Global Dialogue N° 10
In
the course of EXPO 2000 in Hannover, nine three-day Global Dialogue events had
dealt with humankind's problems in the 21st century. The 3,000 some participants
included academics, practitioners, politicians and representatives of the private
business sector. Covering the whole spectrum of Sustainable Development, they
had discussed about: Natural Resources, Responsible Governance in a Global Society,
Science and Technology, Fighting Poverty, The Role of the Village in the 21st
Century, Health, Building Learning Societies, Culture on the Move, and Future
Works. AIESEC contributed significantly with own conferences to the Global Dialogues
7 and 9, "Building Learning Societies" and "Future Works" respectively.
At the concluding Global Dialogue 10, "Shaping a Future of Global Partnership",
50 young people from 37 nations, the decision takers of tomorrow, were invited
to discuss the recommendations made by the nine past Global Dialogues, compare
them with their own visions, and finally make a proposal to the political, economic,
academic and civil society decision takers of today. Seven AIESEC members also
had the opportunity to participate at the panel discussions and working groups
of the Global Dialogue: Hannes Mangelsdorf, Julia Ocampo, Kai Bechstein, Martin
Hanf, Nina Hansen, Tobias Regner and Vanessa Weihbrecht.
The whole group worked on putting together the "Legacy of Hannover" - a common
declaration of the 50 young people that was supposed to wrap up the thoughts
and opinions of the Youth on future development. In addition to comments on
the topics of each Global Dialogue, two main guidelines have been worked out:
- Solutions require input from all quarters: governments play a significant
role, while the private business sector, the academic world, media and civil
society are indispensable partners. Only truly global partnerships between all
stakeholders can make the world a better place.
- The thinking of the 20th century is no longer sustainable. The new, global
world needs revamped approaches such as "Less can be More" before new and more
effective measures such as "Think Global, Act Local" can be introduced.
In the same way, also the statements on each of the Global Dialogues are far
away from being sharp and challenging the establishment. So it remains to be
seen how the Declaration of Hannover affects future developments. Nevertheless,
it was an interesting experience to discuss about this topic in such an international
environment.
Markus Monz
Member, AIESEC in Germany