Presentation Title: Placing Danish and Japanese ODA Within the UN Framework

UN defined ‘Inequality’ and 16 other challenges as Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, however, Japan and Denmark have addressed most of the themes both multilaterally and bilaterally for decades. Danish and Japanese ODA initially built on fellowship and training courses within the framework of multilateral initiatives within the United Nations and the Colombo Plan, respectively. With a strong focus on training and capacity development, the United Nations launched its Technical Assistance Program in 1948, which became United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1966. UNDP is the UN program with the largest budget and both Denmark and Japan have been major contributors to the program since its inception. Besides their multilateral engagement, both countries established bilateral ODA programs in 1962, where they continued their fellowship and training programs until today. This contribution to our discussions of today’s theme will be histories behind the current Japanese and Danish involvement in agendas to ensure Quality of Life in countries in the South, including UNDP’s Human Development Index from the 1990s. Even though, Denmark’s involvement has been predominantly multilateral and Japan’s bilateral, neither have always been successful. However, their long-term commitment to capacity development has been consistent and, today Toyota and Maersk in Ghana can claim to be examples of successes derived also from ODA engagements.

About

Annette Skovsted Hansen is associate professor of Japanese and Global History at Aarhus University. Formerly international staff at United Nations Headquarters, she is currently spokesperson for the Association of Development Researchers in Denmark (FAU) and a member of the Consultative Committee on Development Research (FFU) under the Danish Foreign Ministry. Her research interests include the history of development assistance since 1947. Her research questions have focused on the impact of Japanese and Danish development assistance fellowship and training programs in engendering global networks of professionals. Her publications include “Aid Relationships in Asia: Comparing Japanese and Nordic Aid” co-edited with A.M Jerve and Y. Shimomura (Palgrave macmillan 2008); “Africa-Asia Regional Partnerships and South-South Development Cooperation” in Routledge Handbook of Africa-Asia Relations edited by P. Carvalho, D. Arase, and S. Cornelissen. Oxford: Routledge (2018); “Developing Globalization: How Japanese ODA created channels for globalization processes, 1954-2012” in Globalization: Strategy and Effect edited by B.J. Christensen and C. Kowalczyk for Springer (2017); “Global Alumni Networks: The Inclusion of Fellow Experts from Developing Countries in Epistemic Communities” in Forum for Development Studies (2015); “Introduction: Political Agency and the State in Development” with A.M. Kjær in Forum for Development Studies (2010); and “Developing Memories: Alumni Newsletters in Japanese Development Assistance” in The Power of Memory edited by S. Saaler and W. Schwentker for Brill (2008).