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Angela Merkel and Mario Draghi to discuss G20 challenges at the Global Solutions Summit 2021

The high-level event will take place on May 27th-28th. It will include 50 in-depth sessions with more than 150 expert speakers from science, economics, civil society, business and politics, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Berlin, May 17, 2021 – German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join Mario Draghi, Italian Prime Minister and President of the G20, in opening the second conference day of the Global Solutions Summit on May 28th. The heads of state will discuss opportunities for international cooperation to address the Covid pandemic.

“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 global problems. Only when states cooperate across borders in consonance with the 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 applies to climate change, financial market regulation and digital governance,” says Dennis J. Snower, President of the Global Solutions Initiative.

The Summit is intended to set the course for tackling the most urgent global problems, such as recovery from the pandemic, climate action and the digital divide, within the framework of the G20. Over 150 speakers will participate in the Summit, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Mario Draghi, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Africa Union President Félix Tshisekedi. Among many other high-ranking representatives, EU Commission Vice-Presidents Valdis Dombrovskis (An Economy that Works for People), Věra Jourová (Values and Transparency) and Frans Timmermans (European Green Deal) will also take part, as will other EU representatives and German Ministers Christine Lambrecht (Justice and Consumer Protection), Olaf Scholz (Vice-Chancellor and Finance), Svenja Schulze (Environment) and Jens Spahn (Health).

Overarching Theme: “The Great Realignment”

Scheduled as a stepping-stone to the T20 and G20 Summits this year, the Global Solutions Summit provides the opportunity for stock-taking and reflection on policy recommendations on wide-ranging G20 issues. Its overarching theme is “The Great Realignment”, resonating the urgent need to bring economic, social, and environmental prosperity back into alignment with one another. Dennis J. Snower stresses: “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how fragile many achievements have been: inequalities were accentuated and trust in governments was tested as individual freedoms had to be constrained. Meanwhile, existing global challenges—economic recovery, pandemic preparedness, geopolitical rivalries, technological disruption, climate change, biodiversity loss and migration pressures—remain. In some respects, the international community has fought battles of the past rather than those of the future: preserving current jobs rather than promoting future jobs through massive fiscal spending packages, pursuing protectionist health policies, and so on. 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 ‘new normal’ through comprehensive system change. We would do better by fostering a Great Realignment.”

The Global Solutions Summit will contribute to the “Great Realignment” in five areas:

  • Economic realignment requires a systemic transformation to ensure that economic activity genuinely promotes societal wellbeing and operates within planetary boundaries.
  • Ecological realignment demands that we leave the next generation an environment that is at least as healthy as the one we have received from the previous generation.
  • Governance realignment requires the mindset of polycentric governance in which multiple actors cooperate across levels (from micro to macro) and across domains (economy, health, technology, security, welfare and so on) to spark broad-based collective action.
  • Technological realignment demands mechanisms, regulation, and principles to ensure that technological innovations contribute to human wellbeing and societal progress.
  • Social realignment requires a focus on social cohesion and prosperity and entails visions of a new social contract.

The Global Solutions Summit 2021 will take a hybrid virtual and in-person format due to the Corona pandemic this year. In the studio, which will be set up in-house at the Berlin European School of Management Technology (ESMT), participants from all over the world will be connected with moderators and speakers who will attend in person from the studio. A digital platform will allow all participants not only to follow the presentations and discussions, but also to exchange ideas with other attendees. “The appeal of the physical Summit has always been the ability to meet face-to-face with many like-minded people. It is exceedingly important to us that much of this can also take place in the digital space,” stresses Dennis J. Snower.

The continuously updated program, an overview of the most interesting speakers, and a registration form are available here: https://www.global-solutions-initiative.org/events/summit/summit-2021/

About the Global Solutions Summit

The Global Solutions Summit is held annually by the Global Solutions Initiative, a global think tank network which contributes to greater continuity and impact within G20 policy arenas, by bringing together G20 leaders and leading scientists to find solutions to the world’s great challenges. The Global Solutions Initiative is chaired by Professor Dennis J. Snower, President emeritus of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The Global Solutions Summit is a T20-associated event. The T20 is one of the official G20 engagement groups and comprises the most important think tanks of the G20 countries.

Media registration
https://www.global-solutions-initiative.org/press/summit-2021-press/
You will receive media updates, invitations for briefings and get access to the Summit platform.

Video Streaming
The Summit will be streamed via Vimeo. Media outlets are granted access for re-distribution.

Press Contact
Christoph Podewils, Director of Communications
+49-172-4497959
[email protected]

Lena van Hooven, Senior Manager Communications & Fundraising
+49 15206151853
[email protected]

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