AMBITION AND MOMENTUM – FINANCING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE

What FfD4 needs to deliver!
Video Messages of the Conference Organizers and Conference Co-hosts

Welcome Addresses of the Conference Organizers

Nigussu Legesse, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)

Dr Pallavi Rekhi
Lead- Programmes
Voluntary Action Network India (VANI)

Henrique Frota
Excecutive Director
Association of Brazilian NGOs (Abong)

Moderated Interview: How to Overcome the Structural Obstacles of the Interna-tional System to Finance Sustainable Development?

Jean Saldanha
Director
European Network of Debt and Development (Eurodad)

Moderation
Dr Sonja Grigat, Association of German Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs (VENRO)

Short Break – Transition to Workshop Sessions

Parallel Workshop Sessions

Coffee Break – Transition to Workshop Sessions

Parallel Workshop Sessions

End of the Conference

Åsa Månsson

Åsa Månsson is Managing Director of the Association of German Development and Humanitarian Aid of NGOs (VENRO)which represents the interests of close to 150 German development and humanitarian aid NGOs from Germany. Previously, she worked at Wikimedia Germany as Head of Strategy & Governance and at the International Civil Society Center as Program Director. She is a founding member of Fair Share of Women Leaders

Nigussu Legesse, Ph.D.

Nigussu Legesse is the Executive Director of the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA), a not for profit membership-based organization of over 470 NGOs, CSOs, FBOs, CBOs and Professional Associations of both National and International engaging in long term development, relief and rehabilitation, advocacy and human rights activities, envisioning a poverty free Ethiopia with vibrant CSOs and assured social justice. Nigussu is also serving as Commissioner for the Commission of the Churches on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development (CCCJSD) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Member of the Standing Committee of ECOSOCC of the African Union (AU), member of the Governing body of the World Council of Churches (WCC), member of the Governing body of the All-Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and Board member of the Coalition of Civil Society Organization for Election (CECOE).

Dr Pallavi Rekhi

Dr Pallavi Rekhi is Lead-Programmes at VANI. She is a dedicated development professional with over six years of experience in strategic programme management, donor relations, and impactful communication. She has successfully led knowledge sharing and capacity building initiatives at the national and international level, represented the Global South at prominent forums, and launched innovative projects like a podcast series She Leads the Way, spotlighting women leaders. With a Master’s in Public Health and a Bachelor of Dental Surgery, she excels in fostering stakeholder collaboration and driving meaningful change.

Prof. José Antonio Ocampo, Ph.D.

José Antonio Ocampo is Co-Director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration in the School of International and Public Affairs and member of the Committee on Global Thought as well as of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University. He is Chair of the Group of Experts for the Fourth UN Conference on Financing for Development. He is a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT) which he chaired in 2015-2022 and of the High- Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI). He is also a member of the UN Committee for Development Policy, an expert committee of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). José Antonio Ocampo has been UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). He served as Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia.

Jean Saldanha

Jean Saldanha is Director of the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) She previously worked as Senior Advisor at CIDSE, the international alliance of catholic development organizations on issues relating to financing sustainable development. Jean comes from Mumbai and was active in the human rights movement in India as a law student. She has a Master’s degree in International Law from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Grigat is Policy Adviser on Global Justice and Sustainable Development with the Association of German Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs (VENRO). She is working on issues surrounding the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, in particularly financing sustainable development and global health. She holds a doctorate in political science from Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg.

Maria Ron Balsera, Ph.D.

Maria Ron Balsera is the Executive Director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights. She oversees CESR’s programmatic work and leads collaborative efforts to advance a Rights-Based Economy. Her experience of working over the last fifteen years on the right to education, privatization, and tax justice in various countries is invaluable for efforts to build bridges between movements and groups working on human rights, economic and climate justice. Before joining CESR, Maria coordinated the Tax and Education Alliance, a partnership of international and regional tax justice and education constituencies. Maria has worked for ActionAid International, the Right to Education Project, Human Rights Watch, and the Universities of London (Birkbeck) Roehampton, and Bielefeld. She holds a Ph.D. in Education and Human Development from Bielefeld University.

Michael Windfuhr is Deputy Director of the German Institute for Human Rights, Germany’s National Human Rights Institution. He has been consulting on the implementation process of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in Germany since 2014. He is a member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Human Rights, which monitors the implementation of the relevant human rights covenant by the states parties. He is also a member of the independent complaints mechanism of the development banks in Germany (DEG), France (Proparco) and the Netherlands (FMO). Michael spent over two decades helping set up the international human rights organisation FIAN (FoodFirst Information and Action Network). He was Human Rights Director at Bread for the World and the Diakonisches Werk of the Protestant Church in Germany. He was lecturer at the Institute for Political Science at Heidelberg University.

Wolfgang Obenland Head of International Economy & Finance at the German NGO Network on Environment and Development. He has been working on issues surrounding the Financing for Development agenda for over 20 years. He has also worked extensively on tax, trade, corporate capture and global governance. Until 2019 he was director of the Financing for Sustainable Development Program at Global Policy Forum Europe. He was a member of several NGO coordinating committees on finance and sustainable development. He is member of the boards of Women Engage for a Common Future and Südwind Foundation.

Patricia Miranda is Global Advocacy Director at LATINDADD and coordinates the New Financial Architecture Team. She works on economic justice with focus a on debt, financing and IFIs with a regional, national and subnational level expertise. She is part of the CSO Financing for Development Group. Patricia was member of the Steering Committee of the Civil20 between 2017 and 2021 and is part of the C7 since 2022. Prior she worked as policy advocacy officer at Fundación Jubileo Bolivia, LA Regional Programme Officer at Debt Relief International and Public Debt Advisor at subnational governments. She has a Masters on Finance and specialisation on Public Financing Strategies.

Sarah Ribbert

Sarah Ribbert is Senior Programme Officer on Debt Relief and Green Transformation in the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin. She also serves as Coordinator to the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery Project (DRGR). She holds a master in political science from Freie Universität Berlin.

Malina Stutz

Malina Stutz is policy advisor for Jubilee Germany (erlassjahr.de). She holds a Bachelor in Law, Economics and Social Science from the University of Erfurt and a Master in Plural Economics from the University of Siegen.

Sarah Ganter is head of International Finance Policy and “Dialogue on Globalisation“ at the Global and European Policy Department of Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation. She holds an MA in Political Science, Philosophie and Computing Science from Dresden University.

Christoph Trautvetter is coordinator and researcher at the Tax Justice Network Germany. His expertise is in international tax justice, shadow finance and corporate taxes. Before joining the network, he worked as a special forensic auditor for KPMG AG, for the Budget Committee of the European Parliament and as a Fellow at Teach First Germany. Christoph holds a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance and a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy & Economics) from the University of Bayreuth.

Oliver Pahnecke specializes in financial regulation and human rights with a focus on the creation of sovereign debt and its relationship with human rights. He is a non-resident fellow of the Cobden Centre where he researches new approaches to interest rates and risk premiums and their application to sovereign bonds. Mr. Pahnecke also consults neobanks on disinformation and related market manipulations, and supports international organisations as a rule of law expert and monitor. His op-eds related to his research, economic policy and the rule of law have been published in newspapers such as the Guardian, the EU Observer and der Standard.

Bodo Ellmers is the Director of Global Policy Forum’s Financing for Sustainable Development Program. Before joining GPF, he worked as Head of Policy for the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) and Policy Officer for the German branch of the Global Call to Action against Poverty. He also worked as a consultant for the UN Millennium Campaign, VENRO, CONCORD and WEED. He is a member of international CSO networks such as BetterAid, the Reality of Aid Network, and the CSOs Group for Financing for Development. Bodo is a founding member of Global Policy Forum Europe and has served on the board for several years. He holds a degree in political science from the Freie Universität Berlin.

Verena Kröss is Policy Adviser on international Finance, Business and Human Rights for World Economy, Ecology and Development (WEED). Verena has intensively work on issues surrounding international financial institutions, especially the World Bank. She holds a doctorate in contemporary international history from Jacobs University Bremen.

Dr Daniel Cash

Daniel Cash is a Senior Fellow at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) and an Associate Professor (Reader) at Aston University (UK). He was a Fulbright Scholar at New York University’s Stern Business School and has published 8 books on the credit rating sector. He is the founder of the Credit Rating Research Initiative.

Catherine Mithia

Catherine Mithia is a researcher with over seven years of experience in development economics research with a specialization in development financing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration. She is a published author, contributing insightful pieces on governance and the impact of illicit financial flows, as well as providing a nuanced African perspective on credit rating agencies. Catherine focuses on providing research-backed policy alternatives that advocate for innovative and sustainable solutions to development challenges in Africa. She currently works as a Policy Assistant at the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development.

Klaus Schilder is expert in development finance and sustainable business conduct. He works on topics surrounding financing sustainable development such as debt and tax justice as well as on human rights, sustainable finance and corporate responsibility. Before joining Misereor, Klaus Schilder worked for terre des hommes Germany and for World Economy, Ecology & Development (WEED). He holds a doctorate in zoology form the Julius-Maximilians-Universität in Würzburg. He is based in Berlin.

Ulrike Lohr is senior researcher for private investments at SÜDWIND Institute, a German thinktank committed to economic, social and ecological justice worldwide. Prior to joining SÜDWIND she worked for 15 years in various positions including development finance and ESG-research.

María José Romero is Policy and Advocacy Manager for Eurodad’s work on development finance. Before joining Eurodad she worked at the secretariat of the Latin American Network on Debt, Development and Rights (LATINDADD) and as Coordinator of the IFIs Latin American Monitor project at the Third World Institute (ITeM). María José has a bachelor and a master degree in political science from the University of the Republic of Uruguay. She is currently a PhD candidate in International Development at SOAS University of London, with a research project on the World Bank Group’s role in promoting private finance in health and education.

Kathrin Berensmann ist seit 2000 Senior Researcher und Projektleiterin am German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn. Ihre Forschungs- und Politikberatungsschwerpunkte sind Entwicklungsfinanzierung, sustainable finance und internationale Finanzarchitektur. Sie ist seit mehr als 25 Jahren in der Forschung und Politikberatung für verschiedene nationale und internationale öffentliche Institutionen tätig, darunter das Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), die Vereinten Nationen, die Weltbank und die GIZ.