Three MPPGA students, Tommy Koh (MPPGA Y2), Denby McDonnell (MPPGA Y1), Samantha Coronel (MPPGA Y1) and Political Science student Jory Smallenberg (MA Y1), participated as fellows at the 3rd annual Berlin Global Solutions Summit. The Global Solutions Summit involved 1,600 participants from international research organizations, academia, and politics across 120 countries. It provided an important forum for discussion on policy recommendations for the G20, supporting Japan’s upcoming G20 Summit in June 2019.
They discussed ten key policy issues for Japan’s G20 Summit: Agenda for sustainable development and universal healthcare; an international financial architecture for stability and development; climate change and environmental issues; economic effects of infrastructure investment and its financing; cooperation with Africa; social cohesion, global governance, and the future of politics; the future of work and education for the digital age and gender equality; trade, investment, and globalization; small and medium enterprise policy; and aging population and its economic impact.
SPPGA Faculty Associate Dr. Yves Tiberghien and Co-Chairs from partners at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and Brookings Institution led the students. Professor Tiberghien was on the ‘Reforming Global Economic Governance: The Role of Emerging Economies’ panel that discussed issues surrounding global collective action during an economic power shift. During these times of “unstable politics,” Professor Tiberghien emphasized that “domestic policies have to evolve” to address global challenges.
While in Berlin, the students were able to participate in the ‘Social cohesion, global governance, and the future of politics’ task force that will be providing policy briefs to the Japan G20 Summit. It was a unique opportunity for students to experience discussions with top thought-leaders that advise global decision-makers.
Here are some reflections on the Summit from our students:
Attending the 2019 Global Solutions Summit at a V20 delegate was a key highlight of my graduate degree in Political Science at UBC. Until this event, the possibility of engaging with global issues on the world stage seemed out of reach, but V20 allows delegates to participate as equals with experienced world leaders.
– Jory Smallenberg
It was an arena where I was able to question and challenge policy ideas in a constructive manner. I found it encouraging to see at every panel young “global change makers”. These young men and women came from all over the world and had made incredible changes in their own communities. What I appreciated the most was that these change makers were given priority during question and answer periods. It is one thing to simply give people the opportunity to attend a conference, but it is much more meaningful to deliberately give them the space to have their voices heard.
– Samantha Coronel
The Global Solutions Summit became unique because there was a clear power differential, allowing young people to demonstrate how decision-making institutions have clear gaps from their citizens, particularly youth. Angela Merkel discussed how we must “think globally, act locally” – a frequently used phrase that in some ways perpetuates a division between global and local actors. Many of the global crises that were discussed at the Summit, including trade, climate change, social cohesion, the rise of populism, and corporate social responsibility, are all issues that must be implemented by local actors. The Global Solutions Summit conveyed the importance of improving two-way dialogue at every level, and involving youth through each step.
– Denby McDonnell
Of particular note was the panel on blending Eastern and Western perspectives. It was clear from that panel, but also in other panels throughout the Summit, that perspectives of the East don’t always agree with perspectives of the West about how best to move forward. I think there’s something fundamental happening here: the negotiation of what approaches and narratives (i.e. ways of seeing the world) are valid and must be accepted by the global community. In short, the Global Solutions Summit opened a box of very interesting questions to which I continue to ponder. These lingering ideas are a mark of an excellent Summit, which I’m privileged to have been able to attend.
– Tommy Koh
