Global Solutions and Geopolitical Anxieties #GSS2024

The 2024 G20 Summit will take place in Rio de Janeiro, #Brazil, next November. The Global Solutions Summit, held annually in close collaboration with the #G20 presidency, engages the T20 (Task Forces) to propose policy recommendations for the G20 and #G7. For example, last year, when the G20 was held in #India, there was significant Indian representation at the summit, including policymakers, think tank members, and experts. In contrast, the Brazilian representation this year #GSS2024 has been minimal. This could be due to Brazil's lack of mobilization to organize the G20 Summit or the deteriorating foreign relations of #Germany with Brazil and many countries in the Global South because of the war in Gaza, Lula's economic policies and international stances.

The summit's them for this year, "Moving Beyond the Crisis: Mobilizing Change for Global Prosperity," already reflects the geopolitical anxieties facing the world today. This contrasts with the 2023 summit's theme, "Realigning Societies: Towards a Sustainable, Inclusive, and Common Future," and the 2022 theme, "Listen to the World: Promoting Social Well-Being Within Planetary Boundaries."

Despite this, several panels and conversations were very insightful and eye-opening, highlighting the dichotomy between proposing solutions and acknowledging the multilayered crises. A couple of panels and keynote speeches were particularly interesting as they triggered several questions, which I will briefly summarize:

1. Human Flourishing: Holistic Metrics for Collective Well-Being:

There is a growing discussion about measuring economic development beyond GDP growth. Several models inspired by the SDGs, the Prosperity Index, and others are being proposed to measure #wellbeing as the economic output. One interesting contribution was by Professor Kim Samuel, who suggested adding 'Belonging' as a dimension of well-being. The panelist claimed that whatever is not measured is not achieved. This issue of #Belonging triggered several questions:

? ? - Is Belonging a global priority for well-being, or is it a Western issue?

? ? - Why do immigrants, often maintain a strong sense of Belonging to their origins, after moving from the #GlobalSouth to the #GlobalNorth seeking prosperity and security?

? ? - How is Belonging a right if citizens cannot claim it from the government?

? ? - Can Belonging as an outcome be separated from identity, i.e., a sense of Belonging to a group of people with common characteristics such as geography, culture, or religion, knowing that it is exclusive by nature of other identities?

? ? - How can a metric measuring well-being become an instrument to remedy the structural challenges facing the global economy today, while wealth is increasing, technology is advancing, and human consciousness is evolving?

2. Privacy, Profitability, and Innovation:

This panel oscillated between the importance of data for technological advancement in #health, #education, and #economicdevelopment, and the significant risks of what one panelist called "surveillance capitalism," resulting in the control of human #freedom, minds and behaviors, by big tech companies with limited government ability to regulate it:

? ? - How can we regulate tech innovation, particularly #AI, to incentivize innovation while protecting citizens' privacy?

? ? - What are the risks of AGI making decisions based on data without human intervention?

? ? - Can a price tag be put on private data, and should people be paid when their data is used by companies for their AI models?

? ? - What is the cost of privacy on human development and technological advancement?

? ? - How can AI remain an instrument for human development rather than a profit-driven commodity?

3. Two Keynote Speeches by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Bill Gates:?

Despite the seniority and influence of the two speakers, the hype in the room was limited when they made their speeches. Chancellor Scholz focused on "moving beyond the crisis," highlighting the poly-crisis that Germany is facing due to the Ukraine war, economic slowdown, and climate change. The speech was brief and not followed by a Q&A session, with little focus on the way out of the crisis. The only point, commonly highlighted by German colleagues I had informal discussions with after the speech, was his mention of a "ceasefire in Gaza."

As for Bill Gates's speech, it was more focused on the achievements of his private foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in the field of healthcare. His speech focused less on dimensions related to global health policies, private sector responsibility, or a vision for the future of healthcare.

The above two less inspiring speeches also triggered a set of questions:

- Who has more influence in the world, politicians or private sector leaders?

- Everyone talks about the need and importance of public-private partnerships and multistakeholder collaboration. Why isn't it happening despite all international platforms that bring them together?

- What are the risks of the private sector taking over the role of government, particularly when it comes to basic needs such as health and education?

- Why are political leaders becoming either less inspiring with a vision for the future, or populists with visions that are more based on identity and exclusion?

- What could be a more innovative multistakeholder global governance model for better responsiveness, accountability, and agility in the face of crises?

This is the third year I have participated in the Global Solutions Summit as a member of the Economic Transformation for Development (ET4D) Working Group—"a Community of Practice with representatives from leading think tanks, development institutions, and initiatives, who are interested in applying transformative approaches and models in economic development interventions", and contributing policy recommendations to the G20 and beyond. I want to thank 德国国际合作机构 and Holger Kuhle for extending the invitation for me to participate in the summit #Berlin.

Attending the Global Solutions Summit is always exciting, as it generates numerous ideas, conversations, and reflections on the future of humanity. It also provides a doorway to contribute to the global agenda set by platforms like the G20. This year’s G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro will be critical amid mounting geopolitical polarization, competition over natural resources, economic inequalities, global public debt, and escalating wars. Despite these challenges, there are many opportunities for a sustainable, just, and free world that humanity should continue to hope for, despite greed, egocentricity, and volatility.

(Painting: Scharein, The Power of Colors 2017)