This year’s Battle of Ideas Festival has seen the participation of Anna Mdee, CPAN Research Fellow. Anna participated in the debate ‘Do we need the Sustainable Development goals?’ taking place Saturday 17 October, 16.00 until 17.00, at Free Stage, Barbican Hot Off the Press.

At a recent UN Summit the international development community officially ended the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and drafted another list of objectives aiming to solve major world’s problems by 2030. However, there is a question, “Will the SDGs work?”

When looking at expectations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is important to take into account realistic appraisal of their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals. There are, consequently, a series of other questions that need to be discussed: Will the SDG framework go beyond the MDG’s limitations or might other efforts like economic growth and more targeted poverty-reduction measures suffice? At the start of a new era in Development, how are we to judge what success might look like? Who is responsible for meeting it? And what should be prioritised?

Chaired by Joel Cohen, the panel discussed these questions and tried to give answers, provoke further discussions, provide food for thoughts. More information on the Battle of Ideas can be found here.

The Battle of Ideas 2015 is an acclaimed annual festival that draws together 350 international speakers each year. Over the past 10 years, the Battle of Ideas has challenged speakers and audience alike to ‘shape the future through debate’. Over 2,500 people from all walks of life dispute and discuss the key issues and ideas of our time at over 80+ sessions through the weekend. This year’s Battle of Idea took place on 17 & 18 October at the Barbican in London, Uk.