Day One

Saturday, October 7, 2023
09:30 – 10:30 [Grand Ballroom]

Inaugural Session

Speakers:
Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury, Chairman, CGS, Bangladesh
Moussa Mara, Former Prime Minister, Mali; Member, Club de Madrid
Zillur Rahman, Executive Director, CGS; Chair, Bay of Bengal Conversation, Bangladesh

10:30 – 11:00
Tea/Coffee Break [Ballroom Foyer ]

11:00 – 12:20 [Grand Ballroom]
Plenary Session "A Post G20 World: The Global South Rising"

Speakers:
Abdulla Rasheed Ahmed, Minister of State for Education, Maldives
C. Christine Fair, Professor, Security Studies, Georgetown University, USA
Karori Singh, Former Director and Emeritus Fellow, South Asia Studies Centre, University of Rajasthan, India
Leonardo Paz Neves, Researcher, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil
Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director, Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement, Nepal
Fahmida Khatun, (Moderator)

12:20 – 13:30 [Grand Ballroom]

Plenary Session "Diplomacy on Track 2: The Role of CSOs, NGOs and Think Tanks Across Borders"

Speakers:
Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh
Jovan Ratkovic, Senior Fellow, Agora Strategy Group, Germany
Konstantinos Foutzopoulos, Executive Director, South East Leadership Dialogue, Greece
Matej Gregorec, Programme Manager, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Slovenia
Vlada Galan, Partner, Altum International Strategies, Ukraine
Sheela Tasneem Haq, Senior Governance Specialist, UNDP-Bangladesh (Moderator)

13:30 – 14:30         
Lunch [Ballroom]

14:30 – 15:50  [Grand Ballroom]     
Plenary Session "Skepticismand Conspiracy: The Dangers of Misinformation and Disinformation"

Speakers:
Anurag Acharya, Director,Policy Entrepreneurs Inc., Nepal
Cuihong Cai, Professor, Centre for American Studies, Fudan University, China
Leo Wigger, Editor, Zenith Magazine, Germany
Nurul Kabir, Editor, New Age, Bangladesh
Parveen F Chowdhury, President, Commonwealth Journalist Association, Bangladesh
Faruq Faisel, Former Regional Director, South Asia and Bangladesh, Article 19, Bangladesh(Moderator)

15:50 – 17:10  [Grand Ballroom]      
Plenary Session "COP, SDGs and the GreenTransition"

Speakers:
Ambika Vishwanath, Founder & Director, Kubernein Initiative, India
Arif Faisal, Programme Specialist (Nature, Climate and Energy), UNDP-Bangladesh
Arjan De Haan, Senior Program Specialist, International Development Research Centre, Canada
Emmanuel Antwi Akoto, Project Manager, BSW Solar, Ghana
Sarder M Asaduzzaman, Head of Programme Management and Partnership Unit, UNDP-Bangladesh
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Professor, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (Moderator)

17:10  – 18:00
Tea / Coffee  [Ballroom Foyer]

18:30 – 20:00 [Surma]
After Show Conversation (By Invitation Only) "Culture Wars Beyond Borders"

Speakers:
Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor, Illinois State University, USA
C. Christine Fair, Professor, Security Studies, Georgetown University, USA
Gregory Simons, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Science, Turiba University, Sweden
Irfan Yar,Founder& Managing Director, Afghanistan Security Institute, Canada(Moderator)

18:30 – 20:00 [Meghna]
After Show Conversation (By Invitation Only) "Gender Geopolitics: The Women’s Empowerment Movement of the Indo-Pacific"

Speakers:
Peter Grk, Secretary General, Bled Strategic Forum, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Slovenia
Rani Yan Yan, Adviser, Chakma Chief Circle and Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights Defender, Bangladesh
Vlada Galan, Partner, Altum International Strategies, Ukraine
Ambika Vishwanath, Founder and Director, Kubernein Initiative, India (Moderator)

20:30-10:30 [Pool Cafe]

Dinner (By Invitation Only)

Studio Session Times
Studio, Day 1: Saturday, October 7

11:00 to 11:30
G20 Takeaways:
Gregory Simons, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Science, Turiba University, Sweden
Matej Gregorec, Programme Manager, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Slovenia
Andre de Mello e Souza, Tenured Researcher and Policy Analyst, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brazil(Moderator)

12:00 to 12:30
Understanding the Geopolitical Importance of the Bay of Bengal:
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Professor, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh     
Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador; President, Institute of Global Studies, India
Parveen F Chowdhury, President, Commonwealth Journalist Association, Bangladesh(Moderator)

13:00 to 13:30
Booming Startups and FDI in the Global South:
Emmanuel Antwi Akoto, Project Manager, BSW Solar, Ghana
Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh
Suthikorn Kingkaew, Advisor, KBU Research Institute, Thailand(Moderator)

15:10 to 15:40
Building Blocks for Good Governance:
Sheikh Sahidul Islam, Former Minister, Bangladesh
Sheela Tasneem Haq, Senior Governance Specialist, UNDP-Bangladesh
Judith Mwaniki, Director, Development Programmes, Consortium of Economic Research and Development Studies, Kenya(Moderator)

16:30 to 17:00
Human Rights as a Diplomatic Measure:
Faruq Faisal, Former Regional Director, South Asia and Bangladesh, Article 19, Bangladesh
Peter Grk, Secretary General, Bled Strategic Forum, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Slovenia
Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador; President, Institute of Global Studies, India(Moderator)

18:00 to 18:30
Evolving Journalism: Traditional Media Vs Alternative Media:
Leo Wigger, Editor, Zenith Magazine, Germany
Nurul Kabir, Editor, New Age, Bangladesh
Asif Bin Ali, Lecturer, North South University, Bangladesh(Moderator)

19:00 to 19:30
Kleptocracy and the Global Anti-Corruption Efforts:
Badiul  Alam Majumder, Secretary, SHUJAN, Bangladesh
Faris Hadrovic, Business Development and Government Relations Expert, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Habibul Haque Khondker, Professor, Zayed University, UAE (Moderator)