“Regional support to national action” | Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Background

Background

How can action at the regional level accelerate national implementation and facilitate review of progress?

Biographies

Ms. Ximena Ponce

Member of Parliament, former Minister for Economic and Social Inclusion, Ecuador

Ms. Ximena Ponce

Member of Parliament, former Minister for Economic and Social Inclusion, Ecuador

Ximena Ponce is a Member of the Parliament of Ecuador. She is the President of the Commission for Education, Culture, Science and Technology. Prior to this, she served as an adviser to the National Secretary of Planning (SENPLADES), Minister for Economic and Social Inclusion, Councilor for the Metropolitan District of Quito, General Adviser to the Minister for Social and Economic Inclusion of Ecuador and consultant to the program “Inclusion of civil Society to Increase Transparency and Accountability”.

H.E. Mr. Vajra Narampanawa

Secretary, State Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka and Vice-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development

H.E. Mr. Vajra Narampanawa

Secretary, State Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka and Vice-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development

Mr. Vajra Narampanawa is the Secretary of the State Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka. He has held many distinguished posts in government service before assuming duties in his present position. In the past, Mr. Narampanawa served as Secretary of the Ministry of Minor Export Crop Promotion; as Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media and Information, and also Director- General for the Sri Lanka Television Corporation.

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ashraf Rashed

Ambassador and Vice-Chairman of the African Peer Review Panel of Eminent Persons

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ashraf Rashed

Ambassador and Vice-Chairman of the African Peer Review Panel of Eminent Persons

A member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs since 2012, Ambassador Ashraf Rashed was appointed Vice-Chairman of the African Peer Review Panel of Eminent Persons that same year. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a mutually-agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the member states of the African Union as a self-monitoring mechanism. The APRM encourages conformity in political, economic and corporate governance values, codes and standards, among African countries and the objectives in socio-economic development within the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Earlier this year, in March 2015, Mr. Rashed became a member of the COMESA Committee of Elders. He led the Egyptian team in the negotiations of the agreement for the accession of Egypt as a member of COMESA. One of the pillars of the African Economic Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a free-trade area with twenty member states stretching from Libya to Swaziland.

Mr. Christian Brodhag

Professor Ecole des Mines Saint-Etienne France, Senior Expert for Francophonie Sustainable Development Institute, International Organisation of la Francophonie

Mr. Christian Brodhag

Professor Ecole des Mines Saint-Etienne France, Senior Expert for Francophonie Sustainable Development Institute, International Organisation of la Francophonie

Mr. Christian Brodhag is a civil engineer and has a PhD in physical science. He is a professor at the School of the Mines of Saint-Etienne in France and a researcher in sustainability, social responsibility and innovation.
From 2004 to 2008, he served as the Inter-ministerial Delegate for Sustainable Development to the French government where he was responsible for the implementation of their national sustainable development strategy (NSDS). He conducted the first peer review of France’s NSDS in 2007. He also represented the French government in the ISO 26000 negotiation on social responsibility.
Mr. Brodhag also is Senior Expert for Francophone Sustainable Development Institute, International Organisation of la Francophonie
Engaged in the use of Internet for knowledge dissemination for sustainability, he launched www.mediaterre.org and the international social media on sustainable building and cities: www.construction21.org.

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Mr Paul Ladd

Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

Mr Paul Ladd

Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

Mr. Paul Ladd has been Director of UNRISD since October 2015. Before taking up this position he had been at UNDP, where he had most recently been Director of the team supporting consultations and technical inputs for the 2030 Development Agenda.

Previously he led UNDP’s policy team on ‘inclusive globalization’ – including trade, development finance, and migration. From 2008-2009, he provided support to the Office of the UN Secretary-General on the financial and economic crisis, and engagement with the G20.
Before moving to New York, Paul was a policy adviser on international development for the UK Treasury, including the period building up to and through the UK’s Chair of the G8 and European Union in 2005.

Previously he had been Chief Economist and acting Head of Policy with UK charity Christian Aid, the UK Department for International Development’s economic adviser for South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, and a financial adviser in the Central Bank of Guyana.

Ms. Roula Majdalani

Director, Sustainable Development Policies Division, ESCWA

Ms. Roula Majdalani

Director, Sustainable Development Policies Division, ESCWA

Ms. Roula Majdalani is the Director of the Sustainable Development and Productivity Division (SDPD) in UN-ESCWA. Ms. Majdalani returned to SDPD in April 2010 first as Chief of the Productive Sectors Section and then as Director of SDPD in September 2010. In January 2008, she was appointed Chief of the Technical Cooperation Section (TCS) in the ESCWA Program Planning and Technical Cooperation Division (PPTCD). Ms. Majdalani also served in South Africa as a Political Observer in the UN Peace Building Mission. Prior to her career with the United Nations, she worked with Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (London), from 1985 to 1988 as an Urban Planner preparing surveys, sectoral studies and research activities for urban development projects in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco.