ORF

From: Aug 10, 2022 - Aug 12, 2022

ABOUT THE DIALOGUE

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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rwanda. The inaugural edition of the dialogue saw the participation of more than 350 people from 50 countries.

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, it is critical to share experiences and solutions and forge new partnerships. 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 and growth 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.

Conference Booklet 2023

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Thematic Pillars

New resource frontiers are arising and pose threats to stability and equity. Some geographies are endowed with the scarce minerals and materials required for technological and green transitions, while others seek their rapid acquisition. Meanwhile, other critical resources, from water to forests and fuels, are extracted from countries in the global south at unprecedented scales to fuel the growth of northern economies and consumption. And, precious ecosystems critical for human and species survival are quickly falling prey to greed and short-sighted gains. New natural resource governance and management approaches are urgently required to protect people and the planet and to halt rapid extinctions. Discussions under this panel will address the following questions:

How must we rethink global trade to address the mass extraction of resources and value from the global south?
How can we move beyond rent-seeking and establish two-way rather than exploitative resource relationships?
What capacities must be strengthened at local levels to support the emergence of new resource models that are sustainable in the long-term?
Which communities and countries offer frameworks for resource and ecosystem conservation and management?

Emerging and old technologies are critical to realizing green transitions and supporting human progress. We must ensure that the technologies required for clean energy are available and affordable around the world and that the incentives and financial flows are moving in the right direction. The flows of tech innovations today are dominated by silicon valley and respond to the preferences and demands of a few. Instead, how do we bolster the startup ecosystems and digital economies in the countries and cities developing solutions for the world?

What can countries and cities do to create vibrant startup ecosystems to leverage the 4th industrial revolution?
How do we ensure startups and established firms in the global south can access adequate finance to scale their innovations?
What tech and digital solutions already exist that offer models for the world?

Women, girls, and gender minorities face immeasurable barriers to equitable participation in societies worldwide. Yet, they regularly tear down and surpass limitations to shape their firms, communities, and countries. We know what policies and actions are needed to support women, girls, and gender minorities in their fight for justice and equity, and we must do so across domains. Questions under this pillar will address the following questions:

How must we approach new development models from a gender-inclusive and responsive perspective?
How do we move beyond talk on gender to improving the lived experiences of women, girls, and gender minorities?

Reimagining and realizing new development frameworks underpinned by justice and equity will require us to redesign the current system's global institutions and financial arrangements. Discussions under this pillar will explore the following questions:

Is there still a role for international financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, and how can these institutions be democratized and made more effective and responsive?
What new financial mechanisms, arrangements, and partnerships are needed to rapidly scale up finance for just green transitions?
How can we address debt-trap diplomacy, pernicious lending, and debt burdens?
What role can and should multilateral institutions such as the UN and the G20 play, and how can they better bring to bear the interests and preferences of under-represented countries and communities? How can the predatory relationships of global governance today be reformed?

The templates of global progress have been scripted by and serve the west. The global economic order has benefited the few, while global governance institutions have propagated development projects that have failed to deliver for most of the world. Meanwhile, a small coterie of countries continue fossil fuel binges and pretend to lead the world toward climate action. Starkly different development paradigms exist, offering pathways towards a more just global society. This pillar will cover the following questions:

How can we better draw from local and regional experiences and learnings to define new directions and solutions for the world?
What are the rising development priorities, and what is required to bring them about?
In the context of a constrained carbon space, what will equitable growth in the 21st century look like?