Twenty Years of Human Development: the past and the future of the Human Development Index

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28-29 January 2010

St Edmund’s College, Cambridge

The Von Hügel Institute/Capability and Sustainability Network, University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme/HDRO, are pleased to announce a workshop on ‘Twenty Years of Human Development: the past and the future of the Human Development Index’. The aim of this workshop is twofold: to stimulate further understanding of the last twenty years of the Human Development perspective and to examine proposals for improving its future prospects.

Key-note addresses will be delivered by Sir Richard Jolly and by Dr Francisco Rodríguez, Head of Research of the Human Development Report Office (UNDP) and there will be thematic sessions on:

Session 1 – Human Development: historical roots and conceptual foundations

Session 2 – Human Development and Participation

Session 3 – Local Human Development

Session 4 – Alternatives to the HDI

Session 5 – Education, Agency and Poverty

Session 6 – Communication and Human Development

Session 7 – Policies and Institutions for Human Development

Selected papers address a wide range of issues such as:

- The added-value of the Human Development Approach, in comparison to past and contemporary perspectives, such as Basic Needs, Happiness, Sustainable Development and Participatory Approaches, among others.

- Measurement of human development through quantitative indices, such as the HDI , HPIs, GEM and GDI , as well as proposals for new indicators.

- Assessment of progress in human development in the world over the past fifty years.

- The policy implications of the Human Development Approach, with particular emphasis on how adopting an HD approach affects the formulation of development strategies.

- The role of international organizations in fostering human development.

For registration, please, see: http://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/vhi/csc/conferences/hdi-regi.shtml

Workshop fees: Full fee: £120 Reduced rate for students: £45