Virtual Vantage Points » Global Development

Improving Cities in India

Tim Roemer — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:43:00 +0000

Davos is famous for creativity, “new thinking” and proposing out-of-the-box paradigms. I was highly optimistic that a private lunch session organized by www.indialogues.in, (titled “Design and Innovation: Enablers of India’s Urban Future”) would throw off sparks of fire to motivate and seed progress for improved city life. After all, India is faced with tens of millions of people every year moving from villages to urban environments and now has significant housing, infrastructure, and planning challenges. The question is one of architects, designers, and planners (civil society) helping engender opportunity, mobility, and dignity for the emerging middle class of a nation. Key areas of interest include:… Read more »

APCO Forum Event Summary: Making sense of the India labyrinth

Virtual Vantage Points — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:05:00 +0000

“India is open for business!” This was the message from acting India High Commissioner Rajesh N. Prasad at a recent event held by APCO Worldwide and the UK India Business Council in London.

The View from APEC 2011

International Advisory Council — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:23:25 +0000

The first-ever Women and the Economy Summit (WES) got underway Wednesday with an excellent seminar on women’s entrepreneurship. APCO senior vice president Cassandra Pye, one of the wrap-up speakers, made some excellent recommendations for practical next-steps to implement the ideas that came out of the seminar. This was followed by a larger opening plenary, which included a speech by Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and a satellite interview of new IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde by Chinese television star Yang Lan.… Read more »

A Preview of APEC’s Women in Business Summit

Virtual Vantage Points — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:47:52 +0000

Interest is building as we gear up for the APEC meetings in San Francisco that will take place September 12-26. The flagship event, of course, will be the APEC “Women and the Economy Summit” (WES) hosted by Hillary Clinton. In part because of Secretary Clinton’s star power, a number of high-powered participants will attend, including Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu; Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett; new IMF Director Christine Lagarde; Cherie Blair, founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (and wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair); and many others. I will be looking to see what concrete proposals come out of the three-day event. A formal set of policy recommendations will be delivered to President Obama and the other APEC leaders for the November Leaders Meeting in Honolulu.… Read more »

Empowering Women in Afghanistan

International Advisory Council — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:38:02 +0000

Former Laura Bush chief of staff and APCO International Advisory Council member Anita McBride was interviewed by MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell to discuss efforts to empower women as entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and other developing countries. McBride works with the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW) to bring economic development to these areas. Watch the entire interview below.… Read more »

APCO Forum Analysis of President Obama’s Middle East Speech

Marc Ginsberg — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:56:27 +0000

APCO Forum assembled top experts on events in the Middle East to comment on President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East and the general state of affairs there. Moderated by Baron Hill, former member of the United States House of Representatives, the panel featured Ambassador Marc Ginsberg and Mark Benson, chairman of APCO Insight, the opinion research division of APCO Worldwide. Mr. Benson recently concluded a study of opinion elites and their views of the Arab world.… Read more »