The Forum high-level event took place from 27-28 May. It included 50 in-depth sessions with over 150 expert speakers from science, economics, civil society, business and politics, including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined Mario Draghi, Italian Prime Minister and Chairman of the G20, at the opening of the Global Solutions Summit. The heads of state discussed opportunities for international cooperation to tackle the Covid epidemic.
The participation of the German Chancellor and the Italian Prime Minister at the Global Solutions Summit is a testament to the importance of their multilateral approach to tackling global problems. Only when countries cooperate across borders according to relevant social groups can we overcome the great challenges of our time. While the current pandemic is the latest example of this requirement, the same holds true for climate change, financial market regulation and digital governance, says Dennis J. Snower, head of the Global Solutions Initiative.
The summit aims to set the course for addressing the most pressing global problems, such as recovery from the pandemic, climate action and the digital divide, within the G20 framework. More than 150 speakers will participate in the summit, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Mario Draghi, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Angel Gurria, Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and the President of the African Union. Felix Cheskede. Among the many other high-level representatives, the Vice-Presidents of the European Union Commission Valdes Dombrowski (An Economy that Works for People), Vara Gurova (Values and Transparency) and Franz Timmermans (European Green Deal) will also participate, as well as other EU representatives and German ministers Christine Lambrecht. (Justice and Consumer Protection), Olaf Schultz (Vice Chancellor and Finance), Svenia Schulz (Environment) and Jens Spahn (Health).
The Global Solutions Summit is a stepping stone to this year's G20 summit, an opportunity to assess and reflect on policy recommendations on broad G20 issues. Its overarching theme is "The Great Reorganization," reflecting the urgent need to bring economic, social and environmental prosperity back into alignment with one another. “The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how fragile many achievements are: inequalities were highlighted and confidence tested in governments where individual freedoms had to be restricted. Meanwhile, global challenges remain - economic recovery, pandemic preparedness, Geopolitical rivalries, technological disruption, climate change, loss of biodiversity, and migration pressures. In some respects, the international community has fought past battles rather than future battles: preserving current jobs rather than boosting future ones through massive fiscal spending packages, and protective health policies. There have also been many examples of policy innovation, such as the Green New Deal and building back better. But we are not moving fast enough to a “new normal” through a comprehensive regime change. We will do better by promoting reorganization. Great ".
The Global Solutions Summit will contribute to the "Great Reorganization" in five areas:
Economic reorganization requires a systemic transformation to ensure that economic activity truly enhances societal well-being and operates within the limits of the planet.
Environmental reorganization requires that we leave to the next generation an environment that is at least as healthy as the one we received from the previous generation.
Governance reorganization requires a multi-centered governance mindset in which multiple actors collaborate across levels (from micro to macro) and across domains (economics, health, technology, security, welfare, etc.) to spark broad collective action.
Technological reorganization requires mechanisms, organization, and principles to ensure that technological innovations contribute to human well-being and societal progress.
Social reorganization requires a focus on social cohesion and prosperity and entails visions of a new social contract.
