International Development Week Conference - Getting to 2030
Date
Saturday February 7, 20269:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location
Goodes Hall
Exploring how collaboration, innovation, and action can drive real progress toward achieving the SDGs and getting us to 2030.
The theme, Getting to 2030 SDG, centers on the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which serve as a global framework to address poverty, inequality, climate change, and peace through integrated and sustainable solutions. As the 2030 deadline approaches, the theme emphasizes the urgency of assessing both progress made and gaps that remain in achieving these goals. Through panels, discussions, and collaborative programming, the conference encourages students to critically engage with contemporary development challenges while exploring how governments, civil society, and youth can accelerate meaningful action. Getting to 2030 SDG aims to bridge theory and practice by connecting global development debates to tangible initiatives at the local, national, and international levels, reinforcing the role of young people in shaping a more just and sustainable future.
Program
9:00am-9:30am - Doors Open, Registration
9:30am-9:45am - Introduction and Opening Remarks
9:45am-10:45am - Keynote by Dr. Quadir: From Knowledge to Impact - Rethinking the University’s Role in Building a Better World
10:45am-12:15pm - Professors Panel
12:15pm-1:15pm - Catered Lunch
1:30pm-2:30pm - Workshop: Explore YOUR Impact - Align Your Career with the UN SDGs
2:30pm-4:00pm - Workshop: Representatives from the Ontario International Development Association
4:00pm-6:00pm - Mocktail Hour and Closing Remarks
Bios
Dr. Fahimul Quadir
AM Keynote
Dr. Quadir is Professor in the Department of Global Development Studies and Chair of Graduate Studies at Queen’s University. He has advanced graduate education through initiatives on funding, inclusivity, and student support. His research focuses on international development, South–South cooperation, and aid effectiveness, and he has published extensively while receiving major awards including Fulbright, SSHRC, and Killam fellowships.
Dr. Marcus Taylor
Professors Panel
Dr. Taylor is Head of the Department of Global Development Studies and a professor at Queen’s University. He works on political ecology, climate change, agriculture, and rural livelihoods, and has published widely on these topics. He has taken on a leadership role in advancing Queen’s Sustainable Development Goals initiatives as the university’s new SDG principal, helping to coordinate cross‑campus efforts to implement and integrate the UN SDGs into research, teaching, and institutional planning.
Dr. Bahman Kashi
Professors Panel
Dr. Kashi is a Continuing Adjunct Assistant Professor of Economics at Queen’s University and the founder and president of Limestone Analytics, an economic consulting and analytics firm. His work spans economic impact assessment, public investment management, and cost‑benefit analysis, with extensive experience in international development projects and technical advisory roles across Africa, the Americas, and Asia. He has served as research director for USAID’s Learning, Evaluation, and Analysis Project and as a senior advisor to the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and he directs executive education programs in professional impact analysis at Queen’s.
Dr. Christopher Cotton
Professors Panel
Dr. Cotton is a Professor of Economics at Queen’s University, where he holds the Jarislowsky‑Deutsch Chair in Economic and Financial Policy and serves as Director of the John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and contributes to professional programs in public policy and impact analysis. His research applies rigorous economic methods to public policy questions, including education and health policy evaluation, political influence, and cost‑benefit analysis, with publications in leading journals. He regularly advises governments and organizations on evidence‑based policy and evaluation and has received major research awards and recognition for excellence in economic research and teaching.
Dr. Nenad Radakovic
Professors Panel
Dr. Radakovic is an Associate Professor of STEM Education at Queen’s University’s Faculty of Education. His research and teaching focus on transdisciplinary STEM education, mathematics and social justice, the pedagogy of risk, and diversity and inclusion in education. He has taught across multiple contexts in Canada and internationally and has edited and published on interdisciplinary approaches to mathematics education.