Paris Peace Forum

The Paris Peace Forum is a French non-profit organisation created in March 2018. Annually, from 11 to 13 November, the organisation hosts a gathering of world leaders and heads of international organisations, as well as leaders from the civil society and the private sector and thousands of individuals from around the globe, on creating forms of collective action. The Paris Peace Forum completes the existing world agenda of multilateral gatherings by creating a specific event for global governance issues, as economic and financial issues are dealt at the World Economic Forum of Davos, and security issues at the Munich Security Conference.

The forum's DNA is to be inclusive and solution-oriented. With this in mind, the forum showcases over 100 projects each year, coming from all around the world which display concrete and efficient solutions to governance challenges.^[1] It mostly focuses on concrete initiatives and has been used as a platform for the launch of important, multi-actor initiatives, such as the B4IG coalition^[2] or the Paris Call for Trust and Security in the Cyberspace.^[3]

The Paris Peace Forum was founded in 2018 by Justin Vaïsse, as he was director for Policy Planning at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, to tackle global problems and strengthen multilateral cooperation.^[4] Soon after the first edition, Pascal Lamy was appointed President of the Paris Peace Forum, and Justin Vaïsse became its director general.^[5]

History[]

The Paris Peace Forum was born out of the principle that “a badly governed world would quickly become a world at war”,^[6] as explained by Justin Vaïsse, then president of the Forum. At the Meeting of Ambassadors on 29 August 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of the fact that peace is not something to be taken for granted, mentioning the Syrian crisis and the Ukrainian crisis as examples.^[7] In light of such developments, he called for the need to take concrete steps to strengthen multilateralism and preserve peace.^[7] Macron then announced the creation of the Paris Peace Forum on 4 January 2018.^[8]

First edition: 2018[]

The first edition of the Paris Peace Forum took place from 11 to 13 November 2018 as part of the Armistice Day centenary commemorations, and was attended by over 110 foreign delegates, including 54 heads of state and government.^[9] It showcased 120 global governance projects and welcomed 6000 individuals over the 3 days. Among the attendees were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General António Guterres joined President Emmanuel Macron in each making an opening remark at the beginning of the Forum. UN Secretary-General Guterres drew parallels between the political atmosphere then and the pre-World War I period and the ‘30s Interwar period.^[10] Merkel made similar remarks, noting that nationalism and populism were threatening European peace.^[10] What was also noted was US President Donald Trump's absence at the Forum,^[11] despite having attended a commemoration ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe on the morning of 11 November.^[12]

The Armistice centenary was a recurring theme throughout the Forum. President Macron aimed for the Forum to bring about concrete proposals for multilateralism so that an outcome akin to WWI would not be replicated again.^[13] It was noted multiple times that the importance of remembering the Armistice stood in the comparisons that could be drawn between the 1930s and today. Similarly to the statements made by UN Secretary General Guterres, Justin Vaïsse also highlighted the similarities, including: an economic crisis, closing of borders, commercial wars, migration and refugees, and a resurgence of populist and nationalist movements.^[14]

The three day event presented a variety of formats, including debates, panels, round tables, masterclasses, workshops, project pitches, as well as a hackathon during which developers worked on financial data transparency programs.^[15] BrainDates from C2 Montreal was also present at the Forum to provide peer-to-peer learning sessions and small discussion groups for the attendees and the project leaders.^[16] At the center of the Grande Halle de la Villette was the Peace Library, a tree-shaped shelf structure on which Heads of Governments and States each placed a book from their country that for them symbolised peace and international cooperation.^[17]

The overarching theme of the event was multilateralism: its importance as well as its shortcomings.^[18] The President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, denounced the double standards of multilateralism, pointing out that African leaders do not have as strong a voice in the international scene despite multilateral decisions concerning Africa occupying a significant space in the agendas of international institutions.^[19] Among the other themes that were tackled were social inequality, with speakers such as Guy Rider, Lise Kingo and Jeffrey Sachs; the role of cities in the fight against climate change, with experts like Laurence Tubiana, who mention about the critical role of science education and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim who spoke of its effects in the Sahel and more.^[20] The Forum also hosted the Declaration on Information and Democracy by Reporters Without Borders,^[21] with the presence of the representatives of Burkina Faso, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Senegal, Switzerland and Tunisia.^[22]

51 countries, 130 companies and 90 universities and non-governmental groups signed the "Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace", a non-binding declaration initiated by President Macron, calling for protection from cyberattacks.^[23] It aims to protect civilians, to keep external actors from interfering with elections, and to preserve intellectual property, and has been likened to a digital version of the Geneva Convention.^[24] Brad Smith, president of Microsoft noted for the New York Times, “Most of the world’s democracies are rallying around the need to protect all democracies from cyberattacks.“^[23] The United States was one of the few Western nations that refused to sign the declaration.^[23]

120 projects advancing concrete solutions were presented during the three-day event in one of the following categories: environment, peace and security, development, new technologies and inclusive economy. presented its advocacy in sustainability science, connecting peace in science development.^[25] Out of them, 10 were selected by the jury to receive support for a one-year period.^[26]

Second edition: 2019[]

The second edition of the Paris Peace Forum took place on 11–13 November at la Grande Halle de La Villette, under the presidency of Pascal Lamy, who was previously President of the Steering Committee, and with Justin Vaïsse as the Forum's Director General. The Paris Peace Forum 2019 was attended by 7,000 participants, representing 164 nationalities. 33 Heads of State and Government were present, with official delegations from 140 countries. 318 project leaders representing 114 governance solutions from around the world gathered in the Forum's Space for Solutions.

Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and President of the Paris Peace Forum, Pascal Lamy, spoke during the event's soft opening on 11 November. UN Secretary general Guterres evoked the main global challenges of our times, by distinguishing five global risks: an economic and geostrategic polarization, a crack of the social contract caused by rising inequalities and protests, the loss of solidarity between communities and the rise of hate as a political tool, environmental degradation and the climate crisis, and finally, the risk of unchecked technology. The official opening ceremony took place on 12 November. Opening remarks were made by the French President Emmanuel Macron, the President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, and the vice-president of the People's Republic of China, Wang Qishan.^[32]

The second edition of the Paris Peace Forum saw a number of new activities and formats, such as the Peace Game, organized by Foreign Policy and Körber Stiftung.^[33] A Peace Game brings together participants with the purpose of working out a crisis scenario through concrete solutions.^[34] Among the other formats participants were invited to attend, the '20 Questions to the World',^[35] and Braindates by e180,^[36] were particularly successful. For this second edition, last year's Peace Library, which gathered books gifted by high-level participants, took the form of a Peace Globe, where world leaders were given the opportunity to leave objects symbolizing peace in.

Nine initiatives were launched and developed at the second edition of the Paris Peace Forum. These included B4IG,^[37] which started out at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Biarritz, and which is driven by Emmanuel Macron, the OECD and Danone in order to unite companies for inclusive growth. The "Alliance for Multilateralism", launched in April 2019 by the French and German foreign ministers, held a session on the governance of the digital sphere,^[38] which was moderated by the French Minister of Europe & Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Other initiatives included the inauguration of the Reporters Without Borders Forum on Information and Democracy, and the launch of the Indian Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, driven by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Third edition: 2020[]

The third edition, hosted virtually from 11 to 13 November 2020, was chiefly devoted to the multi-actor response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the conviction that all relevant actors can collectively overcome the enormous challenges faced by the international community and use the crisis as an opportunity to rebuild a more sustainable world.^[39] Macron hosted Senegalese President Macky Sall, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and European Council President Charles Michel at the Élysée Palace, while over 50 world leaders and heads of international organizations gave video messages during the event, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Chinese President Xi Jinping.^[40]

Philosophy[]

The purpose of the forum is to commemorate Armistice Day, as well as to “reflect together, propose concrete initiatives, reinvent multilateralism and all forms of contemporary cooperation”.^[41] President Macron and then-president Justin Vaïsse aimed at bringing together global governance actors, in an international and open space, in order to interact, discuss and generate concrete solutions. An important aspect of the Forum is the showcasing of 100+ projects from around the world. Each of these projects proposes an innovative solution to a specific issue. The projects present in 6 of the following categories:^[42]

• Peace & Security
• Development
• Inclusive economy
• New technologies
• Environment
• Culture & Education
• Sustainability

By the third day of the Forum, ten projects are selected as Scale-Up projects to receive mentorship and support from the Paris Peace Forum for a one-year period.^[6]

Although initiated by the French president, the forum remains independent in its scope and funding. The event is financed by non-governmental partners, each of which cannot cover more than 10% of the costs. Sustainability was a major impact, with scientific advocates such as from academic organization .

Organisation[]

The Paris Peace Forum is made up of three distinct governance bodies:

• The Executive Committee oversees and decides on the overall activities of the Forum. It is made up of representatives of the Forum's eight Founding Members which are: the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri), the Institut Montaigne, the Körber Foundation, México Evalúa, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), and Sciences Po.^[43] Pascal Lamy, Board member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, leads the executive committee as president of the Paris Peace Forum.
• The Steering Committee determines the strategy of the Forum, and is made of up sixteen international experts of global governance. The president of the Steering Committee is Trisha Shetty, and the vice president is Igor Yurgens.^[44] The other members of the Steering Committee are:
  • Fauziya Abdi AIi, founder and president of
  • Haifa Dia Al-Attia, vice president for Growth and Regional Expansion of Luminus Education and CEO Luminus Plus
  • Zhimin Chen, vice president and professor at Fudan University
  • Renato Flores, member of the board of Getulio Vargas Foundation
  • Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundation
  • Kristalina Georgieva, Chief Executive Offiver of the World Bank
  • Vasu Gounden, founder and executive director of the African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes
  • Rouba Mhaissen, founder and director of Sawa Foundation
  • Stewart Patrick, director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program Council on Foreign Relations
  • Gabriela Ramos, chief of staff and Sherpa of OECD
  • Kenichiro Sasae, president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs
  • Martin Tsiné, managing director of Luminate
  • Yenny Wahid, director of the Wahid Institute
  • Huiyao (Henry) Wang, founder and president of Center for China and Globalization
• The Circle of Partners which is made up of private actors who support the Forum. These are the benefactors, the institutional partners and the media partners.

The activities of the Forum are also carried out by:

• The Permanent Secretariat, based in Paris, carries out all operations related to the execution of the event. It is led by Justin Vaïsse as Director-General, and Marc Reverdin as Secretary-General.^[45]
• The Selection Committee is responsible for selecting the 100+ projects that are to present at the Forum in November. They select the projects based on their relevance to the issue they are aiming to resolve, how innovative they are, the potential to scale up etc.
• The Scale-up Committee is responsible for accompanying the selected Scale-Up projects for the full year until the next Forum. Each member of the Scale-Up Committee is an expert in a particular field of global governance and thus serves as a point of reference for one of the ten projects.

Criticisms[]

The Paris Peace Forum faced criticism for having extended an invitation to Saudi Arabia, in light of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the continuing war in Yemen.^[46] Due to similar such contradictions, such as France's involvement in weapons sales, and nuclear armament, questions were raised as to the extent to which the peace summit was truly substantial or just an instrument of communication.^[47][48]

Criticism was also drawn to the event's funding, with contributions made, among others, by tech giants such as Google and Microsoft.^[49]

Some also argued that the Forum was homogenous in its discussion, reserved for the elites who agreed with each other rather than including those who disagreed with multilateralism.^[50]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website