Member Ricardo Lagos was a main discussant in the first session where, Mario Pezzini, Director of the OECD Development Centre, officially presented the Perspectives on Global Development 2012. Alan Hirsch, Deputy Director General of Economic Policy at the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (Presidency of South Africa) and François Bourguignon, Director of the Paris School of Economics participated in the panel as well.
The afternoon session dealt with experiences and good practices in overcoming resistance in public policy making towards reinforcing social cohesion and Shared Societies.
A lively discussion on the policy reforms for strengthening social cohesion, as well as the conditions and bottlenecks for policy implementation took place between members Wim Kok and António Mascarenhas Monteiro with Sarah Cook, Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
The Club de Madrid members significantly contributed to the debate with lessons drawn from their own experience in The Netherlands and Cape Verde, and analyzed past successes and failures in managing social cohesion.
