The face of Global Development Finance is changing. The international financial system has entered into a remarkable period of transition, relative to a few years ago. Numerous countries have repaid their debts to the IMF ahead of schedule, leaving the Fund with a US$103 million shortfall in fiscal year 2007. Many of these same countries have indicated that they will not return to the IMF because of the burdensome conditions that it imposes on debtors. In its place, new institutions and new sources of finance are emerging. Increasingly, Southern governments are seeking real alternatives to the Bank and Fund: a Bank of the South is emerging in Latin America, an $80 billion Monetary Fund has been created in Asia, and both China and India are providing Africa with condition-free financing that far surpasses current Bank allocations. But these new alternatives are not without their own challenges.
What: The Changing Face of Global Development Finance – Impacts and implications for aid, development, the South and the Bretton Woods Institutions Who: Organized by the Halifax Initiative Coalition; co-hosted by the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, The North-South Institute and the Reality of Aid Network.
When: February 1 - 2, 2008.
Where: Rideau Room, Sheraton Ottawa Hotel, 150 Albert Street (between Metcalfe and O'Connor), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Why: The conference will look at some of the emerging alternatives, as well as the opportunities and challenges they present, with respect to the current international financial system and its institutions. Conference fees: $40 per day for non-Halifax Initiative members; $35 per day for HI members | 
