International trade is a motor of the global economy and represents increasingly large volumes of exchanged goods, services, and financial flows. Yet, corruption in the trade chain hampers economic activity and entails important health and safety risks for societies.The 2016 OECD Integrity Forum will put the spotlight on this hidden tariff.

The Secretary-General spoke at the Anti-Corruption Summit, hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron. He also met with leaders attending the event and signed a memorandum of understanding with Italian National Anti-Corruption Authority.

The paper summarises views expressed by practitioners at a workshop in Beijing on 13-14 April 2016 with respect to contemporary challenges in international co-operation in corruption cases and possible solutions to mitigate these challenges. It has a practical orientation and is intended to contribute to ongoing dialogue at national and multilateral levels on enhancing international co-operation.

Archived Webinar - Friday, 12 February 2016, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (ET) - The Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) joined forces with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to host a joint U.S. release of the OECD’s new report Supporting Teacher Professionalism.

Archived webinar - Low-performing Students: Why they Fall Behind and How to Help them Succeed (February 10, 2016) with Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, OECD, and Daniel Salinas, Analyst, OECD.

If the quality of an education system can never exceed the quality of its teachers, then countries need to do all they can to build a high-quality teaching force.

26 Ministers and State Secretaries representing 15 countries and the European Commission gathered in Bergen, Norway, for the first Skills Summit on 29-30 June 2016. The Summit, hosted by Norway, was opened by Prime Minister Erna Solberg and the OECD’s Secretary General, Angel Gurría.

Education at a Glance 2016 - Country Notes

Archived webinar of September 15,2016 with Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, OECD, presenting the findings of Education at a Glance 2016.

Archived webinar - School Leadership for Learning: Insights from TALIS 2013 (September 20, 2016)

On December 6 2016 the Education Policy Institute will host the global launch of the 2015 results from the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) - a test of reading literacy, mathematics, and science given every three years to fifteen-year-olds in more than seventy countries and economies worldwide. This year's results will focus on science.

Bringing you the highlights from the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills

Start-ups are gaining momentum in Latin America's innovation strategies. Start-up Latin America: Promoting Innovation in the Region analyses the role of policies in promoting the creation and expansion of start-ups. It provides a comparative snapshot of recent initiatives in six countries in the region to identify good practices and foster knowledge sharing to improve innovation policy design and implementation.

The OECD will convene the 2016 edition of its Global Forum on Development on the theme of "From Commitment to Actual Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policies, data and financing", on 31 March 2016 in Paris.

11th edition of Trento Festival of Economics: the arena where economists, political and institutional stakeholders, researchers and journalists from all over the world, will exchange views and investigate the topic “Where growth takes place”.

How Africa urbanises will be critical to the continent’s future growth and development, says the African Economic Outlook 2016 released today at the African Development Bank Group’s 51st Annual Meetings.

The 2016 Forum will discuss the opportunities and challenges of the urbanisation process in Africa, looking into how to address informality in urban areas, the role of cities as drivers of economic transformation, and innovative ways to provide adequate and predictable financing for local governments and municipalities.

This year's Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum (GGSD Forum) focuses on the theme “Urban green growth, spatial planning and land-use”. Land use and spatial planning policies have implications for both the environment and the economy. Overall, consideration will be given to the potential for regional, rural and urban policy to contribute to green growth.

MARTHA KELNER: The 29-year-old spoke passionately about feeling betrayed by the very people she should have been able to trust to protect her as a clean athlete.

The virus, linked to cases of the microcephaly birth defect, has spread in Latin America and the Caribbean, leading athletes to consider whether to attend the Games.

Jessica Ennis-Hill faces a key test of her Olympic preparations in Germany this weekend when she competes in her first heptathlon since winning gold at last year's World Championships.

It was a far cry from Rio de Janeiro but Britain’s golden girl Jessica Ennis-Hill impressed as she put the final touches to her Olympic preparation at the Stretford Grand Prix in Manchester.

The American dipped under the 28-year-old time of 12.21, clocking 12.20 seconds at the London Anniversary Games to break the record set in Stara Zagora by Yordanka Donkova.

With the Rio Olympic Games just around the corner, Sir Chris Hoy - the most decorated Olympic cyclist of all time - has picked out his top 10 British athletes to watch out for.

Day eight saw Mo Farah win gold in the 10,000m, as Jess Ennis-Hill took silver in the heptathlon and Greg Rutherford claimed a bronze medal in the men's long jump competition.

Jessica Ennis-Hill remains on course to defend her Olympic heptathlon title with just two events remaining after producing a solid performance in the long jump.

MARTHA KELNER: Jessica Ennis-Hill won the most stunning of silver medals on Sunday, coming within two seconds of defending her title as Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam clinched gold.

Britain's bronze medal long jumper Greg Rutherford had an emotional reunion with his partner Susie Verrill and son Milo, while silver medallist Mark Cavendish also returned from Rio.

“The Outwin 2016: American Portraiture Today” exhibition is on view at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery from March 12, 2016 – January 8, 2017. The Outwin […]

The post The Outwin 2016: American Portraiture Today appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Jennifer Trask engages nature as both medium and subject matter, combining unexpected materials such as bone, vertebrae, butterfly wings, resin, metal, and antique frame fragments […]

The post Jennifer Trask – Visions and Revisions: Renwick Invitational 2016 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Steven Young Lee blends Eastern and Western traditions with anachronistic, often playful imagery and striking pattern in his porcelain works. His process allows the clay […]

The post Steven Young Lee-Visions and Revisions: Renwick Invitational 2016 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Up-to date scientific and technological research is vital to allow humans to adapt appropriately to our changing global environment, and current rates of environmental degradation and resource depletion. Effective research policies are essential to maintain or improve the standard of life for future populations – in Europe and globally.

Land and soil are limited natural resources essential to all human life. One of the major environmental challenges facing Europe is an increasing demand for development, which threatens ecosystem services. This Future Brief focuses on how land and soil could be used efficiently to continue to provide these functions and services for generations to come.

How does the law protect the environment? The responsibility for the legal protection of the environment rests largely with public authorities such as the police, local authorities or specialised regulatory agencies. However, more recently, attention has been focused on the enforcement of environmental law — how it should most effectively be implemented, how best to ensure compliance, and how best to deal with breaches of environmental law where they occur. This Thematic Issue presents recent research into the value of emerging networks of enforcement bodies, the need to exploit new technologies and strategies, the use of appropriate sanctions and the added value of a compliance assurance conceptual framework.

The ship-recycling industry — which dismantles old and decommissioned ships, enabling the re-use of valuable materials — is a major supplier of steel and an important part of the economy in many countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Turkey. However, mounting evidence of negative impacts undermines the industry’s contribution to sustainable development. This Thematic Issue presents a selection of recent research on the environmental and human impacts of shipbreaking.

Lower socioeconomic status is generally associated with poorer health, and both air and noise pollution contribute to a wide range of other factors influencing human health. But do these health inequalities arise because of increased exposure to pollution, increased sensitivity to exposure, increased vulnerabilities, or some combination? This In-depth Report presents evidence on whether people in deprived areas are more affected by air and noise pollution — and suffer greater consequences — than wealthier populations.

New dietary guidelines put a limit on added sugar, and changed their tune on dietary cholesterol. Good news for egg lovers.

Pike Research forecasts huge boost in NGV market — but there will only be 26,000 natural gas refueling stations worldwide.

Earth has broken temperature records for 14 months in a row, and 2016 will almost certainly be the hottest year on record. Yet there is still time to intervene

For several countries, the switch from coal to renewable energy is paying off in our attempt to reduce global carbon emissions — but we still have work to do.

Here are the films to catch at the country's largest environmental film fest — including one about making saké and the tragic industry of trophy hunting.

Don't dwell on the bad stuff that happened in 2016. Take a look at the year's best news.

The project will utilize a 2,000-meter barrier, making it the largest floating structure ever deployed in the ocean.

55 mpg would be great, but an Eco model would be even better.

From measuring our oceans to studying Jupiter, we'll learn more about space in 2016.

The end-of-year best cookbook lists are out, and they offer plenty of cooking inspiration for the new year.

Entrepreneur and Artist from California brings his eco-friendly product line to Kickstarter to further develop his brand.