About the Program

With the introduction of free-market principles and economic liberalization, the drive for economic growth in China and parts of Africa has jeopardized the health of local environments. Whether through a lack of policies or lax enforcement, some local governments have neglected to protect their natural resources and allowed enterprises to pollute the air, water, and soil.

Join us on January 31st as we host Siyuan Song, PhD, Northwest University, Xi’an, China and Elias T. Ayuk, Director of Policy Advisory Services at CHAINT Afrique ACADEMY, Ghana. Our expert panelists will describe the tensions between growth and maintaining a healthy environment and address the question: What is the responsibility of local businesses and governments in managing the tension between economic development and climate-responsible policies and actions?

About the Speakers

Elias T. Ayuk, PhD, is an Independent Researcher and Consultant with more than three decades of development research experience in Africa. His broad areas of interest centre around institutional capacity building, poverty research, value chain analysis, and the social, economic and policy dimensions of natural resource management. He was a Senior Strategic Adviser and Sub-Regional Director for Southern Africa at the Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa based in Kigali, Rwanda from October 2019 to December 2020. From 2010 to 2018, he served as the Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) based in Accra, Ghana.  As Director, he was the Chief Academic and Administrative Officer of the Institute.

Elias holds a B. A in Economics with college honours from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota (1984), an M.Sc (1986) and a PhD in Agricultural Economics both from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. 

Siyuan Song, PhD, teaches at Northwest University, Xi’an, China. He studied Organizational Behavior at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College (2008-2010). He researched corporate culture and safety. He is a management consultant to multiple companies of petroleum, coal mining, and chemical industries in Northwest of China.

Schedule:

8:00 pm – Presentation

9:15 pm – Q&A

Registration:

Complimentary pre-registration is required to attend this program. Please register online via Zoom.