As countries begin to transition to a post-pandemic world, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is holding its third Southeast Asian Development Symposium (SEADS) on 16-17 March to discuss innovations and solutions that can reinvigorate economies and lay the foundation for an equitable and enduring recovery.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has reversed many of Southeast Asia’s hard-won gains in reducing poverty, creating jobs, and enhancing health and wellbeing, with the poor and vulnerable particularly hard-hit. #SEADS2022, “Sustainable Solutions for Southeast Asia’s Recovery,” builds on the momentum that ADB and its partners have achieved over the past two years in sharing insight and expertise to address the pandemic’s unprecedented challenges.
SEADS 2022 will be headlined by experts in government, development, and the private sector to discuss novel approaches that can help countries build back better from the pandemic. Through cooperation, collaboration, and creativity, Southeast Asia can overcome COVID-19, unleash the region’s potential, and usher in a new period of prosperity and renewal.
SEADS 2022 Priority Areas
#SEADS2022 will focus on actionable solutions supporting three lynchpins of the region’s recovery: addressing debilitating supply chain bottlenecks; rejuvenating the region’s once-flourishing tourism industry; and advancing digital transformation.
SEADS will also explore new opportunities that can take the region beyond business as usual, measures that can better ensure that the region’s post-COVID-19 recovery: is green and environmentally sustainable; expands inclusivity for the poor and other vulnerable groups; ensures equality and greater opportunities for women; and is adequately financed through domestic resource mobilization measures.
The first day of SEADS will open with keynote addresses from ADB’s President and other esteemed government and industry leaders, and will feature a special high-level panel discussion on “Building Back Better through Inclusive Solutions.” The second day of SEADS 2022 will focus on “Revitalizing Tourism and Ensuring Cities’ Sustainable Future,” featuring thought-provoking keynote speakers and two special plenary sessions on (i) Driving an Inclusive Tourism Recovery in Southeast Asia; and (ii) the Future of Sustainable Cites. The SEADS agenda highlights the imperative to build back better at this critical juncture, with afternoon deep-dive workshops to facilitate substantive discussions.
Study Launch: Southeast Asia: Rising from the Pandemic
A new in-depth ADB study, Southeast Asia: Rising from the Pandemic, presents economic prospects for the region, and provides critical policy actions that can address pandemic impacts and help countries reboot their economies. The study will be launched on 16 March at SEADS, and sheds light on the extent of disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, as well as emerging growth opportunities.
The study will serve as a basis for the invitation-only Southeast Asia Policy Roundtable at SEADS 2022, which will provide government officials and ADB management with a unique opportunity to discuss policy responses for a post-COVID-19 world. The outcomes of this discussion will be used to inform ADB’s COVID-19 planning and response for the region.
Registration
To participate in SEADS 2022, please register at https://seads.adb.org/symposium/2022. Registration is free.
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