The post-COVID19 pandemic economic recovery plans provide a unique opportunity to make economies and communities more adapted and resilient to climate change. ISID Professor of Practice Jamal Saghir and Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez, former Senior Director for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure at the World Bank, discuss in ISID's latest policy brief.

On 8 November 2020, Myanmar will hold its second election since the country’s gradual liberalization began. Despite presenting itself as a force for liberal democracy five years ago, the National League for Democracy (NLD) has demonstrated its unwillingness to commit itself to the protection of civil freedoms and the expansion of federal governance.

The Institute for the Study of International Development congratulates Ms Émilie Vaillancourt, this year's winner of one of two Norman Prentice awards. Émilie was a joint honours student in the International Development Studies program.  The Norman Prentice awards are given annually to two students graduating in the Faculty of Arts with excellent academic records who have also made distinguished contributions to the Faculty and/or the University.

The challenge of water security is growing globally. Achieving and sustaining water security, in both developed and developing countries, is likely to increase in complexity and priority as climate change intensifies, but also as the demands of economic growth increase. For most MENA countries that were already facing water security and major social, health and economic challenges before COVID-19, this additional pressure is particularly excruciating. Like COVID-19 and climate change, water scarcity in MENA is a global problem that requires collective action.

ISID's Jamal Saghir has produced, in coordiation with the Payne Institute for Public Policy, a commentary paper entitled "Post COVID-19 New World Configuration and Climate Change Actions:  Two Urgent Priorities".  The full paper is available online at the Payne Institute for Public Policy.  

The Institite for the Study of International Development and the McGill Southeast Asia Research Program (SEARP) are glad to announce that Myanmar based gender expert, May Sabe Phyu, has recently won an N-Peace Award from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). We were lucky to interview May when she visited the International Development Research Center (IDRC) headquarters in Ottawa in May 2019 to give a talk on female political participation in Myanmar.

ISID is pleased to acknowledge the recent publication of Legacies of the Left Turn in Latin America:  the Promise of Inclusive Citizenship.  Co-edited by Professor Manuel Balán of ISID and Professor Françoise Montambeault of the Université de Montréal and published by the University of Notre-Dame Press, the book will have a formal local launch on February 21 at 4 pm at Bar A, 213, rue Rachel est.