Global Solutions Summit May 27-28, 2021
The Global Solutions Summit 2021 supports the T20 and G20 under the Italian G20 Presidency. It brings together top researchers, policymakers, business leaders and civil society representatives in a renowned global problem-solving process.
The Summit builds bridges between past G20 Presidencies and Indonesia and India in the coming two years. It will focus heavily on a Great Realignment in the post-COVID world, in the spirit of recoupling economic progress with social prosperity and environmental sustainability.
The Global Solutions Summit will take place virtually on May 27 and 28, 2021.
We thank all partners and supporters of the Global Solutions Summit 2021.
"The Global Solutions Summit is a real enrichment in the process of finding solutions."
– Angela Merkel, German Chancellor
"I urge the GSI to focus its efforts on building equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies."
– António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
Please note that the program is being continuously updated.
Find an overview of the program schedule here.
Colour Code for Realignment Areas
Thursday, May 27
Pandemic Preparedness as a Global Challenge
T20 TF 1 – Global Health and Covid-19
Pandemic preparedness is not only important to cope with health emergencies but also necessary to prevent social emergencies around the globe. Especially for low-income countries, this is difficult to achieve.
Building a Better Future of Work
PwC
Economies need to be realigned to societal needs and only within the context of this “recoupling” can business be geared towards delivering positive outcomes for society alongside financial measures. COVID has accelerated the need for this recoupling, given the challenges that particularly vulnerable communities are facing.
Circular Economy in Emerging Countries
GIZ
The challenges of turning the idea of a circular economy into reality are multifaceted. What needs to be done to close the knowledge gaps in the identification of sustainable production and consumption loops to make circularity the mainstream model in emerging economies?
Multi-level Governance to Solve Global Problems
T20 TF 8 – Multilateralism and Global Governance
The key to the future of multilateralism lies in recognizing how various levels of governance, local identity, nationalism and multilateralism, can complement one another so that global problem-solving goes hand in hand with empowerment and social prosperity.
Global Challenges to Migration after COVID-19
T20 TF 10 – Migration
The pandemic has greatly affected the lives of migrants and refugees. Countries of origin, transit, and destination face multiple policy challenges. How can the economic and social benefits of migration be developed for inclusive recovery in a post-Covid context?
Building Sustainable Economies by Getting Youth into Work
PwC
In January 2021 the ILO estimated that 8.7% more young people withdrew from the workforce in 2020 than would have Created otherwise, and this figure is nearly double the estimate of employment losses, either from unemployment or withdrawal from the labour force, for men, women, or adults.
Implementers’ Forum: New Measurement
What we measure guides our decisions, and for too long, policymakers and business leaders have been concentrated on measuring purely economic and rather short-term financial outcomes when it comes to assessing what are good or healthy economies and prosperous businesses.
by invitation only
The Policy Implications of Geoeconomic Strategies
Kiel Institute for the World Economy
The increased use of geoeconomic instruments by global trading partners call for a reorientation of foreign policy and, in particular, trade policy actions. This session will outline the challenges posed by the use of geoeconomic instruments, and discuss strategic implications for the EU, other trading blocs and the G20.
Localising the Circular Economy Imperative
GIZ
Localising the circular economy would help concretely address challenging environmental, economic, and also social trends and challenges. Building on the immense potential for social and environmental technology innovation in urban areas, circularity can induce deep systemic changes in the economy and contribute to increased resilience in supply chains.
Liberal Discourse and Values on the Internet
German Federal Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection
This session discusses new approaches to regulate platforms and online content, as well data privacy, so that culture and values can also be adequately protected on the internet.
The New Trade Governance Agenda
TF 3 – Trade, Investment and Growth
Our global rulebook of trade is outdated. It does not accommodate geopolitical power shifts, it is unfit to cope with the rapid internationalization of state-owned enterprises, and it cannot capture the changes which digitalization has introduced to goods and services.
Implementing Good Health and Wellbeing
The current healthcare systems tend to be based predominantly on a sick-care model, the system is essentially one that waits until we have fallen ill. We face unprecedented challenges with global staff shortages predicted to be 18m by 2030 (BMJ).
Protecting Climate and Biodiversity
T20 TF 2 – Climate Change, Sustainable Energy & Environment
Adequate measurement of natural capital is difficult and not considered an equally important measure of prosperity to GDP. Yet, since climate change and the loss of biodiversity will have dramatic consequences for human well-being, including the economy, it is vital to develop a new economic and social paradigm in which nature is valued.
Women’s economic empowerment and the SDGs
Women’s Economic Imperative
Despite progress achieved in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat for gender equality, as it has deepened pre-existing inequalities and structural barriers that limit equal access and distribution of opportunities in the marketplace (unemployment, low wages, vulnerable jobs), as well as at home (burden of unpaid care work, violence against women).
Friday, May 28
Infrastructure: Targets, Governance and Financing
T20 TF 7 – Infrastructure Investment and Financing
Infrastructure plays a key role in supporting the recoupling of economic prosperity with social and environmental prosperity. This requires long-term investment in social infrastructure, including education, health and housing, as well as investments into infrastructure that supports a reduction of the environmental footprints.
The Vision for a Recoupled Economy
PwC
Our economy should serve human needs. To do so, it must not be entirely geared towards economic progress but has to contribute to social progress and environmental sustainability as well. This is the vision of a recoupled economy: where social, economic and environmental prosperity grow together and not apart.
Why We Need a Global Pandemic Treaty
World Health Summit
In March 2021 a group of heads of government from around the world called for a global pandemic treaty. This idea had been initially proposed by the President of the European Council and fully supported by the Director-General of the WHO. This session will discuss what such a treaty hopes to achieve and what political processes are necessary to improve pandemic preparedness and response.
Corporate Measuring of Social and Environmental Progress
value balancing alliance
Our current measures of progress are primarily financial and short-term. Macro level reporting has had a particular emphasis on GDP and corporate reporting has largely been focused on shareholder value. In the context of broader social objectives, our current approaches to reporting are neither sufficient nor effective.
Implementers‘ Forum: Circular Economy
DBU supported by GIZ
Many companies and innovators worldwide already develop and successfully implement circular economy solutions. However, mainstreaming circular economy principles is hampered by institutions and policy settings that privilege linear “make-use-dispose” business models. During this Implementers’ Forum, participants will present their circular economy initiatives.
by invitation only
A Global Vaccine Strategy
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
While the debate about COVID-19 in the European Union has focused heavily on local and regional vaccine distribution, an essential key to winning the fight against the pandemic has been overlooked: we need a global vaccination strategy and global equitable access to a vaccine.
Preventing Inequalities in the Digital Age
T20 TF 4 – Digital Transformation
Given the importance of digital technology in today’s world, and to tap its potential to foster development and progress, we must remove obstacles to the benefits of digitalization and prevent inequalities arising from it. This session addresses different digital divides and policies to narrow them.
How to Fix Our Institutions
PwC
Events of the last few years have demonstrated that society’s institutions are in dire shape. Fixing these institutions, from the ground up, is critical; without them, our societies fail to uphold their most basic duties to their citizens.
Human-centric Digital Governance
German Federal Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection
It is paramount to find ways to protect privacy and consumer rights without suffocating the innovative potential of the digital industry. This issue is a global one as data exchange regularly happens across borders. Regulatory inconsistencies should be avoided so as to ensure a level playing field globally and to fully tap the potential of the digital world.
Constrained by Accounting
Enabling and accelerating the net zero transition can only be achieved by recognising intangibles as the assets that underpin value creation in today’s economy. New breakthrough innovations in economics and accounting make this possible.
The Future of Welfare States
T20 TF 6 – Social Cohesion and the Future of Welfare Systems
In addition to providing short-term proposals to tackle the most urgent challenges around social cohesion posed by the pandemic, this panel will discuss medium-to-long term policy options to ensure that the post-COVID economic recovery will be based on the principles of equality, fairness and inter-generational solidarity.
EU-Turkey: Cooperation in Migration Management
MEDAM
Five years after the EU-Turkey Statement, the EU and Turkey are now negotiating their future migration cooperation. Voters’ policy preferences should be taken into account to make such cooperation sustainable.
China-West Relations and the Global Order
In the context of 2021 in which conflicting narratives continue to prevail in US-China bilateral relations making geopolitical tensions the dominant force in the global order, setting the stage for systemic competition between autocracy and democracy, there is an urgent need for alternative narratives.
Implementers’ Forum: Corporate Digital Responsibility
German Federal Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection
The Implementers’ Forum brings stakeholders from business and civil society together to collect and discuss new challenges, solutions, and best practices to implement corporate digital responsibility.
Financing the SDGs in the aftermath of the Pandemic
T20 TF 5 – 2030 Agenda and Development Cooperation
Achieving the SDGs has become even harder amid the pandemic. COVID-19 has eradicated past achievements and made financial resources much scarcer. Covid measures have led to rising debt levels around the world, impeding the fight against poverty, the long-term strengthening of health systems and SDG achievement in general.
Carbon Pricing on a Global Level
Kiel Institute for the World Economy
To reach the temperature targets of the Paris-Agreement, the global economy needs to quickly move towards net-zero emissions and major economies including the EU, the US and China have committed themselves to such ambitious targets.
Contributions and panels will be available as video-on-demand after the Summit. REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS have free access to the live webstream program, chat discussions, polling and networking formats connecting all participants.
If you’d like to join the Global Solutions community in this, please apply for registration.
The Global Solutions Summit is a T20 associated event
Central Concept in 2021: The Great Realignment
The need for policymakers, business leaders and civil society to come together has perhaps never been greater. Global challenges that COVID-19 has accelerated and exacerbated are symptomatic of a deeper root cause: The economy is no longer working for society. We need to put people and our planet back at the centre of decision-making. For a better, more sustainable and more resilient new normal, we need to foster a Great Realignment in five areas:
Social realignment requires a focus on social prosperity, including a new social contract ensuring social cohesion.
Economic realignment demands a broader focus beyond economic prosperity and towards human well-being: a new conception of wealth.
Ecological realignment to offer the next generation a world at least as good as the current one. This requires a bold transition accepted and supported by society.
Governance realignment requires a polycentric governance approach with cooperation across governance levels to spark collective action.
Technological realignment calls for values and regulation to ensure that technological innovations benefit all.