Events & Talks
Selected speaking engagements, conference presentations, and panel discussions.
Webinar: Effective Reading Instruction in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: What the Evidence Shows
📍 Virtual
Session: GEEAP-endorsed literacy report global launch panel discussion
Organizers: World BankGlobal Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP)FCDOUNICEF
GEEAP is an independent, cross-disciplinary body of renowned researchers co-convened by the World Bank, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and UNICEF. The webinar presented the GEEAP-endorsed paper "Effective Reading Instruction in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: What the Evidence Shows," synthesizing evidence from 151 studies across 160+ languages on what works in reading instruction and the critical skills for literacy success. Panel discussed implications, promises, and implementation challenges for scaling evidence-based literacy instruction globally.
ADEA Triennale 2025
📍 Accra, Ghana
Session: Measurement in Foundational Learning in Africa
Organizers: ADEAGhana Ministry of EducationAfrican Development Bank
The ADEA Triennale is Africa's flagship ministerial-level forum on education, themed 'Strengthening the resilience of Africa's educational systems: advancing towards ending learning poverty by 2035.' Panel under Sub-Theme 5 (Using Evidence and Digital Technology) discussed approaches to measuring foundational learning, data quality challenges, and coordination between regional and global monitoring frameworks including AFLAI and CESA.
ARFSD-11 Side Event
📍 Virtual
Session: The State of African Children: Harnessing Data for Policy Action and SDG Acceleration
Organizers: UNICEFAfrican Union CommissionUNECA
Launch of the State of African Children Statistical Compendium
CIES 2025
📍 Chicago, USA
Session: Digital tools and data-driven approaches in foundational learning
56th UN Statistical Commission Side Event
📍 New York, USA
Session: AI & Data Quality: A Critical Intersection for Official Statistics
Organizers: UNICEFPARIS21OECD Statistics
UNSC side event: Technology-Facilitated Violence against Children & ICVAC implementation strategy
📍 Labouisse Hall, New York, USA
Session: Launch of UNICEF data brief on TFVAC; implementation strategy for ICVAC
UN56SC Side Event: Africa Expert Group on Child-and Adolescent-Related Statistics
📍 Maurice Pate conference room, New York, USA
Session: Establishing an Africa expert group on child-related statistics
7th OECD World Forum on Well-being
📍 Rome, Italy
Session: Child well-being agenda
20th anniversary of OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy. Co-organized with Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, ISTAT, Bank of Italy. Part of Italian G7 Presidency.
9th Africa Statistical Conference
📍 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Session: Multiple sessions: Child-centric Surveys & MICS Programme; Health Data Analytics; Data Governance for Children; Expert group on child-related statistics
Theme: Unleashing the Potential of African Innovation in Statistical Development
14th IAEG-SDG
📍 Copenhagen, Denmark
Session: Presenting methodology from UNICEF Child Wellbeing report
Discussed criteria for the upcoming 2025 Comprehensive Review
UNICEF Pakistan — PITB Delegation Visit
📍 Lahore, Pakistan
Session: ICT Interventions and Data Analytics Collaboration
Organizers: UNICEFPITB
Led UNICEF Headquarters delegation to Punjab Information Technology Board to discuss potential areas of collaboration on ICT interventions, education-centric solutions, and government-wide data-sharing platforms. PITB DG provided briefing on IT initiatives in education sector. PITB lauded by UNICEF team for education-centric IT solutions.
Pakistan DataFest 2024
📍 Islamabad, Pakistan
Session: Data For Life and Equity: Closing Human Capital Gaps
Organizers: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
Keynote speaker at Pakistan's premier data conference organized by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Panel 'Data As a Powerful Tool for Change' focused on using data to support equity and access to education, what data tells us about educational equity in Pakistan, challenges in data use for advocacy, and promising practices in data-driven decision-making.
14th NIC.br Annual Workshop on Survey Methodology
📍 São Paulo, Brazil
Session: Improving ICT data quality and availability: combining new methodological approaches
Organizers: NIC.br - Brazilian Network Information CenterENCE - National School of Statistical Sciences
Keynote address at Brazil's premier survey methodology workshop. Presented innovations in child-centric survey design and data collection from the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) program.
NYU GPH Industry Seminar / PQAR Symposium
📍 New York, USA
Session: Biostatistics & Data Science careers panel / PQAR Symposium day
IDAC Steering Committee
📍 Virtual
Session: First Steering Committee meeting of the International Data Alliance for Children on the Move
Organizers: EurostatIOMOECDUNHCRUNICEF
Charted the course for advancing the mission to improve data and statistics on migrant and displaced children
Africa Gender Statistics Workshop
📍 Africa
Discussed innovations in MICS 7 programme and linking EMIS data with household survey data
CIES 2024
📍 Miami, USA
Session: Advancing Education Measurement for SDG 4.1.1(a): Improving Assessment Tools, Methods, and Reporting
CIES 2024
📍 Miami, USA
Session: Learning Equity Audits: Measuring the crisis within the 'learning crisis'
UNECE/UNICEF Meeting on Children's Statistics
📍 Geneva, Switzerland
Session: Data Collection Innovations; Enhancing Data on Disabilities; Violence and Alternative Care
107 participants from diverse nations shaping the future of child welfare statistics
56th UN Statistical Commission Side Event
📍 New York, USA
Session: Child Poverty Measurement
Discussed consensual approach and MODA framework for child poverty measurement
AFW Education Regional Event – Closing Panel
📍 Virtual
Session: Closing panel
Ensuring free access to the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) data for UN entities
📍 New York, USA
Session: Technical/policy roundtable on LIS access
55th UN Statistical Commission
📍 New York, USA
Session: Celebrating 30 years of Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
Preparation for 2025 Global Indicator Framework review
UNICEF Side Event — Accelerating Progress on Child-Related SDGs: Insights and Actions
📍 New York, USA
Session: Benchmarking progress on child-related SDGs
FAO/UNICEF Side Event on Food Security & Nutrition statistics
📍 New York, USA
Session: Food security and nutrition data & statistics
Better data for better children's lives: Reimagining NSS through a child‑centered approach
📍 New York, USA
Session: Closed roundtable with G20 NSOs on child‑centred NSS
UNESCO Conference on Education Data and Statistics
📍 Paris, France
Session: UNICEF contribution to Early Childhood Education agenda
Presented UNICEF's role in scaling the ECE initiative through SDG 4.2.1 custodianship, ECDI2030, and MICS
Seminário on-line: Progresso no Bem-Estar das Crianças – Centrando os Direitos da Criança na Agenda 2030
📍 Virtual (Brasília host)
Session: Seminário IPEA
51st National Meeting of Economics (ANPEC)
📍 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Session: UNICEF Special Session: Advancing the sustainable development agenda for children and adolescents in Brazil and Latin America - Progress and learnings for accelerated action
Organizers: ANPECUNICEF
Organized UNICEF Special Session at Brazil's premier economics conference, bringing together top policymakers and researchers to discuss accelerated action for children's SDG agenda. Panel included the Federal Government Planning Secretary and leading economists.
14th IAEG-SDG
📍 Copenhagen, Denmark
Session: 2025 Comprehensive Review criteria
Discussed how agencies can support the SDG indicator review agenda
World Bank Tokyo Online Morning Seminar #152
📍 Tokyo, Japan (Virtual)
Session: The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update
Organizers: World Bank Tokyo Office
Co-authored the flagship State of Global Learning Poverty 2022 Update report with six major international organizations. Presented key findings to Japanese development community.
World Bank Annual Meetings 2022: Investing in Education
📍 Washington, DC, USA
Session: At the Heart of a Resilient Future: Investing in Education for Our Children and Youth
Organizers: World Bank
Flagship Annual Meetings event moderated by World Bank President David Malpass and featuring UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. Presented alongside ministers of finance and development leaders on the global learning crisis and recovery strategies. Event available in Arabic, French, and Spanish.
39th International System Dynamics Conference
📍 Virtual (Chicago, USA)
Organizers: System Dynamics Society
Peer-reviewed paper presentation at the 39th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society. Developed novel system dynamics simulation model to analyze COVID-19's long-term impacts on human capital accumulation and learning outcomes. Model used by World Bank country teams for policy dialogue.
Global Education Summit Side Event
📍 Virtual
Session: Learning Data Compact (LDC)
Organizers: UNESCO Institute for StatisticsWorld BankUNICEF
Presented initiative to ensure all countries have quality learning data by 2025
Fundação Lemann / Instituto Natura / Estadão Debate
📍 Brazil
Session: O Futuro das Avaliações Educacionais: Importância e Desafios da Avaliação no Contexto da COVID-19
Discussed importance of conducting SAEB 2021 to identify learning losses and inform recovery policies
World Economic Forum
📍 Virtual
Session: COVID-19 has fuelled a global 'learning poverty' crisis
Published article on the global learning crisis exacerbated by COVID-19
UNESCO Technical Cooperation Group on SDG 4 Indicators (TCG6)
📍 International
Session: Technical guidance on SDG 4 education indicators
Represented World Bank as Lead Economist in technical cooperation group
Jean Monnet Chair SAMPLEU Workshop: Small Area Methods and Living Conditions Indicators in European Poverty Studies
📍 Pisa, Italy
Session: Day 1 Opening - European poverty studies at local level
Organizers: University of PisaJean Monnet Chair SAMPLEUEuropean Commission
Opening keynote speaker at three-day EU-funded workshop on poverty measurement methods. One of three keynote speakers alongside Prof. Partha Lahiri (U. Maryland) and Prof. Luigi Biggeri (U. Florence). Workshop funded under EU Jean Monnet Programme.
UNECE Expert Meeting on Measuring Poverty and Inequality
📍 Budva, Montenegro
Session: G. Spatial patterns of poverty
Organizers: UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeConference of European Statisticians
Invited to present three papers on spatial poverty measurement at UNECE expert meeting. Topics included Atkinson Commission recommendations, poverty mapping policy applications, and Index of Multiple Deprivations methodology. Meeting brought together statisticians from 30+ countries.
2017 Stata Conference
📍 Baltimore, USA
Session: Small Area Estimation/Poverty Map in Stata
Organizers: Stata Users Group
Peer-reviewed presentation introducing the sae Stata package for poverty mapping. Package widely adopted by World Bank teams and national statistical offices globally. Citation: Nguyen, Corral Rodas, Azevedo & Zhao (2017). 2017 Stata Conference 20, Stata Users Group. RePEc:boc:scon17:20
Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association Annual Meeting (LACEA)
📍 Latin America
Organizers: LACEA
11th Meeting of the Network on Inequality and Poverty (NIP)
📍 Latin America
Organizers: NIP - Network on Inequality and PovertyIDBWorld BankECLAC
Organized the 11th annual meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Network on Inequality and Poverty
UNESCO International Literacy Conference: From Literacy to Lifelong Learning
📍 Mexico City, Mexico
Session: Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation of Literacy and Youth & Adult Education
Organizers: UNESCOGovernment of Mexico
Invited speaker at UNESCO's flagship international literacy conference. Selected to present 10-minute presentation on Brazil's adult literacy evaluation system (Brasil Alfabetizado). Conference brought together international experts, practitioners, and policymakers to address literacy challenges worldwide.
10th Meeting of the Network on Inequality and Poverty (NIP)
📍 Latin America
Organizers: NIP - Network on Inequality and PovertyIDBWorld BankECLAC
Organized the 10th annual meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Network on Inequality and Poverty, a leading regional forum for poverty and inequality research
XXXV Encontro Nacional de Economia (ANPEC)
📍 Recife, Brazil
Organizers: ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia
Peer-reviewed paper accepted for presentation and publication in conference proceedings. Presented evaluation of innovative public safety program that later became a national reference in Brazil for violence prevention policy.
UNESCO Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy
📍 New Delhi, India
Session: Literacy Challenges in South, South-West and Central Asia: Building Partnerships and Promoting Innovative Approaches
Organizers: UNESCO
Invited by Prof. Phyllis Magrab (UNESCO Chair, Georgetown University) to attend UNESCO Regional Conference and participate in exclusive pre-conference meeting of university professors to discuss creating networks and North-South university collaboration for furthering the United Nations Literacy Agenda. Conference addressed literacy challenges across South, South-West and Central Asia.
NRDC International Conference 2007
📍 Nottingham, UK
Organizers: NRDC - National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and NumeracyInstitute of Education, University of London
Invited workshop leader at UK's premier adult literacy research conference. Recommended by Timothy Ireland (Brazilian Ministry of Education) to present Brazil's adult literacy evaluation system. The NRDC is a consortium led by the Institute of Education, University of London, and the Bedford Group for Lifecourse and Statistical Studies. Travel, accommodation, and participation fully sponsored by NRDC. Presented jointly with Vera Masagão Ribeiro from Ação Educativa.
Eighth Annual Global Development Conference
📍 Kuwait City, Kuwait
Organizers: {"name"=>"Global Development Network (GDN)", "role"=>"main_organizer"}{"name"=>"Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD)", "role"=>"host"}
Invited participant at GDN's flagship annual conference, the premier gathering of development researchers from around the world. Travel, accommodation, and full participation sponsored by GDN. The Global Development Network is an international organization that supports high quality, policy-oriented research in developing and transition countries.
Encontro da Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria
📍 Brazil
Organizers: SBE - Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria
XXVIII Encontro Brasileiro de Econometria
📍 Brazil
Organizers: SBE - Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria
LACEA-LAMES 2006 Parallel Meetings
📍 Mexico City, Mexico
Session: Education II
Organizers: LACEAEconometric SocietyITAM
Peer-reviewed paper presentation at joint LACEA-LAMES meetings. Co-authored with Prof. Peter Dolton (Royal Holloway) and Prof. Jeffrey Smith (University of Michigan). Applied semi-parametric matching methods to evaluate UK welfare-to-work program.
LACEA-LAMES 2006 Parallel Meetings
📍 Mexico City, Mexico
Organizers: LACEAITAM
Second paper presented at LACEA 2006. Sole-authored research using administrative records from microfinance institutions to analyze credit constraints on microentrepreneurs in favelas.
XII Seminário sobre a Economia Mineira
📍 Diamantina, Brazil
Organizers: Cedeplar/UFMG - Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional
Peer-reviewed paper accepted for presentation at Brazil's most prestigious regional economics conference. Accommodation and meals sponsored by Cedeplar.
Diferentes Diferenças: Caminhos de uma Educação de Qualidade para Todos
📍 Brazil
Session: Mesa-redonda: Brasil Alfabetizado - Plano de Avaliação e os seus primeiros resultados
Presented first results of the evaluation plan for Brasil Alfabetizado adult literacy program
Encontro Nacional da ANPEC
📍 Natal, Brazil
Organizers: ANPEC
10th Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association Annual Meeting (LACEA)
📍 Latin America
Organizers: LACEA
Academic Seminar
📍 Brazil
DIMAC Seminar
📍 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Organizers: IPEA - DIMAC
Presented at IPEA's Directorate of Macroeconomic Studies and Policies seminar series
XXXII Encontro Nacional de Economia (ANPEC)
📍 Brazil
Organizers: ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia
16th Annual Conference of the European Association of Labour Economists (EALE)
📍 Lisbon, Portugal
Organizers: European Association of Labour Economists
Unlocking Human Potential: Linking the Informal and Formal Sectors
📍 International
1st ABEP/Oxford Centre for Brazilian Studies Conference
📍 Oxford, UK
Organizers: ABEPUniversity of Oxford Centre for Brazilian Studies
Examined determinants of labour market earnings and inequality in 51 favelas using unique dataset of 21,704 households with GIS data
1st ABEP/Oxford Centre for Brazilian Studies Conference
📍 Oxford, UK
Organizers: ABEPUniversity of Oxford Centre for Brazilian Studies
Analyzed 4,500 entrepreneurs from favelas examining the role of traditional financial institutions on microentrepreneur performance and labor mobility
8th Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association Annual Meeting (LACEA)
📍 Latin America
Organizers: LACEA
15th Annual Conference of the European Association of Labour Economists (EALE)
📍 Europe
Organizers: European Association of Labour Economists
3rd Annual International Conference: Finance for Growth and Poverty Reduction
📍 International
Session: Experience and Policies for Developing Countries
2003 International Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Conference
📍 International
International Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Conference
📍 International
2002 Conference of the ESRC Development Economics Study Group
📍 UK
Organizers: ESRC - Economic and Social Research Council
4th Heidelberg Workshop on Theoretical and Empirical Studies in Microfinance
📍 Heidelberg, Germany
Organizers: University of Heidelberg
28th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Economics Association (ANPEC)
📍 Brazil
Organizers: ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia
Analysis of Brazilian export performance to the United States, examining the role of NAFTA and exchange rate on Brazilian competitiveness