RUNDOWN

13:45     Registration
14:00     Opening Remarks
14:15     First Panel Discussion: Countries at the Nexus of Great Power Conflict
15:15     Coffee Break
15:45     Second Panel Discussion: Sustainability Challenges for the Global South
16:45     Closing remarks
17:00     End

ASHK member price: HKD80
Non-member price: HKD100

Asia Society Hong Kong Center (ASHK) and the Asia Global Institute (AGI) are proud to present a program featuring some of this year’s AsiaGlobal Fellows to discuss challenges facing their home countries in light of both climate change and shifting geopolitics.

How are countries adapting and adjusting during a time of increasing great power tensions? In a discussion with ASHK Scholar-in-Residence Alejandro Reyes, AsiaGlobal Fellows Mohamed Ibrahim Hafez  of Egypt, Nona Mamulashvili of Georgia, Prasoon Sharma of India, and Ana Tuiketei of Fiji will share their thoughts on being at the nexus of great power conflict, reflecting on the challenges and choices their countries face.

How can countries in the Global South respond and adapt to rapidly shifting conditions brought about by climate change? ASHK Scholar-in-Residence Professor Christine Loh will discuss with AsiaGlobal Fellows Mercia Aidoo of Ghana, Muhammad Gambo of Nigeria, Dilfuza Kurolova of Uzbekistan, and Paula Mosera of Uruguay how their countries are responding and what they need to build sustainable societies.

The program will conclude with remarks from Donald Bobiash, Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank.

Speakers

Mercia Aidoo is an assistant director at the Ghana Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources who researches and develops policies to ensure effective utilization and management of Ghana’s lands, forest, and mineral resources. She helps ensure progress under the Ministry’s sustainable development goals and also the implementation and renewal of policies, including the ICT Policy and Data Dissemination and Access Policy. She also serves on the Green Ghana Project Fundraising Committee. Mercia holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Westminster, a master’s degree in economic policy management from the University of Ghana, and an executive certificate in implementing public policy from Harvard University. She aspires to become a member of Ghana’s Parliament in the near future, addressing economic, social, and financial issues of Ghana. Mercia’s research will investigate the economic and social policies that China and Ghana have adopted in addressing illegal mining. The study will look at theories surrounding Ghana’s political will, community involvement, and economic stability as compared to China in addressing the menace.

Donald Bobiash is the executive director for Canada at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. Previously, he served in the same capacity at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington, DC. He has extensive experience in the Canadian foreign service and in international development. He was from 2017 to 2020 the assistant deputy minister for Asia Pacific, managing a development budget of more than $220 million. During his career, he has been ambassador to Colombia and Indonesia and high commissioner to Ghana. His Asia service has included two assignments in Japan and one in Pakistan. He has also served as director general for Africa. He holds a doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He also holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor of arts (political science) from the University of Saskatchewan. As a Rotary Foundation Graduate Scholar, he has studied at the École Nationale d’Administration in Dakar, Senegal, and studied at Laval University in Québec City. His Oxford doctoral thesis on development assistance was published under the title South-South Aid: How Developing Countries Help Each Other by Macmillan in 1992. Growing up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, he has a passionate interest in rural development. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013).

Muhammad Gambo leads the strategy, policy, research, and partnerships unit of Shelter Afrique, a Pan-African housing finance institution based in Nairobi, Kenya, the institution’s mandate is to provide innovative solutions to the housing and urban development challenges in Africa. Before his current position, Muhammad worked as an infrastructure project finance practitioner, and he was involved in the delivery of mass housing, heavy engineering, and other related infrastructure projects in light of his extensive experience in infrastructure public-private partnerships (PPP)/project financing, quantity surveying, and project management practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. Muhammad also served as a lecturer at the Department of Quantity Surveying, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria. His career aspiration is to contribute towards enabling Africa to realize its human, natural, and capital potentials for the benefit of the region’s teeming population. Muhammad holds a Doctor of Philosophy in real estate and facilities management from Tun Hussein Onn University of Malaysia. For the AsiaGlobal Fellows Program, he intends to conduct a study titled “The Comparative Analysis of Affordable Housing Delivery in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Select Asian Countries and Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Mohamed Ibrahim Hafez is a policy expert specializing in foreign direct investment, special economic zones (SEZs), and regionalism within the MENA region. He presently holds the position of policy advisor at the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones in Egypt, having previously worked as a corporate credit analyst at Qatar National Bank. Throughout his career in policy-making and analysis, Mohamed has acquired significant expertise by participating in esteemed international programs at the University of Cambridge in the UK, the European University Institute in Italy, and other local initiatives supported by the Egyptian Presidency. Mohamed holds a master’s degree in political economy of development from SOAS, University of London as a Chevening Scholar, and another master’s degree in finance from Cairo University. He aspires to become a preeminent international advisor in the realm of economic development and sustainability in the MENA region.  His research as an AsiaGlobal Fellow investigates the geographical, economic, political, and social dimensions of SEZs in the region to observe the interplay of these components and forge a comprehensive network of connections.

Dilfuza Kurolova is a human rights lawyer and professional mediator. Currently, she works as a consultant at the World Bank and the International Commission of Jurists. In 2022-2023, she was a member of the working group under the Senate of Uzbekistan to protect women and children from gender-based violence. Dilfuza has worked for the government and local NGOs, including the Embassy of Switzerland in Uzbekistan and International Labour Organization projects during cotton harvests from 2016 to 2021. She has consultancy experience with UNICEF Uzbekistan country office, Asian Development Bank, PeaceNexus Foundation, ACTED, Global Partners Governance, and Lindemann Law. She also taught law at universities in Uzbekistan. Besides, she provides free legal consultations via social media since 2019 and founded the WEF Global Shapers Tashkent Hub in 2020. She holds a master’s degree in politics and security in Central Asia from OSCE Academy and an LLM in international law from Tashkent State University of Law. She has professional training in combating gender-based violence at MASHAV program, developing civic engagement tools at John Smith Trust Fellowship, assessing conflict sensitivity, and empowering leadership of sustainable development goals and human rights. As part of the AsiaGlobal Fellows Program, her research interest is civic engagement tools in Central Asia to promote human rights.

Nona Mamulashvili is former member of the Parliament of Georgia (2020-2023) and currently a co-founder of Gamziri civic platform in Georgia. She is also a chairwoman of the Caucasus Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that promotes structural change and institutional development through policy research and advocacy in Caucasus and Central Asia. Nona is simultaneously the president of the Georgian Swiss Business Association and a vice president of the Women Business Association. She was a non- resident fellow at Middle East Institute and Rumsfeld Foundation. Previously, Nona worked as the regional director for Pfizer covering Caucasus and Central Asian countries. She also has extensive experience working in the public sector and was the senior advisor to the Analytical Group of the president of Georgia in 2005-2007, as well as a political analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia at a later stage. Nona obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the International Black Sea University in Georgia, a master’s degree in diplomatic studies from the University of Westminster in the UK, and a PhD in international relations from the University of Sorbonne in France. She is currently an associate professor at the International Relations Faculty of the International Black Sea University. Nona aspires to join the Georgian government upon completion of the fellowship program. Her research as an AsiaGlobal Fellow will explore the importance of public-private dialogue for economic development.

Paula Mosera currently holds the position of head of experimentation at the Accelerator Lab at UNDP Uruguay. In this role, she is responsible for implementing an innovation strategy, testing and scaling pilots that address sustainable development challenges, employing a system thinking approach to enhancing innovation capacities within the office and the government, and establishing new partnerships. Paula has gained valuable experience working in the private sector and collaborating with NGOs throughout her career. Previously, she served as the executive director of Socialab Uruguay, a well-known social incubator in Latin America dedicated to supporting social enterprises. Additionally, Paula holds a master´s degree in social innovation and entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics. Paula’s professional aspirations revolve around the development of the impact investment sector, the creation of new financial instruments for development, and the promotion of triple-impact companies in Latin America. She firmly believes that the private and financial sectors are critical in achieving sustainable development. She has a keen interest in conducting research on successful companies that have expanded globally and exploring how their strategies can be applied to social enterprises. Paula is also eager to analyze the impact investment landscape in relation to social enterprises and the role of governments and international agencies in this context.

Prasoon Sharma is CEO of Pradivya Software Pvt Ltd. He is an Honorary Fellow at The Global Governance Institute (GGI)-University College London (UCL). Also, He is a Pentland Scholar (EMPA 2018) at the Department of Political Science, UCL and at NYU Wagner Public Service School. He has worked in and travelled to more than 20 countries including the UK, China, Indonesia, and has 18 years of global experience in corporate planning, handling government relationships, strategic planning, successful planning, and achieving country/regional sales targets, telecom, and IT pre-sales. Prasoon facilitated a $6 billion investment from China and created $450 million worth of projects in the Indian smart city and e-governance domain. Until February 2018, he worked as a managing director for India &amp, South Asia at ZTEsoft Technology, spearheading all business development, channel sales, and pre-sales functions across the region. He initiated a new era of cooperation between India and China during Indian Prime Minister Modi’s May 2015 China visit by signing an MoU for developing smart cities in Gujarat in the presence of the Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben. Prasoon represented India at the 5th India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) 2018 as a member of the policy coordination group, the highest and most influential because in SED 2016 two of his projects were included. In 2017 BRICS, Chinese government media published his articles that highlight synergies between India-China’s innovation and artificial intelligence policies. Prasoon was selected for the Principal Scientific Adviser‘s Consultative Group. His research focus as an AsiaGlobal Fellow will be finding synergies among Asian countries to establish an Asian Silicon Valley.

Ana Tuiketei is an international lawyer and arbitrator that is the first listed Pacific Counsel with the International Criminal Court (The Hague). She was also elected at the ICC Bar Association General Assembly to the Defense and Membership Committee-another first for the Pacific. She is also the only female Pacific Islander listed as an arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Lausanne, Switzerland), the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (China) and the South China International Arbitration Centre (Hong Kong). She is admitted to the Tongan and Fijian Bar. She is hoping to be admitted to the US New York Bar in 2023. She is the deputy director of the Institute of Small and Microstates based in the UK. She volunteers on the Save the Children’s Fund Fiji Board and is a volunteer mediator with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. She is a Heart Ambassador for the internationally recognized Sai Prema Foundation Fiji providing the best possible surgery and free treatment to the children of the Pacific. She was also in the UK Commonwealth Secretariat Task Force on International Arbitration and is a Board Member for the World Anti-Doping Agency Independent Ethics Committee. She is the only Fijian female accredited World Rugby Judicial Officer and Educator and the only Oceania International Rugby League Independent Chair. In 2017 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Fiji for her work with Fijian women and youths. She has also been involved in presenting before the Fiji Parliamentary Committees, drafting legislative reviews, strategic policies and industry negotiations for regional institutions. She is passionate about law reform and comes with a wealth of experience, knowledge and extensive professional exposure not only limited to Fiji’s domestic public policy and private sector engagement, but with a reasonable degree of regional professional perspective, engagement and experience.

ASHK Scholars-in-Residence

Professor Christine Loh, SBS, JP, OBE, Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, is Chief Development Strategist at the Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), engaging in teaching and research. Her teaching experience includes a course on Non-Market Risks at the Anderson School of Management, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) from 2018-22. She is Visiting Scholar at the Anderson School of Management’s Center for Global Management (2023-24).

She was Under Secretary for the Environment in the HKSAR Government (2012-17). Between April 2019 and March 2020, she was the Special Consultant to the Office of the Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government on the ecological civilization aspects of the Greater Bay Area Outline Development Plan. She has also been a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Loh has been active in public policy and politics since the 1980s. She founded and was the CEO of the non-profit think tank, Civic Exchange (2000-12), and helped to establish several charitable foundations, and non-profit organizations in Hong Kong related to the environment, equal opportunity, and arts and culture. Professor Loh is a published author of books and many academic and popular works.

Professor Loh is currently a board member of CDP Worldwide, Global Maritime Forum, New Forests Pty Ltd, and Towngas Smart Energy Company Limited. She holds an English law degree from the University of Hull, England, and a Master of Law degree in Chinese and Comparative Law from the City University of Hong Kong. She has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Law, honoris causa, by the University of Hull in 2001, and Doctor of Science, honoris causa by the University of Exeter in 2016.

Professor Alejandro Reyes was previously adjunct professor and director of knowledge dissemination at the Asia Global Institute, the think tank on global issues at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), where he managed the digital journal AsiaGlobal Online. Prior to joining the Institute, he was for two years senior policy adviser to the assistant deputy minister for Asia Pacific and set up and led the Asia-Pacific policy planning unit at Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian foreign ministry. He had previously served in the department in 2002 as a senior policy adviser to the Canadian foreign minister, working on the G8 and a review of Canadian foreign policy.

From 2007 to 2017, he was an associate professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at HKU. A Hong Kong-based independent consultant from 2001 to 2017, he worked with several foundations and international organizations including the G20 Business Summit, the Clinton Global Initiative, the World Economic Forum and the US-Asia Institute, as well as some corporate clients. He has edited or written several books including a history of Manila in the closing days of the Japanese Occupation, an Asian investment guide, and a survey of the financial services sector in Asia. He began his professional career as a journalist with Asiaweek magazine, part of Time Inc, where he worked from 1988 to 2001 in Hong Kong and Singapore. Born in the Philippines and a citizen of Canada, he was educated at Harvard University and the University of Oxford and in 2000 was awarded an honorary doctorate by Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.