INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
CHILD DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS: NEW APPROACHE TO CHILD WELL-BEING
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
6 NOVEMBER, 2018
DESCRIPTION
The conference is on Child Development Accounts. Child Development Accounts (CDAs) are savings
or investment accounts that begin as early as birth as they first suggested by CSD Director Michael
Sherraden in his book "Assets and the Poor". In many cases, public and private matching funds are deposited
into these accounts to supplement savings for the child. The purpose of CDAs is to promote savings and asset
building for lifelong development. Therefore, CDAs may can be opened to supplemental education and
experiences in childhood, post-secondary education for youth, and home ownership and enterprise
development in adulthood. CDAs allow parents and children to accumulate savings to ensure a confident
start for child after 18 years old.
The conference is organized by Azerbaijan Social Work Public Union, Center for Social Development
at the Washington University in St. Louis and New Age Institute with support of Council on State Support to
Non-Governmental Organizations under the Auspices of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Professor Michael Sherraden: “1. Child Development Accounts: Research and Policy Design
and; 2 Child Development Accounts in Singapore”
Professor Sherraden is the founder of Child Development Accounts concept. He is
founding director of the Center for Social Development at the Brown School.
Working with colleagues at CSD and many partners, Sherraden creates and tests
innovations to improve social and economic well-being. He has defined and
informed a growing body of applied research and policy to promote inclusion in
asset building. This work has influenced asset-based policies and programs in the
U.S. and many other countries. His research results have also informed inclusive
and progressive child development accounts (CDAs) in St. Louis, other U.S. cities and states, and
internationally.
Sherraden was elected to the inaugural class of the American Academy of Social Work and Social
Welfare, serves on the board, and is a co-director of the national initiative Grand Challenges for Social Work.
Among other awards, he has been a Fulbright Scholar and listed by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most
influential people in the world.
Li Zou, MSW, MBA: “Child Development Accounts Policies: E xamplesa nd Perspectives from
Asia” and;
2 “Child Development Accounts in China”
Li Zou is International Director at the Center for Social Development (CSD).
She leads CSD's international asset-building work, and directs the five-year
large-scale YouthSave Project in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal. She
has contributed to CSD's consulting and research efforts on asset-building
policy and children’s savings accounts for governments in China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, and South Korea. Ms. Zou has coauthored articles on asset- building for and guest-edited several
international academic journals, and publishes in both English and Mandarin. Ms. Zou holds a Master’s
degree in Social Work and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to her current
appointment, she worked for CGAP housed at the World Bank on advancing financial access for the poor in
China.
Professor Daniel Gottlieb: “Child Development Accounts in Israel”
Dr. Gottlieb is Deputy Director General of Research and Planning at the National
Insurance Institute, and a lecturer on economic policy and social policy at the School
of Social Work in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He holds a Ph.D. in
economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and completed his B.A. and
M.A. degrees at the University of Zurich and the London School of Economics,
respectively. Between 1986 – 1988 Dr. Gottlieb worked as an economist for the
International Monetary Fund. He then began to work as an economist in the economic unit of the Foreign
Currency Department at the Bank of Israel, and later served as chief economist in the bank’s research
department. He also served for 12 years as a senior consultant to BOI governors Yaakov Frenkel, David
Klein, and Stanley Fischer. In his research, Gottlieb looked at issues such as monetary policy, inflation, the
capital account of the balance of payments, public debt, the optimal level of the country’s foreign currency
reserves, liberalization of foreign currency, macroeconomic policy, and public policy. Since 2000, Gottlieb’s
research has focused on social-economic policy, in particular, on the issues of poverty and the labor market.
Over the years he has published many research studies in professional journals, and has written chapters in
books on economy and society.
Aytakin Huseynli, MSW, PhD Student: “Possibility of ChildD evelopment Accounts Policies in
Post-Soviet Countries: Policy Design for Azerbaijan”
Aytakin Huseynli is a doctoral student in social work at the Brown School at
Washington University where she also earned her masters of social work (MSW)
degree. Her research interests include social welfare in resource-rich countries,
international social work and social development. Teaching interests are natural
resources and social development, international social work, social policies and
services, statistics and research methods. Before entering the doctoral program, she
served as a country director of Hilfswerk Austria International, National Advisor of
UNICEF on Child Protection & Social Work and Second Deputy Member of Executive Committee at
International Federation of Social Workers. She also founded and served as the chair of the Azerbaijan Social
Work Public Union (AZSWU) which is the association of professional social workers in Azerbaijan
(www.azswu.org). Prior to the doctoral program, Huseynli’s work encompassed educational, program, and
policy development in Azerbaijan.
Currently, she serves on Editorial Boards of International Social Work Journal and International
Journal of School Social Work. She is the member of Social Services in the Context of Conflict Network and
continues her leadership as a Board Member and Chair for AZSWU.
Presenters from Russia, Moldova, Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Northern Cyprus and Kazakhstan will
present about measures/policies on child financial stability from their countries.
Eligibility
All practitioners of social policy, social work and child specialists are welcome to participate in the
conference. You can also apply for presenting on child poverty and child financial stability measures/policies
in your country.
Costs
Participation in the conference is free of charge. However, all participants are expected to cover their
own travel and accommodation expenses. Organizers will provide a visa support.
Registration:
For attending and/or presenting at the conference, please fill in application form in the following link:
Deadline for application: October 31, 2018
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]
For more information and updates, please check the Azerbaijan Social Work Public Union’s website or
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