Global Solutions Summit 2018 – Multilateral Summit Meeting in Berlin
18.06.2018 | More than 1,100 participants, delegates of the T20 Argentina 2018 as well as the T20 Japan 2019, Nobel laureates, and Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel participated in the Global Solutions Summit 2018 in Berlin on May 28 and 29.
Dr. Cristina Fróes de Borja Reis and Dr. Ewa Nowicka were also there – two ambassadors of the Brain City Berlin.
Negotiations were on global issues in urgent need of solutions. Young Global Changers, who were welcomed by Governing Mayor Michael Müller in Berlin, were particularly promising.
Global problems call for global solutions – The Topics of the Summit
Problems of global proportions call for global solutions – climate change or international conflicts, as well as globalization or increasing digitization. Solutions can only be found collectively, which is why the Global Solution Summit 2018 and the various speakers celebrated multilateralism.
The Global Solutions Initiative summit meeting will provide independent support to the G20 and G7. The heart of the initiative is the Council for Global Problem Solving: A global network of think tanks, which promotes research-based exchange and wants to be a resource of independent policy advice for large, multilateral coalitions.
The 2018 Agenda included the following topics:
- Future of work and education in the digital age
- Development of climate protection and infrastructure
- Food security and sustainable agriculture
- Trade, investment and tax cooperation
- Migration and cooperation with Africa
Taxing data – an idea introduced by Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel at the Global Solutions Summit 2018. The goal of this approach is to tackle one of the most central justice issues of the future. Olaf Scholz, vice-chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, supports the draining of tax havens and the regulation of digital companies, while Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas identifies increasing fragmentation and nationalization as threats to multilateralism.
Insight and outlook: The feedback from our Brain City Berlin ambassadors
Dr. Ewa Nowicka, IPODI Fellow and Brain City ambassador, was a guest at the Global Solutions Summit.
She praised the good organization of the event, the coherent division of topics, and in particular the speakers, who were proven experts in their respective fields of research.
Nonetheless, she found that representatives from the Third World, who were often the topic in the global issues, were missing.
For example, the implementation of the identified "Global Solutions" targets primarily developed countries and continents, such as the US or the EU, but not Africa or South America – the regions in which many problems of global proportions are increasing, according to Dr. Nowicka. The Brain City Ambassador found the summit fruitful and interesting – especially because in addition to negotiating important topics, it also invites people to network and exchange ideas.
Brain City Berlin Ambassador Prof. Dr. Cristina Fróes de Borja Reis also attended the Global Solution Summit 2018.
In her opinion, the Global Solutions Summit in Berlin, which provides political insights for the G20, has been able to bring people from universities, businesses, public sectors, and civil society organizations together to discuss relevant global challenges.
The main message was the need to build political, economic, and social narratives that would strengthen the defense of multilateralism, democracy, human rights, and sustainable development. Nevertheless, Prof. Dr. Cristina Fróes de Borja Reis found the solutions to be too eurocentric and economic. She would prefer an approach toward the core of the world's structural problems, referring to the unbalanced distribution of power and wealth.
An important ray of hope: The Young Global Changers are already changing the world
The Young Global Changers work quite unbureaucratically on solutions – specifically and in those places where change is urgently needed. They are committed to the motto: “Think global – act local.” The young do-gooders, for example, support the design of drainage systems in slums or the utilization of indigenous techniques.
The Young Global Changers program was launched in 2017 by the Global Solutions Initiative and more than 2,000 participants from more than 160 countries have already registered. They are students and young professionals who want to change the world for the better. 120 Young Global Changers from over 80 different countries were invited to the Global Solutions Summit. 50 outstanding participants also had the opportunity to network and form their very own think tank during the Global Solutions Summer School.
The Global Solutions Summit in Berlin unites and connects the international group of Young Global Changers with one another and enables them to exchange views with experts and decision-makers from politics and business – an important network that will continue to grow until the Global Solutions Summit 2019 (March 18-19) in Berlin.
