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Paul Collier to Make Keynote Speech at GFMD World Conference

Collier’s book, which won the 2008 Arthur Ross Book Award and the 2008 Lionel Gelber Prize illustrates what is happening to the poorest billion in the world, why it is happening and what can be done to open greater opportunities to the poor in a world of increasing wealth. In his recent intervention at the Salzburg Global Seminar initiative on Support for Independent Media, in which the GFMD is a partner, Collier highlighted the key role that media play in the poorest countries and in failed states in keeping the government honest, simply because other formal institutions that monitor government tend to not function effectively.
But he also challenged media not to fall into the trap of promoting “snake-oil remedies” for complex problems. “It is the responsibility of informed media in these societies to get beyond populism”, he said.
Paul Collier’s keynote speech in Athens will provide a challenging background to the debate among media development implementers about creating the right environment, supporting institutions and professional capacity for media to be informed and to be able to keep government honest.

Professor Collier is currently the director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University. He is a former director of research for the World Bank.