Albright Institute At Wellesley College Brings Together World Leaders On Economic Development For Public Dialogue On Global Inequality

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Jan 06, 2016, 02:40 ET

WELLESLEY, Mass., Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Several of the world's most influential leaders in global economic policy will take part in a public dialogue, entitled "Addressing Global Inequality," on January 31, 2016, at Wellesley College's Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs. The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Sri Mulyani Indrawati, managing director and chief operating officer of the World Bank; and Mark Malloch-Brown, former deputy secretary general and chief of staff for the United Nations. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright '59, a Wellesley alumna who founded the Institute, will also take part in the public dialogue. This year's Institute addresses the complicated issues related to global inequality.

The public dialogue is the keynote event for "Impact Albright," a weekend symposium that draws on scholars, policy makers and government officials to discuss global inequality in areas such as public health and hunger. Symposium panelists will include Ophelia Dahl '94, co-founder and chair of the board for Partners In Health; Rajul Pandya-Lorch '85, head of the 2020 Vision Initiative and chief of staff to the director general for the International Food Policy Research Institute; and Per Pinstrup-Andersen, the H. E. Babcock professor of food, nutrition and public policy and the J. Thomas Clark professor of entrepreneurship, and professor of applied economics at Cornell University.

"Reducing excessive income inequality is not just sound social policy, but sound economic policy as well," noted IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

"Economic growth can lift millions out of poverty. But growth without inclusion not only increases inequality, it also erodes economic gains and undermines social stability," says Sri Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank MD and COO. "This is why ending poverty and sharing prosperity is morally right and makes economic sense."

Added Mark Malloch-Brown, "When changes in technology and the impact of global markets risk skewing inequality even further, the challenge to policy makers is to contain this trend which so directly feeds poverty, forced migration, insecurity and conflict."

Former Secretary Albright stated, "It is truly an honor to have Christine Lagarde, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Mark Malloch-Brown share the same stage at my alma mater. They have each made significant efforts to combat one of the most serious problems facing the world today: global inequality." She added, "If we are to have any hope of making this issue a problem of the past, we must engage the future generation of women leaders. I can think of no better place to do so than at Wellesley College."

As part of its mission the Albright Institute provides Wellesley students a transformative experience that allows them to apply their liberal arts education toward solving problems in the international arena. The students, known as Albright Fellows, spend three weeks in January learning about global affairs in intensive classes and panel discussions as well as working together in interdisciplinary groups to address pressing current issues.

The Albright Institute will host a contingent of returning Albright Fellows, now Wellesley alumnae, for a special reunion on Jan. 30-31, 2016. The returning fellows will take part in the first annual "Maddy Talks: Global Ideas with Impact." These talks will showcase some of the important work in which Albright Institute Fellows have engaged since participating in the Institute. Former Wellesley College President Diana Chapman Walsh '66 will serve as the inaugural Maddy Talk presenter.

The Public Dialogue begins at 2:30 PM on Jan. 31. Both the dialogue and the morning symposium panels are free and open to the public. For those that cannot attend, these events will be live-streamed on Wellesley's website, and the Twitter hashtag #AlbrightDialogue will be used for social media posts related to the event, including live tweeting. For full details, see this public schedule.

Albright Institute Wintersession

The Impact Albright Reunion and Symposium will be preceded by the Institute's annual Wintersession program. This year 40 Albright Fellows from different fields of study will meet with faculty and alumnae experts and attend lectures on a diverse array of topics. Drawing from what they learn during the Institute, and from their own studies at Wellesley, the Fellows work in interdisciplinary teams to develop and propose innovative solutions to world problems; on the final week they present their work to the distinguished visiting professor--this year Secretary Albright, herself--for critique and analysis. This cohort of Albright Fellows represents a diverse range of disciplines, from political science and economics to art history, astrophysics, and computer science. Six of the fellows are international students, hailing from countries including Brazil, Egypt, Japan, Nigeria, Singapore, and South Korea. The Fellows will be on campus from Jan. 4-21.

The Wintersession faculty includes Wellesley College professors as well as policy makers, business executives, and journalists, many of them Wellesley alumnae. Some of this year's faculty include Admiral Michelle Howard, the first African-American Navy commander and first four-star woman admiral in naval history; Ana Revenga '85, senior director, poverty and equity global practice, for the World Bank; and Bob Kitchen, director of Emergency Preparedness and Response for the International Rescue Committee. Lectures will address the international refugee crisis; global leadership in science, engineering, and the liberal arts; and understanding poverty in the world, among other topics.

About the Albright Institute

The Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs at Wellesley College supports the College's mission of educating students for leadership in an increasingly complex and interconnected global environment. The program combines the intellectual resources of faculty from Wellesley College, researchers from the Wellesley Centers for Women, and leading alumnae and other practitioners and policy makers in the fields of international relations and public policy.

About Wellesley College

Since 1875, Wellesley College has been the preeminent liberal arts college for women. Known for its intellectual rigor and its remarkable track record for the cultivation of women leaders in every arena, Wellesley--only 12 miles from Boston--is home to some 2,300 undergraduates from every state and 75 countries.

About the Speakers

Secretary Madeleine K. Albright '59, U.S. Secretary of State (1997-2001)

Madeleine Albright is an American politician and diplomat. She is the first woman to have become the United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99-0. Albright currently serves as a professor of International Relations at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and numerous honorary degrees. In May 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Barack Obama. Secretary Albright also serves as chair of the National Democratic Institute.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, The World Bank

As Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Sri Mulyani Indrawati is responsible for the institution's operations worldwide. She also oversees the global practices and cross-cutting solution areas which bring together the best expertise from across the Bank Group to help tackle the most complex development challenges. In addition, she oversees other administrative vice presidencies and functions, including the Integrity Vice Presidency, Sanctions Board Secretariat and the Office of Evaluation and Suspension. Ms. Indrawati joined the World Bank in June 2010. Previously she served as Indonesia's minister of finance in addition to being the coordinating minister of economic affairs. She led the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency prior to her position as Finance Minister. Her earlier positions include Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, faculty member at the University of Indonesia and Visiting Professor at the Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University. Ms. Indrawati holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois and a B.A. in economics from the University of Indonesia.

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

Born in Paris in 1956, Christine Lagarde completed high school in Le Havre and attended Holton Arms School in Bethesda (Maryland, USA). She then graduated from law school at University Paris X. After being admitted as a lawyer to the Paris Bar, Mme. Lagarde joined the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie as an associate. Mme. Lagarde became the Chairman of the Global Executive Committee of Baker & McKenzie in 1999, and subsequently Chairman of the Global Strategic Committee in 2004. She joined the French government in June 2005 as Minister for Foreign Trade. In June 2007 Mme. Lagarde became the first woman to hold the post of Finance and Economy Minister of a G-7 country. As a member of the G-20, she was involved in the Group's management of the financial crisis, helping to foster international policies related to financial supervision and regulation and to strengthen global economic governance. As Chairman of the G-20 when France took over its presidency for the year 2011, she launched a wide-ranging work agenda on the reform of the international monetary system. In July 2011, Mme. Lagarde became the eleventh Managing Director of the IMF, and the first woman to hold that position. Mme. Lagarde was named Officier in the Legion d'honneur in April 2012.

Rt. Hon. Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, KCMG

Mark Malloch-Brown is a former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations as well as a previous Administrator of UNDP. He has also served in the British Cabinet and Foreign Office. He is currently chairman of SGO and its elections division, Smartmatic, a leading elections technology company, as well as co-chair for the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development. He is active both in business and in the non-profit world. He also remains deeply involved in international affairs.

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SOURCE Wellesley College