- DATE: 31 Jul - 2 Aug, 2025
- VENUE: Bangkhen Campus, Kasetsart University, Thailand
The 4th International Conference on Governance and Development (ICGD4) serves as a platform to exchange ideas, share best practices, and foster partnerships aimed at sustainable development through transdisciplinary actions. Organized by the College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños with Kasetsart University.
ICGD4 will underscore the critical role of governance in promoting global citizenship and empowering communities. Prominent leaders and experts in the field of development will share insights on the nexus between governance, global citizenship, and community empowerment.
Global citizenship entails recognizing our interconnectedness and responsibilities beyond national borders. Governance structures that promote global citizenship encourage individuals to take active roles in addressing complex issues facing humanity, such as poverty, climate change, food insecurity, and learning gaps, thereby contributing to a more equitable and sustainable world.
Meanwhile, empowering communities involves providing access to resources, education, and opportunities that enable individuals to realize their potential and contribute meaningfully to society. Governance systems that prioritize community empowerment ensure that marginalized and vulnerable groups are included in development efforts, fostering resilience and social cohesion.
ICGD4 has three conference sub-themes: 1) lifelong learning for sustainable development; 2) innovative institutions for community development; and 3) communities of practice for glocal development.
Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development
Innovative Institutions for Community Development
Communities of Practice for Glocal Development
Lifelong learning is a foundational element for sustainable development, as it empowers individuals and communities to adapt to the evolving demands of our world. It can act as a catalyst for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), enhancing knowledge and skills to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. By embracing lifelong learning, societies can cultivate innovative solutions and resilient mindsets essential for progress.
This sub-theme will underscore the crucial role that lifelong learning plays to secure a sustainable future. It will also explore the significant role of education in promoting sustainable development across various sectors. Moreover, it will highlight how lifelong learning can drive sustainable practices and encourage responsible global citizenship.
Discussions will focus on how the academe, government, and other stakeholders can create inclusive and accessible learning opportunities and pathways to develop resilient and inclusive societies. Topics for discussion include integrating lifelong learning into education policies, digital literacy and lifelong learning, community-based lifelong learning, global citizenship education, and interdisciplinary approaches to lifelong learning.
The possible topics for this sub-theme are the following:
This examines how lifelong learning fosters climate action and social equity by empowering individuals with the skills and knowledge to address environmental issues while ensuring fairness and inclusivity in community development.
This emphasizes developing and implementing creative education strategies that equip learners with the skills, knowledge, and values needed to be incorporated into the existing curricula to promote sustainability and address global challenges
effectively.
This highlights how lifelong learning equips individuals and communities with the knowledge and skills to adapt, innovate, and cope amidst challenges, fostering resilience and sustainable development.
Exploring innovative approaches that empower communities economically, socially, and environmentally is a central theme in ICGD4. Discussions in this sub-theme revolve around reshaping governance structures, leveraging technology for inclusive development, and fostering partnerships across sectors. The goal is not just to preserve existing systems but to catalyze transformative change that promotes resilience and equity.
Key topics include the role of digital innovation in enhancing service delivery and citizen engagement, the importance of regulatory frameworks that support entrepreneurship and social enterprises,
and the integration of traditional knowledge with modern practices for sustainable development. Participants share case studies and best practices from different regions, illustrating successful models of community-driven development and the role of responsive institutions in facilitating these initiatives.
This sub-theme will facilitate dialogues on policies that can eliminate barriers to social mobility, promote gender equality, and protect the environment. A key aspect of navigating complexities and promoting inclusive growth is adaptive leadership and institutional capacity-building.
Ultimately, innovative institutions for community development promote tangible actions that empower communities. Participants will thus be encouraged to envision and create institutional frameworks that both respond to current challenges and anticipate future needs, fostering collective commitment to worldwide sustainable and inclusive development.
The possible topics for this sub-theme are the following:
This highlights how digital technologies empower communities by providing better access to information and resources. These tools enable active participation in decision-making, helping solve problems and improve service quality for a more inclusive and responsive community.
This examines how traditional knowledge systems, still vital in many communities, can be complemented by modern technologies. By integrating Indigenous wisdom with scientific advancements, we can strengthen community resilience and create sustainable solutions for modern challenges.
This explores how organizations adapt to social challenges by reshaping policies and practices to ensure inclusivity and equity, addressing the needs of all community sectors effectively.
Development issues are ever complex and evolving, at various levels of governance, and against the backdrop of changing socioeconomic and political contexts. Thus, consensus on a shared development agenda across countries and local communities such as the SDGs have helped heighten consciousness on key areas of action, enabled opportunities as well as challenges, as well as mobilized various stakeholder groups from government and non-state institutions, business and industry, academic and R&D bodies, advocacy groups, among others.
Communities of Practice (CoPs) is an important movement that showcases how development work involving different individuals or actor groups become a viable mechanism in carrying out interventions towards solving development problems. CoPs facilitate exchange of ideas, best practices, and innovations that can strengthen local capacities. Accordingly, CoPs play a vital role in glocal development as they bridge the gap between local actions and global goals, fostering a collaborative environment where innovations are co-created and sustainable development is achieved.
This sub-theme will initiate conversation and deepen conceptual and practical understanding of CoPs and its theoretical underpinnings as it provides the anchor to solving development challenges of global and local relevance. Papers in this sub-theme may unpack the nature of CoPs, the underlying motivation on why and how they form, the development outcomes they often address, the facilitating and hindering factors that affect their sustainability, and the policy and institutional reforms associated with good practice.
The possible topics for this sub-theme are the following:
This theme emphasizes the importance of stakeholder collaboration within Communities of Practice (CoPs) to share knowledge, drive innovation, and collectively address challenges for sustainable development.
This theme explores how Communities of Practice (CoPs) promote the exchange of innovative ideas adaptable to local needs while supporting global development goals. Real-world case studies will illustrate how CoPs drive solutions for complex,
glocal challenges.
This emphasizes the main focus by Communities of Practice (CoPs) in addressing challenges and maximizing benefits in achieving global development goals while at the same time tailoring localized solutions.