Join CESR during the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok

Debt burdens, austerity and privatization are undermining public services and restricting governments’ ability to advance human rights across the Global South. Women and marginalized communities bear a disproportionate share of these costs.

CESR will join partners and allies in Bangkok during the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings to challenge these policies and advance alternatives grounded in human rights, gender justice and democratic accountability. If you’re in Bangkok, join us for the following discussions.

A Feminist Approach to Macroeconomics: Challenging Austerity and Advancing Women’s Rights through Debt, Tax and Climate Justice

How can economic policy advance women’s rights instead of deepening inequality? This thematic session will explore feminist approaches to macroeconomics, connecting the struggle against austerity with demands for debt, tax and climate justice.

Part of the wider civil society mobilization alongside the Annual Meetings, the discussion will bring together advocates to consider how economic frameworks can better support gender justice and the realization of women’s rights.

Date: Monday, 12 October 2026

Time: 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Venue: Orchid 1, 3rd Floor, Ambassador Hotel, Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Challenging Austerity and Privatization: Advancing Public Services and Human Rights

CESR Executive Director Maria Ron Balsera will speak at this thematic session examining how international financial institutions shape the financing and governance of public services.

Bringing together civil society organizations, trade unions, researchers and grassroots movements, the discussion will explore the consequences of austerity and privatization across essential sectors, including health, education, energy, water and social protection. Participants will exchange experiences and discuss alternatives rooted in public ownership, democratic governance and human rights.

Date: Monday, 12 October 2026

Time: 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Venue: Orchid 1, 3rd Floor, Ambassador Hotel, Bangkok

Financing Gender Equality in a Time of Fiscal Constraint: Delivering on the Seville Commitments

CESR Executive Director Maria Ron Balsera will also present at this side event, exploring how to turn the Seville commitments into action. The discussion will examine debt, austerity and feminist accountability, advancing rights-based alternatives that protect public services and expand investment in women and girls.

Bringing together governments, international institutions and feminist civil society, the event will explore how debt burdens, shrinking aid and austerity constrain investment in gender equality. Discussions will address gender-responsive budgeting, transparent fiscal data and feminist monitoring of implementation. Maria's contribution will highlight the human rights case for gender-responsive debt restructuring and alternatives to IMF-driven fiscal consolidation that protect health, education and social protection while advancing a gender-just economic system.

Partners: Spain, International Budget Partnership, FEMNET, CESR and MENAFEM
Format: in-person, multi-stakeholder dialogue
Date: Tuesday 13th October
Time: 12:00pm to 1:30pm
Venue: Deprime Rangnam Hotel, Bangkok

Rising Cost of Development Finance: How the Bretton Woods Institutions Can Deliver Development

Partners: African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, Latindadd, Global Policy Forum Europe , Centre for Science and Environment India, Third World Network, Christian Aid, Bretton Woods Project, ActionAid International, Center for Economic and Social Rights
Date: Tuesday 13th October
Time: 1:00pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Room 2-210C and online

The global financial architecture continues to constrain sustainable development and the just energy transition through unequal access to affordable finance, inadequate crisis response mechanisms, and outdated governance structures. Debt and climate vulnerabilities continue to deepen as developing countries face prohibitively high borrowing costs and shrinking fiscal space. Under these conditions, demands for reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions have become increasingly urgent.

CESR is proud to cosponsor this session at the Civil Society Policy Forum, which will examine how the World Bank, IMF and other multilateral development banks can address structural barriers through reforms to global governance and sovereign debt architecture. The session will reflect on new research and explore practical pathways for reducing the cost of capital, easing of debt distress and expanding fiscal space to support a just energy transition while advancing a more equitable and development-oriented global financial architecture.

The Top Line: Measuring Wealth Concentration for Poverty Reduction, Inclusive Development and Democratic Accountability 

Partners: Oxfam International, Patriotic Millionaires International, ICRICT, CESR, MenaFem Movement for Economic Development and Ecological Justice, Latindadd, and Christian Aid.
Date: Wednesday, 14 October 2026
Time: 9:00-10:30am (ICT)
Venue: Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok - Room 2-211D

This discussion will center around whether creating an "Extreme Wealth Line"—drawing lessons from how global poverty lines are used—can make concentrated high wealth more visible, measurable, and accountable. Panels and organizers will question if major World Bank and IMF goals (such as poverty eradication, job creation, inclusive growth, and fiscal sustainability) can truly be achieved without concrete metrics to assess the economic risks posed by extreme wealth concentration.

All times are local to Bangkok.