The Kigali Global Dialogue brings together policymakers, academics, civil society, and the private sector from around the world to deliberate and devise solutions to critical sustainable development challenges facing the global community today. The three-day conference is co-hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, ORF America, and the Rwanda Governance Board. This year’s dialogue is an official outreach event of the G20 under India’s Presidency.
The platform is unique because it brings together delegates and speakers from more than 70 countries, it amplifies perspectives from the across geographies, and more than half of our speakers are women.
Our objectives are clear:
Context
The last three years have witnessed geopolitical, social, ecological, and economic upheaval amplified by the exogenous shock of the pandemic. As the decade of action progresses and the consequences of climate change become more intense, it is critical that we share experiences and solutions and forge new partnerships needed to address global challenges.
Many of our development and economic orthodoxies – especially those propagated by high-income countries – have failed to deliver sustainable and equitable development for most of the world. New development institutions, financial arrangements, and paradigms are urgently needed and are already emerging. It is clear that African nations will create and lead new models for development over the coming decades. The success of these experiences will serve as templates for other parts of the world as they navigate development pathways more responsive to climate constraints and social, environmental, and economic imperatives.
ORF and ORF America aim to foster innovation and promote sustainable development through technological advancements. As a part of these efforts, we will host the Kigali Startup Bootcamp alongside the Kigali Global Dialogue in June 2023. The Bootcamp will bring together a diverse group of startups, investors, VCs, experts, and policymakers, providing a platform for meaningful exchanges of ideas and experiences.
ORF hosted its first TechBridge Delegation during CyFy 2022, our annual flagship conference on technology, security, and society. The first TechBridge brought together 20 startup founders and CXOs from five countries to interact with India’s top venture capitalists and incubators in New Delhi and Mumbai over ten days. The convening provided unique insights into India’s homegrown 5G stack and fostered valuable connections among the participants.
The objectives of the Kigali Startup Bootcamp are to share insights on fundraising, commercializing, growth strategies, and stakeholder engagements. More specifically, the boot camp will focus on how technological innovation can be leveraged for sustainable development and how technology can aid in building shared platforms for measurable social change.
Startups often face challenges in navigating the complex landscape of public policy and regulations, which can significantly impact their operations and growth. The boot camp also aims to build a network where stakeholders can share insights and guidance on navigating the policy environment, enabling participants to understand better and engage with relevant debates to foster innovation and create positive social impact.
This year, we will bring together more than 20 startups for a one-day digital TechBridge on the sidelines of the Kigali Global Dialogue. The startups hail from 11 countries and work on diverse development challenges, including health, agriculture, urban planning, education, and cyber security.
The boot camp will include the following:
Not only will the boot camp participants attend specialized sessions tailored towards leveraging digital technology and startups for sustainable development goals, but they will also interact with and attend the full spectrum of sessions at the dialogue, including panel discussions and roundtables with leading thinkers on sustainable development issues from around the world.
The shortcomings of our economic models to deliver economic security, sustainability, and inclusion calls for new development paradigms. These discussions will look at how we can approach, design, and promote environmentally sustainable and socially resilient cities and communities for all.
COVID-19 exposed the deep inequities in health within and between countries. These discussions will explore how health can be mainstreamed across sectors, access to health services made more equitable, and how we can redesign the global health architecture to better serve all communities.
These discussions will unpack digital and technological disruptions and opportunities to look at what is needed to build more inclusive, robust, and equitable digital ecosystems and economies.
The imperative of reducing emissions is matched by the twin challenge of ensuring that developing and emerging economies have the space to grow. This pillar will explore how the decarbonisation process can be prioritised while ensuring a just and fair transition process.
The institutions and systems for international development have served a small handful of countries while dictating often harmful policies and financial and trade arrangements for developing countries. These conversations will ask us to rethink international cooperation, finance, and governance models for sustainable development.
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