The Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) and the North American Representative Office of the Asian Development Bank announce the launch of a speaker series bringing expert voices on economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific to the Georgetown University campus in Washington, DC.
Each year, the speaker series will feature at least five events designed to share insights into Asia’s dramatic transformation and continued growth and influence in the global economic community. Selected experts from ADB will present analysis of trends and issues that are prominent on the policy agendas of countries in the world’s most populous region.
The speaker series will contribute both to the educational aims of SFS, and to ADB’s commitment to actively share its knowledge of developing Asia and the Pacific with the wider world. Individual sessions will normally be targeted to students and faculty of Georgetown University, including those from departments and schools other than SFS. Selected sessions will be opened up to the public.
The speaker series will kick off, Tuesday, November 7, 2017 with a presentation by Christopher Stephens, ADB’s General Counsel. He will speak on ADB’s mission, activities, organization, and legal team, as well as regional economic conditions in Asia and the Pacific. Stephens has practiced law in the private and public sectors in Asia and the United States for over 30 years. He recently won the Financial Times’ Top 10 Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Outstanding Individuals Award. His forward-thinking solution tripled ADB’s capital and ability to invest in the development of the poorest countries of the region.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing.
Founded in 1919, SFS is a premier school of international affairs. At Georgetown’s Washington, D.C., and Qatar campuses, SFS provides a rigorous education grounded in both theory and practice while instilling the Jesuit values of service. SFS has become one of the world’s leading academic and research institutions, led by a faculty of both scholars and practitioners. SFS faculty are scholars in political science, economics, history, and cultural studies, as well as professionals with backgrounds in business, government, and the nonprofit sector.
The North American Representative Office acts as a liaison between ADB’s Manila Headquarters and North American policymakers and major stakeholders. It serves to strengthen collaboration with other multilateral institutions based in North America, and conducts public and media outreach.