The KORUS Forum

Embassy of the Republic of Korea | www.Dynamic-Korea.com

What to Watch for at the Seoul G20 Summit

A guest presentation and luncheon with

Lawrence MacDonald

Vice President for Communications and Policy Outreach,

Center for Global Development

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 | 10:45am – 1:00 pm

The next G20 summit meeting, which will convene the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies in Seoul, Korea Nov. 11-12, will represent a turning point in the history of global economic leadership and the shift to a more diverse steering body. The gathering will be the first G20 outside the North Atlantic region and the first summit meeting of world economic leaders in a non-G8, former developing, former aid recipient (now a donor) country. As G20 chair for 2010 and host of the November summit, the Republic of Korea is uniquely positioned to call upon its experience transitioning from being one of the world’s poorest countries in the aftermath of war, to a developed, high tech democracy within scarcely two generations. While the so-called currency wars are likely to dominate the headlines, the Summit will also consider proposals from two working groups established in Toronto, one on development and one on anti-corruption efforts. Lawrence MacDonald, recently returned from consultations in Seoul, will discuss how these proposals and the first-ever G20 Civil Society dialogue are likely to be part of the lasting legacy of the Seoul G20 Summit.

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Lawrence MacDonald is vice president for communications and policy outreach at the Center for Global Development. A development policy communications specialist and former foreign correspondent, he works to increase the influence of CGD's research and analysis by leading an integrated communications program. He recently returned to Seoul to participate in preparatory meetings for the upcoming G20 Summit, including a civil society dialogue that included a meeting with the G20 sherpas.

Before joining the Center in October 2004, MacDonald was a senior communications officer at the World Bank where he provided strategic communications advice to chief economists, coordinated the preparation of research publications and created the World Bank Research web site. Prior to that, MacDonald worked for more than 10 years as a journalist in East Asia, including a two-year posting to Seoul in 1987-88 where he covered labor and student unrest, the transition to democracy, and the Seoul Olympics.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

10:45am – 1:00 pm

 KORUS House Briefing Room

2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington, DC 20008

(limited local parking and in our lot, or a 15-minute walk from the Dupont Circle metro)

Korean lunch served from 12:15 – 1:00 pm

Open Invitation; Please Forward

RSVP (acceptances only) to:

Adam Wojciechowicz | AWOJ@koreaembassy.org | (202) 587 - 6168

KOREAN CULTURAL CENTER (KORUS HOUSE)

Embassy of the Republic of Korea

www.Dynamic-Korea.com