LSE and the Inter-American Development Bank announce partnership to collaborate on key issues in Latin America and the Carribean

The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote programs and projects that foster cooperation between them, given their common focus on the Latin American and Caribbean region.

The partnership represents a commitment to pursue collaboration in the areas of knowledge production, knowledge exchange and dissemination to expand the reach and impact of knowledge products, knowledge transfer and thought leadership related to the advancement of the Latin America and Caribbean region.

At LSE, the relationship with the IDB Group will be led by the LSE Latin American and Caribbean Centre (LACC), which was created in January 2016 to lead the university’s research and public engagement with the region.

The partnership was formally announced on Wednesday 4 October at the first LSE-IDB conference entitled "Skills for Development in a Changing World," which was opened by LSE Director, Dame Minouche Shafik. The event, inspired by the IDB’s flagship publication "Learning Better: Public Policy for Skills Development", explored the obstacles and opportunities related to the region’s skills gap, and discussed the future of skills in the region, the implications of a new "skills economy," the gender divisions of labour, and other issues related to this topic.

"The labour market is evolving rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean and around the world and we must invest and innovate to ensure our citizens to acquire the skills they need to thrive," remarked Bernardo Guillamón, Manager of the Office of Outreach and Partnerships at the IDB. "We are pleased to partner with the London School of Economics and Political Science to highlight the importance of this issue and to brainstorm new solutions that can help us build a brighter future for the region."