CIGI hosts IMF reform conference

July 9, 2008

Waterloo, ON - Leading experts and policymakers will gather in Waterloo July 18 and 19 for a conference aimed at expanding the debate about reforming the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to include the developing countries' perspectives.

"Bringing Balance to IMF Reform Debates" is the final instalment in a series of regional meetings around the world focused on helping developing countries articulate their needs and priorities for future services from the IMF. Previous meetings held in Africa, Asia, Central Asia, Latin America and the Middle East focused on the kinds of monetary cooperation that would benefit the countries from these regions and what role can and should IMF play in achieving their goals.

The event is hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in partnership with the University of Oxford (UK) and New Rules for Global Finance (USA).

A presentation by John Hicklin, Deputy Director of the Independent Evaluation Office of IMF, opens the conference on Friday, followed by panel discussions on Saturday.

After the event, the project leaders will make a presentation to the IMF Executive Board and meet with the representatives of the U.S. presidential candidates.

The conference agenda and participant's list are available upon request.

SPECIAL GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE:

(INTERVIEW AND PHOTO OPPORTUNITY)

Tom Bernes - Director, Independent Evaluation Office, IMF

James Boughton - Chief Historian, IMF

Jo Marie Griesgraber - Executive Director, New Rules for Global Finance

Meibo Huang - Professor, Department of Economics, Xiamen University, People's Republic of China

Peter Kenen - Professor, Economics and International Finance, Princeton University; Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Jan Kregel - Chief of Policy Analysis and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations

Johannes Linn - Executive Director, Wolfensohn Center for Development, Brookings Institution

Domenico Lombardi - President, The Oxford Institute for Economic Policy

Paul Martin - Former Prime Minister of Canada, Member of Parliament for LaSalle-Émard in Montreal, Quebec

John Murray - Deputy Governor, Bank of Canada

Jorge Patiño - Executive Director, IMF's Toronto Centre

Randal Quarles - Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

Ngaire Woods - Professor of International Political Economy and Director of the Global Economic Governance Programme, University College, University of Oxford

EVENT:

Bringing Balance to IMF Reform Debates

DATE:

Friday, July 18 - Saturday, July 19

TIME:

July 18, 4:30 pm - 9:00 pm

July 19, 8:30 am - 5:30 pm

LOCATION:

The Centre for International Governance Innovation

57 Erb Street West

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

The opinions expressed in this article/multimedia are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIGI or its Board of Directors.