Ethics and development in Latin America

Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik is opening an international seminar on ethical issues related to development in Oslo today. The background for the seminar is the Initiative on Social Capital, Ethics and Development, which was launched by Mr Bondevik and President Enrique Iglesias of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Oslo in 1998. President Iglesias will also attend the Oslo seminar, which is a follow-up to a series of seminars that have been held in Latin America. President Iglesias’ personal involvement in this initiative has helped to place it high on the agenda in both the IDB and Latin America.

The Oslo seminar is being arranged by the Centre for Development and the Environment in co-operation with the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the IDB, and is being held in Auditorium 1, Universitetsbiblioteket, Blindern. Professor Kristi-Anne Stølen, Professor Kalle Moene and Dr. Sturla Stålseth are among the Norwegian participants.

Social disparity is greater in Latin America and the Caribbean than in any other region in the world. The Indian and Afro-Latino population groups, especially, are experiencing social and economic marginalisation and discrimination, and a far higher proportion of these groups live in poverty than is the case for any other group. The IDB has taken a lead in putting social inclusion on the agenda in the region through dialogue with the authorities, seminars, research and capacity-building, and has helped obtain new information about excluded population groups, for example in Brazil.

Press contact: Information Adviser Trine Øveraas, 91 69 77 74