degradation, technological disruption.

To reverse this dangerous trend toward catastrophic mismanagement and ever-mounting crises and conflicts, it is urgent to pursue four tasks: 1) form visions of alternative futures based on peace, justice, democracy and environmental care, in order to design a moral compass and guide a strategic perspective; 2) engage in understanding and listening to the constituencies attracted by populism, in order to address the roots of the ongoing drift toward authoritarianism; 3) give a voice to those who are marginalized and harmed by the socio-economic and environmental crisis; 4) identify the coalitions of actors who can rise to the challenge and contribute, at various scales from the local to the global, to steering the world in the direction of social progress.

This inaugural session of the New Horizons Webinar will review the main challenges the world currently faces and explore pathways toward a better future. The speakers bring a broad academic background and a rich expertise from policy advice in national and international arenas as well as civil society initiatives.

Speakers: 

  • Gala Diaz-Langou, Director of CIPPEC, Argentina
  • Romina Boarini, Director of WISE, OECD
  • Claire Mellier, Organizer of the Global Citizens’ Assembly for People and Planet, France
  • Pedro Conceiçao, Director of the Human Development Report Office, UNDP

Session introduced by: 

  • Roberto Escalante, President of UDUALC
  • Leticia Merino, Professor at UNAM
  • Elisa Reis, Professor at UFRJ and member of the Brazil Academy of Sciences
  • Marc Fleurbaey, President of IPSP

Moderator: Hossain Zillur Rahman (PPRC/BRAC)

Language: Spanish and English with simultaneous translation (to be confirmed)

Next sessions:

Sept. 25, 2025: Finance for development: Disarray or rebirth?

Oct. 30, 2025; Latin America: The need for a new development model

Nov. 27, 2025: Challenges and responsibilities for universities in dangerous times

Dec. 11, 2025: The stakeholder approach, beyond GDP and beyond profit

Jan. 29, 2026: The new “ecological” extractivism and beyond

Feb. 26, 2026: The future of global solidarity in a fragmented world

March 26, 2026: The new democratic paradigm

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