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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series
Contents
16
Lead Feature 16 / Of Currency, New Gold Standards, and Rocket Fuel to Coordinate Global Impact
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By Chris Purifoy & Jacksón Smith
Features
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INSIDE G20 › GCEL: SPECIAL FEATURE THE DIGITAL PATH TO SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY › The Urban 20: On City Diplomacy
LEADERS SUMMIT
› The Youth 20: On the Future of Work
10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
13 / The Buenos Aires G20 Summit: Right Place, Right Time
By Nicolás Saldías COVER STORY
The New Gold Standard for Development
24 / The Urban 20: A Contemporary Diplomatic History
51
By Ian Klaus
28 / Brazillian Elections By Paulo Sotero & Anna C. Prusa
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32 / To Infinity and Beyond: Diplomacy and the New Space Age By Samantha Thorne
34 / Optimism as the ‘Architect’ of a New Brand of Leadership By Dr Robyn Stokes
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38 / What the U.S. Can Learn from International Gun Control By Jaqueline Christ
Page 06 Mauricio Macri President of Argentina
Page 12 Ambassador Pedro Villagra Delgado Argentine G20 Sherpa
40 / Tiger Meets Dragon: The Race to 2050
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Editor-in-Chief: Ana C. Rold editors@diplomaticourier.org
30 / A Framework to Cut Through Blockchain Hype By Silvana Smith
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42 / The Trials of Turkish Trade By Daniel Metz
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46 / The State of Women in STEM By Chrissy Horansky
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51 / Thoughts on the Second Sex: What the World Thinks of Women
By Dr Mariane J. Legato
52 / The Future of Health: Developments in Precision Medicine
By Ana C. Rold
56 / Towards Greater Expectations By Dr Ernesto Gutierrez 58 / Cryptocurrency’s Problem is not Regulation but Its Need for It By John Boyce 60 / Why We Need A Digital Geneva Convention By Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah 64 / Y20: The Youth’s Perspective on the Future of Work and Education
By William Greenlaw and Elizabeth Zalanga
68 / The Future of AI is Intelligence Augmentation By Ana C. Rold 70 / Ranking Electricity Supplies By Euan Mearns and Didier Sornette 76 / G20 Leaders Panorama
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Special Editorial Feature: GCEL 08 / The Digital Path to Sustainable Economic Prosperity The Next Phase in Indonesia’s Growth 10 / SMEs Are the Cornerstone of Our Real Global Economy
President of EMEA: Tyrone Eastman Sales Executives: Ray Baker Phil Cook Anthony Leigh Jones Delano Johnson
Branded Stories 20 44 62 66 78 82
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In the past two decades, our company has grown and expanded exponentially. Our portfolio of publications, which also includes the leading editions for the G7 Leaders’ Summit, G20 Leaders’ Summit and B20 Summit respectively, have been recognized globally. Our company’s mission has been and continues to be to educate the global community on the most vital topics affecting our society and the agenda and leaders at the G7, G20 Leaders & G20 business summits. Through our award-winning Executive Talk Series global briefing report, we have created an unprecedented opportunity for private sector leaders as well as civil society and global thought leaders to have a voice at these summits even when they don’t have a physical seat at the table. We look forward to the B20 Business and G20 Leaders Summits in Japan next year along with the G7 Summit in France.
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The Executive Talk Series
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Women in Finance
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The New Gold Standard for Development
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23/05/2018 17:08
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 05
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series
Welcome Message
Mauricio Macri
President of Argentina
On behalf of the Argentine people, it is my honour to welcome you to Argentina’s G20 presidency. We are proud to have this opportunity to show our commitment to international cooperation, multilateralism and global governance. We will steer the G20’s efforts throughout our presidency in the spirit of an honest broker. When we meet in Buenos Aires in 2018, 10 years will have passed since the first Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC. This tenth anniversary challenges us to reflect upon all the G20 has accomplished, as well as how its eectiveness as a key forum for
global macroeconomic coordination and governance can be sustained. If we are to solve the challenges of today and tomorrow, we need to act with that same sense of urgency that brought us together in 2008. With a people-centred vision, Argentina will place development, fairness and sustainability at the forefront of the G20 agenda. We will devote our best eorts to deliver on the task our partners entrusted us by leading the G20 under the theme “Building consensus for fair and sustainable development”. The world has changed in a fundamental way. Globalization has transformed our
economies, societies and work practices. Yes, it has been a cornerstone of growth and development. But its benefits have not been shared equally. This is the moment when we must renew our commitments with the broader goal of leaving no one behind. This is the moment to build new bridges across the globe. I look forward to welcoming my fellow Leaders in Buenos Aires on November 30.
Mauricio Macri
WITH A PEOPLE-CENTRED VISION, ARGENTINA WILL PLACE DEVELOPMENT, FAIRNESS AND SUSTAINABILITY AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE G20 AGENDA. WE WILL DEVOTE OUR BEST EORTS TO DELIVER ON THE TASK OUR PARTNERS ENTRUSTED US BY LEADING THE G20 UNDER THE THEME ‘BUILDING CONSENSUS FOR FAIR AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.’ 06 ❙ g20g7.com
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
GCEL
THE DIGITAL PATH TO
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY The Next Phase in Indonesia’s Growth
A
s the son of a furniture maker, I grew up watching my father pursue his passion, nurture the craftsmanship of his employees, and build a close relationship with his customers. I also witnessed first-hand the challenges he faced as a small business owner where small and medium enterprises (SMEs) like my father’s support families and provide more than 60 percent of global employment. Yet, given the challenges for these businesses to produce even the simplest of products, it is a wonder they survive in today’s competitive environment.
While the period of rapid globalization during the past 30 years has lifted one billion people out of extreme poverty, we still have a long road ahead of us in the journey to develop greater inclusiveness in the global value chains for our SMEs that is key to achieving greater prosperity at every level within our global community. During this period, Indonesia succeeded in becoming the world’s third largest democracy and the eighth-largest economy by purchasing power. Through diligent work and the application of sound policy changes, Indonesia
has made significant strides across the priorities it has set for itself. This has positively impacted most economic indicators, and has resulted in Indonesia being ranked among the top four countries in the world in attracting foreign direct investment. Furthermore, Indonesia is now the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and as of 2018, is the world’s 16th largest economy by nominal GDP. Indonesia’s SMEs and growing population with its rising disposable income provides a sound foundation for its continued economic prosperity, especially through the use of e-Commerce that is critical for achieving optimal efficiency in the 21st century digital era. Indonesia is now experiencing an increase in international investment into the e-Commerce marketplace, as most global internet giants are starting to compete for position in the world’s fourth most populous country. The key for Indonesia’s future growth lies with SMEs, where 90% of the population in Indonesia work for SMEs employing fewer than 20 people. By supporting them with the tools that they need to more efficiently conduct business domestically and internationally, we will create the foundation of a young middle class with rising disposable income that is capable of buying the products and services that will improve their standard of living. But this is not only about building the disposable income of SMEs. More importantly, it is about de-risking doing business with them by building their proficiency to deliver products and services at the highest levels of
His Excellency Joko Widodo President of Indonesia
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efficiency. This includes raising their capabilities to new standards of reliability, transparency, and compliance that will open up business opportunities between them and high-income countries. In a pioneering step, Indonesia was among the world’s first nations to participate in the G20 Nations Case Study – a rigorous, first of its kind, diagnostic assessment of trade practices performed by the real economy participants at the ground level. This assessment was conducted by international experts across 19 B2B industry clusters based on what technology makes possible today. The findings revealed that by digitizing its global value chains, Indonesia can reduce annual domestic and international trade costs by USD 104 billion and increase trade by USD 159 billion in 2030, further strengthening Indonesia’s leadership as one of the largest exporters of non-oil goods and services among Islamic Nations. Following Indonesia’s leadership, the G20 countries conducted their own trade efficiency assessments. This case study yielded that the use of new digital tools within the B2B market place can reduce the G20 nations’ excess domestic and international trade costs annually by USD 2.9 trillion and grow trade by USD 4.6 trillion while creating 151 million jobs. In addition, 94.5% of the G20 B2B participants have signified they want new digital tools to reduce excess trade and operational costs, gain greater access to finance, and better connect with international markets to grow trade. Therefore, the G20 nations must unite and act upon what their businesses need, thereby delivering sustainable economic growth for the benefit of all nations. Given the urgency to
deliver what the B2B participants demand, out-of-the-box thinking is required to kickstart the digital global economy. This requires an International Digital Economy Campaign that includes: a true Public-Private Partnership that is global in scope, founded on cooperation and not competition; digital tools that are deployed rapidly across the globe at no cost to the end users; and the secure exchange of sensitive trade data – thus, bringing innovation and transformational practices to fuel sustainable growth and prosperity. This is the foundation of limitless possibilities towards the true Digital Economy era.
WE MUST IMAGINE A NEW WAY OF VALUE CREATION TO DIVERSIFY OUR ECONOMIES
Indonesia has started its transformation with policy reforms that benefit SMEs, including simplifying their licensing, creating SME associations, and fostering more opportunities for funding. However, for SMEs to truly flourish and carry Indonesia’s next phase of growth, they need a paradigm shift in how they do business in the global B2B marketplace. Through its participation in the G20 Nations Case Study, Indonesia identified that SMEs lacked the required integration with their trade partners across the B2B global value chains. To achieve this, they need the proper e-Commerce, e-Finance, e-Insurance and e-Logistics tools
provided through a Digital Economy Platform to conduct more efficient trade with their international counterparts. The use of new Digital Apps, delivered free of cost through a sustainable business model by the world’s leading technology firms, will allow SMEs to improve their efficiency and transparency. This will de-risk and grow trade, and deliver to SMEs the full potential of economic prosperity. A Digital Economy Platform will allow SMEs to efficiently integrate within the global value chains across multiple countries. Effectively, SMEs can become international players, unbound by the limits of their geography, and serve global markets. By embracing a Digital Economy Platform, SMEs can grow locally as well as internationally beyond the limitations of their national borders. Our efforts to address Indonesia’s challenges have been successful in limiting inflation, reducing poverty, encouraging urbanization, and promoting growth. Now, by harnessing the power of today’s technology through a Digital Economy Platform within the B2B marketplace, the G20 Nations can trigger more financing and direct investments that will boost the buying power of its SMEs. This formula will grow the global economy as a whole, and create millions of jobs. This is what our citizens deserve. In doing so, we must not fall into the trap of competing in traditional industries. We must imagine a new way of value creation to diversify our economies and adopt new sustainable digital technologies as a solution to the challenges we all face today. The most obvious step is creating digital tools to empower those on the ground, diversifying our economies, and leading to the birth of a new Digital Economy industry.
Continued on page 10 Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 09
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series GCEL Continued from page 09: The Digital Path to Sustainable Economic Prosperity
SMEs ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF
T
he world is at a tipping point where technology is on the verge of delivering to the B2B marketplace what it achieved for the entertainment, communications, and B2C e-Commerce industries. Where B2C transactions consist of a finite and manageable number of transactions and interactions, the B2B marketplace has significantly more complex connection points that span multiple parties across 19 different industry clusters throughout separate countries and in multiple languages. The complexities extend to cover different local laws, logistics platforms, security concerns, and trade regulations. For technology to capture and use the information transmitted across the B2B global value chains, it needs to address all these concerns, using high-quality data validated from multiple parties – all in realtime. The reason why the B2B marketplace has not yet benefitted from the promise of today’s technology is because of the fragmented condition of the global value chains. These conditions result in a major lost revenue opportunity for leading technology, commerce, finance, and insurance firms. However, this is also a major opportunity for them to come together under a unifying platform that guarantees data security and privacy, while addressing monopolistic and national security concerns to provide a holistic digital solution for global B2B participants. A global solution is required that goes beyond financial engineering and that addresses the needs of the real economy participants across the agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries. In the absence of such a solution, financial and insurance institutions will continue to miss out on global opportunities from the untapped markets of SMEs. According to the OECD, SMEs constitute 95% of firms and 60 to 70% of global employment. This backbone of our global economy continues to suffer from the lack of financial and insurance services they need to prosper. Specifically, SMEs in mid and low-income countries trying to navigate the complexities of a fragmented global value
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chain are unable to grow their business with high-income countries simply because they do not have the tools required to work efficiently, transparently, and reliably. According to the G20 Nations Case Study, the world’s first diagnostic assessment of current trade efficiency that included the participation by more than 90 ministries, IGO/NGOs, academia and private sector experts: 90.4% of B2B participants do not have an integrated system. In addition, the finance and insurance industries are among the least integrated into the global value chains.
Enhancing the efficiency of the logistics sector will enable peak logistics performance, and at the same time, will generate the necessary, dynamic, and high-quality validated data for the commerce, finance, and insurance industries, thus enabling them to reach their full potential. This will de-risk working with SMEs and will allow for an optimum value proposition that benefits them, while creating the inclusive model that will allow them to operate transparently and efficiently in the global value stream. This is the main foundation of the Digital Economy.
In order to tackle these issues, SMEs need the same tools that are currently being used by large corporations in highly developed markets. However, these high-cost tools are currently out of the reach of their limited financial capabilities. Consequently, the SMEs are unable to provide the required validated data to the finance and insurance firms to secure the necessary services to expand their businesses. Accordingly, the resulting high underwriting and compliance costs contribute to the ongoing huge finance and insurance gaps for SMEs, effectively restricting their growth, and preventing banks and insurance companies from supporting them. So, where can we find this validated data and how can we maximize on its use for our SMEs?
Therefore, what is needed is a quantum leap in the capabilities of the global logistics industry, because it is the only industry that can deliver new levels of efficiency and transparency to every participant in the shipment flow, while generating the accurate, validated, and realtime data that will make the B2B marketplace information-technology enabled.
Global experts agree that trade in the real economy is the main foundation to achieve sustained economic growth; and that trade depends upon four interdependent industries: Commerce, Finance, Insurance, and Logistics. The weakest of these is logistics, which is highly fragmented. However, logistics is the linchpin that connects trade between our nations, and it represents the goldmine of data to boost the performance of the other industries. That is, the logistics industry holds the big data related to the commercial transactions between buyers and sellers as well as the required information to finance it and to insure it. Issues facing logistics prevent the other three industries from performing at optimal levels.
As mentioned by President Widodo, Indonesia was one of the first countries to participate in the G20 Nations Case Study where the voice of the G20 citizens has now been heard. The case study revealed that 94.5% of the G20 B2B participants have commonly defined and demand the tools provided by the Digital Economy Platform to be more competitive in the global marketplace. This bridges the consensus of the policy makers with the needs of the private sector through its largest constituent and across the income-divide of nations. This is clearly the inclusive path that the Digital Economy needs to deliver upon. The Digital Economy environment is an ecosystem that permits global integration of product and service offerings with the intelligent proficiency to match sellers to targeted buyers. This environment is based upon dynamic, validated real-time information accumulated and continuously updated through the normal course of B2B activities around the world. Fundamentally, this environment will transform the four pillars of trade to a
completely new digitally integrated e-Commerce, e-Finance, e-Insurance, and e-Logistics matrix able to support trade growth across the globe. e-COMMERCE enables the smart matrix at the moment that a buyer evaluates any seller’s products or services globally, thus maximizing conversion ratios from seeing a desired product and service through to acquisition. This is the starting point of real economic integration. e-FINANCE expedites trade finance, promoting trade increases, and enabling new global market expansion equally for large enterprises, as well as for the SMEs who constitute the bulk of the real economy and the workforce of the world. e-INSURANCE minimizes underwriter risk, expedites insurance coverage, enables maximized global door-to-door coverage, enables seamless integration between parties into the global market, and facilitates expedited claims processing by providing firms with all the data needed to process claims quickly and accurately. e-LOGISTICS minimizes standardization requirements, creates a point-to-world integration environment, enables real-time performance monitoring, creates an optimal and validated e-Documentation environment and provides the required tools to plan and manage global trade lanes from shelf to shelf.
Captain Samuel Salloum Co-Chairman, Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics
Since trade and its data are of national security interest, the delivery of a Digital Economy Platform cannot be deployed by one organization, one country, or one region. Hence, it must involve all forms of organizations from the public, non-profit, and private sectors working in concert together, capitalizing on each organization’s capabilities and jurisdiction. Through an independent global monitoring mechanism offsetting geopolitical and monopolistic concerns, rapid global deployment can be effected, providing benefits to all participants at no cost to end users. To date, the world’s top 26 technology firms have signed strategic agreements as a
first step to be selected as a qualified trusted network to deliver what the B2B participants at the ground level demand. If the objectives of our custodians of the world economy are to deliver a tangible solution, the Digital Economy must be their top priority. With global consensus, the collaboration of the world’s leading technology companies, and deep insights into what it will take to engage the end-users at the ground level, all the elements needed to create sustainable growth for the benefit of all are finally in place. The time to act is now.
94.5% OF THE G20 PARTICIPANTS HAVE COMMONLY DEFINED AND DEMAND THE TOOLS PROVIDED BY THE DIGITAL ECONOMY PLATFORM
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Welcome Message
Ambassador Pedro Villagra Delgado Argentine G20 Sherpa
Upon assuming the presidency of G20, President Mauricio Macri stated that Argentina would guide its work under the motto: “Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development”. To achieve this goal we identified three pillars: “The future of work”, “Infrastructure for Development” and “A Sustainable Food Future”, we also laid special emphasis on the fight against corruption and in mainstreaming the gender perspective throughout the agenda. In exercising the responsibility that the Presidency of G20 purports, it is worth recalling that this forum was created in 1999 with the aim of discussing economic and financial policies among the most relevant economies in the international system and cooperating to promote stable and sustainable economies to the benefit of all. In 2008, in the context of the global financial crisis, it was decided to take the forum to leaders´ level in order to build policies that might promote international financial and macroeconomic stability and governability. Since then, G20 has included as part of its agenda a diversity of social and economic topics related to its central goal, thus becoming a key international forum for
the promotion of international economic and financial cooperation. G20 is an informal mechanism for dialogue, not ruled by bureaucratic structures, formal charters or pre-established texts in which peers make consensus-based decisions. There is no doubt that the challenges the international community is currently facing find in G20 an adequate forum to exchange ideas and reach necessary agreements. The significance of G20, without any doubt, depends not only on the work of the Presidency, but most importantly on the contribution, the commitment and the actions of all its members through the relevant international and national instances. To this end, the work developed throughout the year at the different levels of government is transcendental. However, this would not be sufficient without the contribution of the different perspectives of our respective societies through what is known as Affinity Groups contributing their views on business, labor, women, science, think-tanks, youth and the civil society. The first of these groups that was created, and also one of the best structured, is B20, with a rich agenda of sectoral meetings
that are strictly related with the G20 agenda, and as such is in an excellent position to contribute to the work of different sectors. The perspective of business sectors is crucial for the G20 agenda. For this reason, the work developed by B20 during this year constitutes an essential contribution to the work promoted by the Argentine Presidency of G20, based on multilateralism, dialogue and consensus, proposing the perspective of our region and promoting the need to pay special attention to the situation of developing countries at large, where the business sector is a central player in the process of putting people in the center of the agenda. I wish to express my acknowledgement to Dr. Daniel Funes de Rioja and his team for all their valuable work and for having achieved during this year the active participation of the largest number of companies that have participated of the B20 work since its creation. The conclusions, recommendations and the commitments made by you all will be part of the achievements of the Argentine Presidency of G20 during 2018. Ambassador Pedro Villagra Delgado
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE CHALLENGES THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS CURRENTLY FACING FIND IN G20 AN ADEQUATE FORUM TO EXCHANGE IDEAS AND REACH NECESSARY AGREEMENTS. 12 ❙ g20g7.com
Wilson Center Authored by: Nicolás Saldías
The Buenos Aires G20 Summit: Right Place, Right Time
A
rgentina’s G20 summit takes place at a volatile moment in global politics, as great powers are realigning their positions on issues from trade to climate change. The Buenos Aires summit is among the most anticipated gatherings of world leaders in recent memory. New leaders and controversies will dominate the agenda. It will be the first visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Latin America, and the first meeting between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, since the start of their trade war. It will also be the first international meeting attended by Brazil’s controversial president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro. In this context, the summit hosts may face a serious challenge cobbling together consensus on critical global issues. However, this is not the first time the G20 summit has dealt with a crisis; by design, the first meeting, in Washington, D.C., occurred during the 2008 financial crisis. That summit helped kickstart global coordination in response to the worst financial crisis since
the Great Depression. Moreover, in today’s tumultuous geopolitical context, Argentina’s balanced approach to international affairs, and its friendly relations with all countries in the G20, make it an ideal host for this year’s unpredictable summit. Argentina is also a symbolically important host. In a global context of growing skepticism towards democracy – including in Latin America, where new polling data by Latinobarómetro shows a drastic decline in support for democracy – Argentina is a hopeful example. Argentina has experienced long periods of authoritarian rule and populism, but today it stands as a key defender of pluralism and democracy. In 2017, it was a founding member of the Lima Group that seeks a peaceful and democratic transition in Venezuela. This year, it led the charge in calling for the International Criminal Court to investigate members of the Venezuelan regime for systemic human rights abuses. In some ways, the summit comes at an awkward time for Argentina. The country is experiencing an economic upheaval
ARGENTINA HAS EXPERIENCED LONG PERIODS OF AUTHORITARIAN RULE AND POPULISM, BUT TODAY IT STANDS AS A KEY DEFENDER OF PLURALISM AND DEMOCRACY.
and growing social tension. Argentina’s transition from populism, beginning in 2015, has proven politically and financially cumbersome, as this year’s peso crisis highlights. That said, the summit gives Argentina an opportunity to recognize the extraordinary financial support from members of the G20, including the International Monetary Fund and China. Argentina’s balanced approach to international affairs, its ambitious reforms and its commitment to global leadership are valued by the international community. G20 leaders recognize that Argentina’s success could help stem the tide of populism globally, and provide a roadmap for countries that are, or will soon be, picking up the pieces from costly populist experiments. Indeed, keeping Argentina engaged with the international community is important to global stability and prosperity. Argentina’s vast non-conventional oil and gas reserves could turn it into an energy superpower in the 2020s. It is already among the world’s top food producers. The country also has large lithium deposits that will be key to powering the global green economy. Finally, the country also boasts a highly educated workforce, and Buenos Aires is a burgeoning hub for tech firms and startups. To capitalize on these opportunities, Argentina is making real progress in improving the rule of law and providing a more stable regulatory environment. Its government hopes to create an investment climate that offers predictability and profits. In that sense, Argentina’s G20 leadership is timely, as the country forges ahead in its historic, but fragile transition. Ultimately, in next year’s elections, the Argentine people will judge the value of the economic opening under way in Argentina. But the G20 summit gives the international community an important moment to weigh in as well, and to communicate the importance of Argentina’s international reengagement and Argentina’s increasingly important global leadership role. ■
Nicolás Saldías at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 13
B20 Photo Gallery 1
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B20 Germany-Argentina Handover Business Leaders Forum in Córdoba Sustainable Food System Meeting in Buenos Aires High Level Caucus Meeting in Washington, D.C. G20 Sherpa Meeting in Ushuaia G20 Engagement Groups Meeting in Ushuaia G20/B20 Digital Summit in Buenos Aires Global Employer´s Forum in Mendoza
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series COVER STORY
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT Authored by: Chris Purifoy & Jacksón Smith
Of Currency, New Gold Sta Rocket Fuel to Coordinate Currencies are a technology—symbolic systems that direct the transfer of value through entire societies. Like any technology, however, updates are required.
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f we are to meet the UN mandated goal to solve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we must have new, infrastructure wide solutions now. To meet these ambitious challenges, new models must be embraced that come around the whole global infrastructure of each sustainable development goal— that create common currencies to coordinate rewards for everyone in the supply chain who is eliminating poverty, saving lives, or educating the next generation. The creation of new currencies is the inevitable evolution of coordination when coordination breaks down, the logical next step for a global society currently unable to mobilize effective collective action towards goals that require immense collective action. The existing systems for communicating value—in dollars, legal constraints, and political conventions—are riddled with intractable holes that, over time, have led to seemingly unresolvable conundrums. We now have the ability to produce enough food for the world ten times over, and yet children go to sleep hungry every night. We have millions of free, online courses capable of bringing a world-class education to any person,
anywhere, yet so much of the world remains disconnected and ill equipped for the challenges of tomorrow. And we’ve cured the vast majority of basic diseases that burden the people of our Earth, yet millions suffer and die from them every day. In terms of human history, we’ve reached peak production—but we live in an era of broken communication and stilted coordination. Currencies are a technology— symbolic systems that direct the transfer of value through entire societies. Like any technology, however, updates are required. Even though our priorities have changed, we have not realigned or supplemented our global coordinating infrastructures to fully account for the unique values animating the Sustainable Development Goals. Rather, we have opted for a system defined by its friction—periodic conventions to encourage laborious, one-off partnerships between the private, public, and non-profit sectors. While these are beneficial, and often provide profound models for creating impact, they rarely scale due to administrative overhead and are constrained by a system that primarily rewards investments in capital, not in human life, knowledge, or happiness.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT VALUE REALLY MEANS CHANGES EVERYTHING—AND WILL BE AT THE CENTER OF THE DECENTRALIZED REVOLUTION IN GLOBAL COORDINATION THAT WILL UNFOLD OVER THE NEXT DECADE. 16 ❙ g20g7.com
In essence, the Sustainable Development Goals will remain an elusive dream—unless we learn how to coordinate, in a decentralized way, around the nuances of their underlying values. But it’s difficult to think about value when we have no buoy for understanding it outside our traditional lenses: for example, our time, our job, and what others tell us they are worth in cash. This, largely, is the world’s paradigm for value so far. But understanding what value really means changes everything —and will be at the center of the decentralized revolution in global coordination that will unfold over the next decade. So, where do we begin? Let’s start with gold. Gold is an inherent value. When backing a market, gold allows us to grow a balanced economy well into the trillions. But why does it allow for massive stable markets to form around it? It is gold’s permanence that creates stability. We understand that gold will always have value, because it is inherent in all of us, not just in one part of the world, but everywhere, not just today, but tomorrow and for the long haul. ›
ndards, and Global Impact
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series COVER STORY
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
› In the 1930s when the gold standard was removed, we learned that the U.S. dollar didn’t need gold to back its economy to flourish. We learned that it was just a symbol for U.S. citizens to decentralize their coordination around the United States economy. It turns out, common agreement is a philosophy for building shared economy. And so it seems inherent value is a marker for us to begin exploring what the future could look like—a future beyond gold and the existing realm of credit. And so what else has inherent value? Is education as valuable as gold? What about healthcare? What about a vote that can’t be tampered with? What about an ID that can’t be stolen or erased? What about access to nutrition or clean water? You will find value everywhere you look. It turns out, we’ve already done the legwork necessary to uncover the most elemental inherent values: The Sustainable Development Goals are commitments grown out of the drive to bring to life basic tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—the closest possible social contract we have to a global, common agreement. We’ve already agreed, as a global community, to ensure inclusive and equitable access to quality education. We’ve already agreed to empower all women and girls, to ensure pure and clean water access for all, to promote health at all stages of life, and to end hunger. We’ve already agreed. Our agreements are grounded in deep value centers that are globally shared, but undervalued and unfulfilled. The reason for this is our inability to quantify intangible value. All of these rich, inherent values are still nebulous and fragmented in implementation—largely existing as ideals and blueprints for deep, globally shared common agreement. That is, we all agree education, health, and equality have value, but we lack common units for understanding who and who is not contributing real value—leaving us to fumble in our own, uncoordinated siloes as we chase the phantoms of impact. In essence, we lack common currencies for our common agreements. Now we find ourselves at the nexus of the real paradigm of Blockchain, allowing us to fuse economics with inherent value by proving the participation of some great human effort, then quantifying the impact of that effort in unforgeable and decentralized ledgers. It allows us to build economic models for tomorrow, that create wholly 18 ❙ g20g7.com
new markets and economies for and around each of the richest of human endeavors. In late 2017 at the height of the Bitcoin bubble, without individual coordination, planning, or the help of institutions, almost $1 trillion was infused into blockchain markets. This is remarkable, and the revolution has only just begun. When you realize that Blockchain is in a similar stage of development as the internet pre-AOL, you will see a glimpse of the global transformation to come. Only twice in the information age have we had such a paradigm shift in global infrastructure reform—the computer and the internet. While the computer taught us how to store and process data, the Internet built off that ability and furthered the conversation by teaching us how to transfer that information. Blockchain takes another massive step forward—it builds off the internet, adding to the story of information storage and transfer—but, it teaches us a new, priceless and not yet understood skill: how to transfer value. This third wave kicked off with a rough start—as happens with the birth of new technologies and their corresponding liberties. Blockchain has, thus far, been totally unregulated. Many, doubtless, have taken advantage. A young child, stretching their arms for the first couple times might knock over a cookie jar or two. Eventually, however, they learn to use their faculties— be skeptical at this phase in blockchain’s evolution, it’s important not to be blind to its remarkable implications in a post-regulated world, so that we may wield its faculties like a surgeon’s scalpel—not for evil or snake-oil sales, but for the creation of more good, for the flourishing of commonwealth. In 2019 you will see a boom in innovation and market acceptance, as the first regulated cryptocurrency exchanges launch along with a new wave of global media attention, as the world learns that maybe cryptocurrency can be safe, when regulated, and maybe it will change the world in every way, the same as its predecessors: the internet and the computer. But what of the volatility in blockchain markets? People agree Bitcoin has value, but they don’t understand why they are in agreement, and so cryptomarkets fluctuate violently. Stable blockchain economies will require new symbolic gold standards that clearly articulate why someone would agree to support each market, to anchor common
agreement with stability. The more globally shared these new value standards, the better. Is education more valuable than gold? What about healthcare or nutrition or clean water? We set out in 2018 to prove a hypothesis— we believe that if you back a cryptocurrency economy with a globally agreed upon inherent value like education, you can solve for volatility and stabilize a mature long
LET US RAISE A STANDARD TO WHICH THE WISE AND THE HONEST CAN REPAIR. George Washington
coordinate around the commonwealth without the friction of individual partnerships. Imagine the same for healthcare, nutrition, and our environment? Imagine a world where we can pay refugees to learn languages as they find themselves in foreign lands, a world where we can pay those laid off by the tide of automation to retrain themselves for the new economy, a world where we can pay the next generation to prepare themselves for the unsolved problems of tomorrow. Imagine new commonwealth economies that alleviate the global burdens of poverty, disease, hunger, inequality, ignorance, toxic water, and joblessness. Commonwealths that orbit inherent values, upheld by immutable blockchain protocols that reward anyone in the ecosystem stewarding the economy— whether that means feeding the hungry, providing aid for the global poor, delivering mosquito nets in malaria-ridden areas, or developing transformative technologies that can provide a Harvard-class education to anyone in the world willing to learn. These worlds are not out of reach—we are only now opening our eyes to the horizons of blockchain, decentralized coordination, and new gold standards. Even though coordination is the last of the seventeen sustainable development goals, when solved, its tide will lift for the rest—a much-needed rocket fuel for global prosperity. ■ lasting cryptomarket that awards everyone who adds value to that market in a decentralized way without the friction of individual partnerships. What if education was a new gold standard, and what if this new Learning Economy had protocols to award everyone who is helping to steward the growth of global education? Education is a mountain. Everyone takes a different path to the top. Blockchain allows
us to measure all of those unique learning pathways, online and in classrooms, into immutable blockchain Learning Ledgers. By quantifying the true value of education, a whole economy can be built around it to pay students to learn, educators to create substantive courses, and stewards to help the Learning Economy grow. It was designed to provide a decentralized way for everyone adding value to global education to
Chris Purifoy is Chief Architect and Co-Founder and Jacksón Smith is Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of the Learning Economy, a blockchain endeavor dedicated to solving education’s toughest challenges. For more information visit: www.learningeconomy.io.
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Branded Story_TCG Authored by: Neil Hare
New Global Trade Order Needs to Include Taiwan G20 should increase trade and agreements with Island Nation
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he global trading system is currently being transformed the world over. The United States is renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and engaging in a trade war with China, and the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union, as just a few examples that are roiling the global economy. As the G20 nations contemplate changing existing trade agreements and crafting new ones, they should consider the economic powerhouse that is Taiwan and the importance of forging new relations with it. What should not occur is trying to isolate Taiwan by forcing countries and companies from breaking relations or making doing business with Taiwan more difficult. Taiwan has recently seen the departure of some of the few countries that recognize it, including El Salvador and Panama, and watched as most of the world’s airlines bent to the will of the People’s Republic of China by referring to Taiwan and China Taipei. These actions are a disservice to one of the world’s most vibrant economies.
With a population of only 25 million people, Taiwan boasts the 11th largest economy in the world. According to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Taiwan was the U.S.’s tenth largest goods trading partner in 2016, with $65.3 billion in total (two way) goods traded (the most current data available). Trade in services with Taiwan totaled $19.4 billion in 2016. The top export categories in 2016 included machinery ($5.4 billion), aircraft ($3.2 billion), optical and medical instruments ($1.8 billion) and organic chemicals ($824 million). Taiwan also represented the United States’ 7th largest agricultural export market, with leading domestic export categories including soybeans, corn, beef, wheat and fruit. Taiwan and the EU are important economic partners as well. According to the Taipei Representative to the EU, Taiwan was the EU’s 18th largest trading partner in trade in goods and its seventh largest trading partner in Asia, after mainland China, Japan, South Korea, India, Hong Kong and Singapore in 2016. The EU is the fifth largest trading ›
THE TOP EXPORT CATEGORIES IN 2016 INCLUDED MACHINERY ($5.4 BILLION), AIRCRAFT ($3.2 BILLION), OPTICAL AND MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS ($1.8 BILLION) AND ORGANIC CHEMICALS ($824 MILLION). 20 ❙ g20g7.com
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Branded Story_TCG
› partner of Taiwan, behind mainland China, ASEAN6, the US and Japan. Trade between Taiwan and the EU-28 reached $48.8 billion in 2016, an increase by 5% in comparison to 2015. A key focus of the G20 meeting this year is gender equality in the workforce. Again, Taiwan is a leader in this space. Taiwan has provided women access to long term care and childcare solutions in the workplace as well as increased access to entrepreneurial loans. Firms with over 100 employees must provide nursing rooms and childcare or access to off-site childcare. In terms of technology, Taiwan is widely recognized as the global leader in cyber security, another priority for the G20. According to Philip Hsu, in an article in The Diplomat, Taiwan has been under constant cyber-attack by the People’s Republic of China since 2003. These attacks, known as Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), target political parties and organizations, the 22 ❙ g20g7.com
A KEY FOCUS OF THE G20 MEETING THIS YEAR IS GENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKFORCE. AGAIN, TAIWAN IS A LEADER IN THIS SPACE.
military and private corporations. In a survey administered by American cybersecurity firm FireEye, Taiwan placed second in Asia in terms of the quantity of unique APT malicious software and techniques targeting it, reflecting the priority that China places on cyber espionage against the island. For better or worse, defending APTs has made Taiwan the world testing ground and leader in thwarting such attacks. The US Department of Commerce led a trade mission of 20 companies to Taiwan in June of 2017
focused on cyber security, and US companies are acquiring Taiwanese cyber security firms at a rapid clip, once again showing the innovation and technological prowess of the Taiwanese economy. One major organization in Taiwan led by Dr. Roger Lin, the Taiwan Civil Government (TCG), calls for free trade agreements and stronger economic ties with the United States, all G20 nations, and the international community. The TCG wants to build on these strong ties and trading relationships to enhance the stability of Taiwan and ensure lasting peace in the region. The TCG calls on the G20 nations to open trade and economic opportunity with Taiwan and stop efforts to isolate the island. ■ This material is distributed by Global Vision Communications on behalf of the Taiwan Civil Government. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series Urban 20 Authored by: Ian Klaus
A Contemporary Diplomatic History The U20 was conceived in the image of the G20: cities of political and economic power from geo-politically active countries working together on shared goals.
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he Group of Twenty (G20) has long been the diplomatic white whale of city diplomats and urbanists. More than the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the BRICs, the Group of Seven (G7), or even the United Nations Security Council, G20 members most accurately represent economic and political power in the world today. And yet, with over fifty percent of the world urbanized and with cities driving economic growth and increasingly the global climate change agenda, city leaders have for years had no formal avenue for engaging the G20. That changed In December, 2017, with the announcement by the city of Buenos Aires in Paris of the Urban 20 (U20) and the convening in October, 2018, of the first U20 Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires. It has become commonplace to note that the global order - with its bedrock post-World War II institutions, alliances, and diplomatic norms - is under strain. The absence of
consensus communiquĂŠs from the 2017 G20 in Germany and 2018 G7 in Canada both reveal the high diplomatic costs of sudden shifts in policy priorities and disregard for diplomatic practice. The advent of the U20 is meant to elevate the role of cities on this uncertain global stage. It has emerged from the leadership of networks and mayors, and in that sense is part of the larger megatrends of the twenty-first century. But it is not meant to overturn any order, to challenge the Westphalian system. It stems, instead, from a realization that cities cannot act alone to solve global challenges like climate change and income inequality. And it reflects the fundamental truth that nation-states cannot
solve those problems without working hand-in-hand with cities. In short, the U20 i s part of a larger effort to evolve the global order, including the G20, to reflect the reality of power in the twenty-first century and to meet its challenges. Why Now? The G20 has seven engagement groups including the Business 20, Science 20, and Civil 20 - to allow non-state expertise and perspective into its process. While each has the ability to include issues facing cities, until 2018 no formal group or platform existed to allow municipal officials and city-perspectives to communicate as a collective to G20 leaders
IT HAS BECOME COMMONPLACE TO NOTE THAT THE GLOBAL ORDER - WITH ITS BEDROCK POST-WORLD WAR II INSTITUTIONS, ALLIANCES, AND DIPLOMATIC NORMS - IS UNDER STRAIN.
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series Urban 20
and sherpas. This is not necessarily for lack of effort, and recognition of the need for a collective-city voice is not new. The Obama Administration gave consideration to integrating urban concerns into G20 processes, and Germany possessed ambitions to elevate urban issues at Hamburg. Leading urbanists, economists and academics like Aromar Revi, Director of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, and Michael Cohen, Director of the International Affairs Program at the New School, have been advocating for such a development for years. C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) and other leading networks in the climate change space, meanwhile, have increasingly recognized the need to broaden their diplomatic efforts to include the G20. Indeed, the realization of the U20 is less an intellectual innovation than it is a diplomatic development. Its development is the result of both larger trends and discrete political leadership. On the structural side, cities now possess the ability to organize quickly and efficiently. According to ongoing research at the University of Melbourne, there are currently over 300 city networks. These networks consistently lead to policy exchange and frequent dialogue between officials. Two of these networks, C40 and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), have played central roles in the creation and orchestration of the U20, with C40 serving as the convener in collaboration with UCLG. C40 is comprised of 96 of the world’s largest cities, while UCLG’s network represents 70% of the world’s total population and is present on six continents. Such networks are now experienced at producing communiqués and charters and have helped develop the practice of city diplomacy. The G20, unlike many other multilateral institutions, does not have a secretariat, making the role of the presidency - or host member - all the more important. The leadership of the City of Buenos Aires thus proved crucial to the launch and subsequent direction of the U20. In the summer of 2017, Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta proposed the idea to the Mayor of Paris and Chair of C40, Anne Hidalgo, who would ultimately serve alongside Larreta as co-chair. The idea was rather simple: global cities, subject to global economic pressures and possessing significant political power, communicating on global issues, like climate change, to the targeted audience of G20 leaders and sherpas. The leadership of 26 ❙ g20g7.com
Buenos Aires and Paris combined with the strength of their city networks, and, Mayors Larreta and Hidalgo launched the U20 on the margins of the One Planet Summit in Paris in December, 2017. There’s No Going It Alone The growth of subnational diplomacy over the last decades has been fueled, in part, by a recognition that nation-states are not moving fast enough to meet global challenges. These alternative efforts are only part of the story, however. As the participation of scores of cities at COP 21 in Paris also shows, many of the more robust diplomatic efforts by cities and city-networks have in fact sought to influence international organizations, nation-states, and their treaties and agreements. These efforts of diplomatic influence are informed by two strategic assumptions: first, that nation-states can only deliver on the best of their ambitions if they learn to work with, and in some cases empower, cities; and, second, that no matter how many commitments cities make or networks they build, they cannot do it alone. In most cases, rapidly growing cities, for instance, do not possess the financing needed to undertake necessary infrastructure projects. In many cases, they do not possess the authority. Or put another way, to undertake the systemic transition to a zero-carbon society, cities need to work with multilateral and national finance organizations; and to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, nations need cities to reduce their energy use and change urban behavior patterns. The diplomatic logic is collaboration and action rather than resistance. The U20 affirmed this approach in its first public declaration, a Joint Statement in April 2018: “We stand ready to work constructively and collaboratively with G20 leaders to find solutions for our common global challenges.” The twin goals of collaboration and influence, meanwhile, had obvious implications for U20 policy priorities. U20 statements, and adjoining engagement efforts with respective national sherpas, needed to track roughly to the G20 agenda developed by Argentina. U20 commitments and statements were negotiated through a series of sherpa meetings, the first hosted by Paris in February, 2018, and second in New York City in June, 2018. In addition to the cities, these meetings included a wide array of expert participants and observers,
THE GROWTH OF SUBNATIONAL DIPLOMACY OVER THE LAST DECADES HAS BEEN FUELED, IN PART, BY A RECOGNITION THAT NATION-STATES ARE NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH TO MEET GLOBAL CHALLENGES. including the Business 20, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the OECD, as well as the Development Bank of Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank, the French Development Agency, UN Habitat, and many others. The commitments offered by cities emerging from these meetings and ongoing bilateral discussions hewed closely to the priorities of the G20 Presidency. The initial Joint Statement coming from the first U20 sherpas’ meeting prioritized climate change, the future of work and social inclusion. Subsequent statements, including the communiqué, presented a combination of priorities of the G20 presidency along with those of cities. Oftentime, as was the case with food security and gender equality, priorities converged.
OUR POPULATION GENERATES CLOSE TO 10 BILLION MEGABYTES OF NEW INFORMATION EVERY SECOND, WHICH IS AN IMPOSSIBLE AMOUNT OF DATA TO KEEP UP WITH.
Diplomacy Evolves The U20 was conceived in the image of the G20: cities of political and economic power from geo-politically active countries working together on shared goals. And like the G20, the U20 will likely always suffer from institutional ambiguity: Is the goal to deepen diplomatic relationships or to manage crises? Should it have a secretariat? Should its membership be more open? The cities of U20 were nearly unanimous that they did not want a new organization or network. Instead, U20 is a platform, and as such, the chair will prove crucial in managing diplomatic interactions and building relationships with the G20 presidency. In 2019, that role will fall to Tokyo during the Japanese presidency of the G20. That means exciting policy issues
around smart cities and pressing ones around aging populations could theoretically be on the table alongside climate change and sustainable development. True to the platform itself, pressing diplomatic questions will also need to be addressed. As the post-World War II order continues to evolve, speed and flexibility in mobilising collective effort are now key to meeting global challenges, from the counterISIL coalition to the 2014 international response to the Ebola outbreak. But such efforts require extensive diplomatic engagement. And perhaps even more pressing, they require someone able to forge consensus. U20 cities include Tokyo, Berlin, Mexico City, Moscow, Beijing, and Tshwane. As with the G20 in times of challenging
geopolitics, the U20 chairs may well face moments where they must balance the difficult choice between consensus and progress. The platform is there now for such negotiations and choices. And the diplomat, of course, must believe a path can be found serving both ends. â–
Ian Klaus is diplomatic adviser to the Urban 20. He is non-resident senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Previously, he was senior adviser for global cities at the US Department of State, and deputy United States negotiator for the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development (Habitat III).
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Wilson Center Authored by: Paulo Sotero & Anna C. Prusa
Brazilian Elections Brazil’s Bolsonaro defied expectations to win the presidency, and now faces the larger challenge of governing.
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n October 28, 2018, far-right Congressman Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil in a stunning rebuke to the leftist Workers’ Party (PT) of former President Lula. A former army captain and congressman with little to show for almost thirty years in the Chamber of Deputies, Bolsonaro was hardly an outsider. Yet he ran an insurgent, anti-establishment campaign, tapping into Brazilians’ anger and frustration with widespread corruption and a public security crisis exacerbated by a three-year economic recession, the longest and deepest in the country’s history. In hindsight, it was not a surprise that Bolsonaro defied decades of political tradition and handily defeated his opponent, Fernando Haddad, a former São Paulo mayor who Lula, serving a prison sentence for corruption since April, anointed as the PT candidate once the courts declared him ineligible for public office. Now, the president-elect must figure out how to govern within the system he ran against, and quickly, given the unfavorable political and economic outlook in Brazil. To be successful, the untested Bolsonaro will have to control runaway public deficits, especially in the nearly exhausted public pension system, and gain the trust of domestic and foreign investors. He will need to form and steer a government backed by a diverse coalition in Congress with conflicting interests—which will entail abandoning the divisive rhetoric he used to win and unifying public opinion. Whether a liberal economic policy will be welcomed in a society accustomed to government intervention is perhaps the greatest unknown. In Washington and other capitals who applauded the potential change of direction brought by Bolsonaro’s election, officials have expressed doubts about the president-elect’s commitment to reform, including Brazil’s greater integration into the global economy. This concern is fed by the presence in the new government of former senior military officers traditionally associated with statist and nationalist views of government, as well as by Bolsonaro’s proximity to business interests in industry and agriculture historically reliant on protectionism and government support.
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Change, however, is in the air. Assuming the economy turns around and begins generating sustainable growth and employment, the new political energy brought by Bolsonaro’s victory will generate momentum for Brazil to reclaim, this time from the right, the international leadership it effectively abandoned during the failed presidency of Dilma Rousseff. A drastic shift in foreign policy Brazilian foreign policy under Bolsonaro will present a very different face to the world than the activist, South-South diplomacy of former President Lula. Bolsonaro’s pick for foreign minister, Ernesto Araújo—a career diplomat and admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump—is a strong critic of what he calls “globalism” and “economic globalization piloted by cultural Marxism,” which he deems “anti-human and anti-Christian.” Araújo publicly campaigned for Bolsonaro, attacking the Worker’s Party as “a terrorist organization” and Lula as “puppet” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. A climate skeptic described by Bolsonaro as a “brilliant intellectual,” Araújo has vowed to pursue “an active foreign policy” guided by Brazil’s national interests, including a closer relationship with the U.S.. An early demonstration of the rapprochement with Washington is likely to be the blessing of a deal allowing Embraer and Boeing to merge operations through several partnerships for civilian and military airplane coproduction and marketing. Not an expert on trade, Araújo is nevertheless expected to push for reshaping Mercosur from a Customs Union (which it never really was given the number of exceptions introduced by the four Southern Cone members: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) into a Free Trade Area, thus allowing Brazil to pursue its own trade agreements of various formats around the globe. It is uncertain how the Bolsonaro administration will deal with China, Brazil’s largest trade and investment partner. The president-elect visited Taiwan early in his campaign and criticized China for attempting
to “buy” Brazil. Following the election he toned down his rhetoric after a strong warning from Beijing about the potential negative repercussions. The trade war Trump initiated against China and Beijing’s countermeasures have benefited Brazilian exporters of agricultural products and food to the Chinese market. Bolsonaro will need to walk a delicate line to advance his country’s interests while avoiding taking sides. Bolsonaro has walked back several other promises that would have drawn U.S. praise but could have hurt Brazilian exports. Under pressure from the agricultural lobby, a key political base, he reversed campaign promises to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and move the Brazilian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, inspired by Trump. But the temptation in Brasília to seek alignment with the U.S. is likely to remain, and could cause turbulence in Brazil’s relations with the European Union and other nations with an unfavorable view of the American leader. The Urgent Need for Fiscal Reforms Brazilian foreign policy will have limited influence if the president-elect is unable to resolve economic challenges at home.
BOLSONARO’S RECENT CABINET CHOICES SUGGEST THAT HE IS LOOKING TO MITIGATE SOME OF THE CRITIQUES AGAINST HIM. THE APPOINTMENT OF LEVY TO THE BNDES UNDERSCORES THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION’S COMMITMENT TO REDEFINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
Without doubt, the most critical task facing the incoming Bolsonaro government will be stabilizing Brazil’s fiscal situation. Expectations are high on this front, due largely to the presence of Chicago-trained economist Paulo Guedes as the finance “super minister” in the new administration. Despite unresolved concerns that Bolsonaro could prove to be a nationalist at heart, limiting the scope for privatizations and other measures, the transition team has pushed ahead in developing a liberal economic agenda, as clearly indicated by the appointment of World Bank executive and former Finance Minister Joaquim Levy to the Brazilian development bank BNDES and the retention of key reformers from the economic team of outgoing President Michel Temer. Key to this strategy are Guedes’s plans for the privatization of public companies, the drastic reduction of bureaucracy, and the substantive lowering of Brazil’s trade and investment barriers—the highest among middle income economies. But Guedes has stated that pension reform tops the list. Pension spending in 2016 was 8.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), making the overhaul of the pension system fundamental
to any effort to reduce public debt and spur growth. There is growing recognition among investors that reforms may be less profound and the economic recovery process may take longer than originally hoped, but a failure to pass any pension reform in 2019 would be greeted with serious concern. Yet pension reform has proven notoriously difficult to pass in Brazil—the last reform (in 2003, under President Lula) did not even touch the minimum retirement age, and the situation has only worsened. Temer’s proposal, currently before Congress, is widely considered an important first step, but insufficient to reverse the fiscal deficit. Congressional leaders have stated that the lame duck session is unlikely to pass pension reform before January 1st, scuttling the incoming president’s public hopes that outgoing legislators would be willing to move forward on the highly unpopular measure, leaving him free to address other economic concerns. This lack of immediate progress on pension reform underscores a more serious issue: there is no indication that the president-elect’s current team is capable of effectively cajoling and negotiating with Congress. Bolsonaro will undoubtedly discover, as did his predecessors, that Congress can make or break the administration’s economic agenda. He can expect a broad coalition in Congress, but it will likely prove strongest on conservative social issues, public security, and agriculture—and could easily splinter when faced with highly unpopular legislation like pension reform. Moreover, Bolsonaro has already disavowed two of the traditional methods of enforcing coalition discipline in the fractionalized Brazilian system: rewarding coalition parties with cabinet ministries and other patronage jobs, and pork barrel spending in exchange for votes. As a result, the power of the bully-pulpit may prove far more important to Bolsonaro’s economic agenda than in past administrations.
Conclusion Bolsonaro’s recent cabinet choices suggest that he is looking to mitigate some of the critiques against him. The appointment of Levy to the BNDES underscores the incoming administration’s commitment to redefining the relationship between the state and the private sector. Bringing in entrepreneur and philanthropist Viviane Senna as Education minister (or appointing someone she recommends), as suggested by press reports, would similarly suggest a more positive outlook for social issues—an area of concern due to Bolsonaro’s stated views on women, LGBTQ+, and minorities. The selection of Federal Judge Sergio Moro, who led the Lava Jato corruption investigations, as justice minister has strengthened confidence that the new government will adhere to the rule of law (despite concerns raised about the politicization of the judicial process). However, none of these measures will be meaningful if the administration fails the test of leadership and does not advance needed fiscal reforms during the first year of the new administration. Brazilian foreign policy and economic policy will be inextricably linked for the Bolsonaro administration. Resolving Brazil’s fiscal mess will generate international buzz for the new government, spurring further investment and helping to revive Brazil’s role on the global stage. Similarly, perception of Brazil and its foreign policy stance could have a significant impact on trade and investment. In the absence of necessary reforms, the new Brazilian leader’s honeymoon will be short, regardless of his ability to speak directly to the people via social media. There is hope that the exigencies of the moment will mean at least some of these policies are implemented. As Ana Paula Vescovi, the outgoing deputy minister of Finance, wryly explained in a recent presentation, “The good news is that we have run out of money.” ■ Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 29
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Blockchain Authored by: Silvana Smith
A Framework to Cut Through Blockchain Hype The fear of losing investments coupled with concerns about security, has left doubts about whether blockchain and cryptocurrency technology is truly beneficial to all businesses. A new framework aims to help businesses understand how blockchain can benefit them.
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n the fast-developing world of cryptocurrencies, blockchain and other types of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT’s) offer a digital way to record transactions made in the virtual world. This new concept of a blockchain is a permanent and decentralized system used to verify transactions without relying on a third-party value or authority. Instead of a centralized bank system that uses electronic money, blockchain functions as a public financial transaction database for digital currencies such as bitcoin. Without the need for a central database or administrator, there is a considerable demand from many businesses for this kind of tech tool. Through cutting out intermediaries, blockchain is meant to streamline business processes and enable them to take advantage of cryptocurrencies. Many investors were eager to explore this new technology and had high hopes for how cryptocurrencies and blockchain could revolutionize virtual transactions. The excitement created a considerable amount of hype surrounding blockchain and led to many companies investing millions in cryptocurrencies. However, not everyone believes the hype. The fear of losing investments coupled with concerns about security, still left doubts about whether blockchain and cryptocurrency technology is truly beneficial to all businesses. A lack of in depth understanding of the new technology also created confusion in potential adopters of blockchain. Without addressing these concerns, the hype surrounding DLT’s and cryptocurrencies could be misleading to businesses looking to invest. In order to cut through the hype and address concerns about adopting blockchain, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has introduced a tool that helps businesses discern whether or not blockchain and other DLT’s are viable solutions to pursue. Their decision model provides a series of eleven guided questions that offer a rationale based on a business’s unique resources and needs. WEF aims to prevent over investments or bad decisions by ensuring the tool is unbiased and provides a “balanced perspective” for evaluating blockchains. The decision model functions as a framework that also articulates to businesses which type, if any, blockchain is appropriate to use. There are three main types of DLT’s: permissionless, public systems; permissionless, private systems; or hybrid systems. Each type
THIS NEW FRAMEWORK WILL ALLOW POTENTIAL BUSINESS INVESTORS TO TAKE A PRACTICAL APPROACH AND REDUCE THEIR OVERALL RISK WHEN EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW DLT’S AND INVESTING IN BLOCKCHAIN. is useful for different kinds objectives and have different sets of requirements for use. In the full report, WEF outlines uses for private versus public ledgers and provides a table that organizes each type in relation to their level of decentralization and transaction speed. This toolkit was workshopped at the WEF Annual Meeting this year and was developed with input from a diverse variety of businesses that showed high interest in adopting blockchain. With their high level of interest in participating in this new technology, WEF decided to go beyond providing business with a reference tool for blockchains and provide a method for problem analysis to decide “whether blockchain might be useful for a particular problem,” without needing prior knowledge of blockchain technology. This approach helps clear up confusion on exactly how blockchain works and how it could meet their specific needs. Characteristics of businesses that demonstrate high potential use include a shared repository, multiple writers that record transactions, minimal trust, presence of intermediaries, and transaction dependencies. Businesses that have demonstrated interest in using blockchain include medical insurance, banks, and energy companies, but only few demonstrate a practical use for DLT’s. Medical insurance, for example, fails to meet the
requirements that prove blockchains are appropriate for their business. Blockchain was proposed to allow medical insurance companies to keep track of patient medical claims, reduce costs, increase transparency and reduce trade. However, after going through the decision model, it is revealed that the medical industry’s heavy regulation and need for close oversight is not suited for blockchain’s lack of a third-party authority. On the other hand, a leading software company that uses graphics processing units (GPU’s) for customer projects would benefit from adopting blockchain. Using blockchain and a token-based system would provide an adequate solution for “the chronic GPU shortage and lack of economies of scale” and reduce overall costs for the company. By implementing a new decision model, WEF hopes to “mitigate the hype” surrounding blockchain technologies. This new framework will allow potential business investors to take a practical approach and reduce their overall risk when experimenting with new DLT’s and investing in blockchain. ■
Silvana Smith is a correspondent with Diplomatic Courier magazine in Washington, DC.
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 31
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Space Diplomacy Authored by: Samantha Thorne
To Infinity and Beyond: Space Diplomacy and the New Space Age The combined efforts of commercial companies and national space agencies have created a robust commercial marketplace in the new space age, and will launch mankind beyond its current limitations.
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he Trump administration’s push “to boldly go where no man has gone before” has revamped the United States’ space industry. This renewed fervor simulating the likes of the U.S.-Russia Space Race has inspired cooperation between national space agencies and between government organizations and commercial enterprises. John Bridenstine, the director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confirmed this collaborative approach to modern space exploration while at a recent POLITICO event. Recognizing the role of a robust commercial marketplace in the new space age, Bridenstine predicted that the combined efforts of NASA, commercial companies, and various national space agencies will launch mankind beyond its current limitations.
NASA-Commercial Companies Relationship The added involvement of private companies has transitioned the space industry away from a bilateral relationship between NASA and contractors into a blooming multilateral cooperation. Bridenstine praised this collaboration and recognized the different roles that commercial enterprises and NASA play in advancing the space agenda. He described NASA as a trailblazer because of the organization’s ability to push past barriers of excessive risk and inadequate returns to investment that obstruct private companies from space innovation. Commercial enterprises can capitalize on second-mover advantages to increase competition and push down costs of space travel as NASA absorbs these pioneering costs. 32 ❙ g20g7.com
An example is the private sector’s role in soft landing on the moon—such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Servicing (CLPS). Under the Lunar Payload Service Contract, private vendors compete to carry NASA payloads to the Moon’s surface. Ten companies have already expressed interest in the project and have proven their competency. Bridenstine outlined the Commercial Crew Program in which NASA partners with private space companies to train and launch astronauts into space. The director said the world can expect “American astronauts in American rockets from American soil” to be back in space very soon because of this partnership. Sustainability in Space Bridenstine highlighted President Trump’s Space Policy Directive 1 and its mission to make modern space travel more sustainable. NASA projects such as the Space Launch System and Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway are sustainable models that ensure space exploration continues into the future even with the threat of risk and costs. “We want to make sure that whatever architecture we develop for human exploration, that it is not something where we’re going to get to the surface of the moon and then decide that it’s too expensive or too risky and therefore we’re not going to go back,” Bridenstine explained. Although he prioritizes sustainability, Bridenstine’s discussion excluded fiscal specifics on how NASA will accomplish that goal. Instead, he highlighted the role of reusable rockets and commercial companies.
While the idea dates back to the 1960’s, technology behind building reusable rockets has been out of reach. However, according to the NASA director, the advent of recent technology and privatization in the space industry has made that dream attainable. He also noted that commercial companies will contribute to space travel’s sustainability since they contribute more players and ideas; NASA no longer single handedly monopolizes human exploration into space. But while reusable rockets and commercial involvement contribute to space travel’s sustainability, specifics related to fund allocations would have supplanted Bridenstine’s argument—his forecast that Congress will authorize additional NASA funding even though projects are over budget and behind schedule detracts from his sustainability discussion. International Cooperation Bridenstine recognized the role that international cooperation plays in the new space age, specifying NASA’s collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Excitement surrounding human exploration, returning to the moon, and going to Mars has garnered more cooperation from space agencies located worldwide, affirming that at times the world “needs some outside, universal threat [or goal] to make us recognize [humanity’s] common bond.” Concerted and collaborative efforts such as building the James Webb Space Telescope, Bridenstine noted, prove that even during times of strained international relations, working towards a universal goal can alleviate tensions. “Space cooperation, I believe, is really one of the best soft power tools of the United States of America,” said Bridenstine. “It is one of the best capabilities that we have, when all other types of communication break down because of world events, we can still have a channel of communication.” Space is the final frontier in international diplomacy. When economic, political, military, or even cultural methods fail to build international cooperation and unify a divided world, space cooperation endures. The work of international space collaboration and NASA-commercial enterprise partnerships not only unites the world to better understand the cosmos but pushes countries to overcome terrestrial strife. ■
EXCITEMENT SURROUNDING HUMAN EXPLORATION, RETURNING TO THE MOON, AND GOING TO MARS HAS GARNERED MORE COOPERATION FROM SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED WORLDWIDE.
SamanthaThorne is a correspondent with Diplomatic Courier magazine in Washington, DC.
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 33
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Leadership Authored by: Dr Robyn Stokes
Optimism as the ‘Architect’ of a New Brand of Leadership Is optimism just a mental retreat or safe place for leaders and citizens alike; does it provide the seeds for conscientious change; or, could optimism itself be the ‘architect’ for a new wave of leadership?
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s optimism just a mental retreat or safe place for leaders and citizens alike; does it provide the seeds for conscientious change; or, could optimism itself be the ‘architect’ for a new wave of leadership? Perhaps all three are possible in a world where populist leaders, a retreat to tribalism and social fragmentation are beginning to erode confidence and trust in liberal democracies.
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Leaders such as the late Kofi Annan and before him Nelson Mandela saw conflict and humans rights abuse beyond what most of us can imagine and yet both chose optimism over despondency or fatalism. Dr Annan said “I am a stubborn optimist; I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist”. For these global elders, optimism was a mindset and a way of working and among today’s
Millennials perhaps more than any other age groups, there are signs of optimism becoming a more deliberate paradigm for living and leading. The astute observer of modern leadership, McKinsey CEO, Dominic Barton says, “Optimism is at the very core of leadership. The best leaders I have encountered in my career are those that remain optimistic and ambitious for their organisations, even in the face of great adversity (Case for Optimism: The Optimist’s Voices, 2018). A recent IPSOS survey across 27 countries showed Millennials in emerging markets to be the most optimistic people on the planet. Across all locations and age groups, optimism rises when people think about their own families and local area (i.e. our mind is taken away from national or global concerns). And yet many nations and communities are seeing an optimism deficit created by the gruelling pessimism of 24/7 news media. In this environment, the optimism that people feel close to home and close to their own communities may well be the best architect for change. Could this optimism of people at the grassroots of communities provide a lifeline to respond to the wider uncertainties, fragmentation and deep seated concern that they are being left behind by elites who they see to be the main beneficiaries of globalisation? Harvard’s Steven Pinker and Victor Perton (author of The Optimists Voices) are among those who think so. Both are shaping a new wave of thinking on optimistic leadership, going beyond traditional views of leadership to people from all walks of life that simply choose to lead. The role of optimism in helping us to navigate a divided world was in focus at Australia’s Integrity 20 event in Brisbane in October. An event that began alongside Australia’s G20 in 2014, Integrity 20 led by Griffith University has come of age. Not surprisingly, it draws together a melting pot of global thinkers, community leaders, high
school students and millennials with stories to tell and ideas to share. Stand out commentators who have taken an interest in the Integrity 20 agenda include: Pulitzer nominated foreign correspondent and expert on North Korea Jean Lee; philosopher A. C. Grayling CBE; economist and former Google data scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, neural and systems complexity specialist Fiona Kerr, ABC’s Chief Asia correspondent and host of Australia’s popular Matter of Fact program Stan Grant. This year’s Integrity 20 launched with the theme ‘A World Divided’ – a confronting theme with a palette of geo-political, social and humanitarian challenges and questions. People from all works of life attended, many of them taking a greater than usual interest in ‘identity’ politics and political polarisation, the US and North Korea challenge, liberal democracies losing ground, the pushback against globalisation; and, the over-riding importance of reason, freedom of expression and learning how to disagree with uncomfortable and inconvenient ideas. Hope and optimism are evident among followers and participants in the Integrity 20 program. A great example is Pastor Evan Mawarire whose hashtag #ThisFlag and video of himself draped in the Zimbabwean flag inspired his country to push back against rampant corruption, injustice and poverty. Another is young journalist and podcaster, Clare Press, one of the many passionate change-makers rallying for a greater sense of environmental and social justice. In launching the event, Professor Paul Mazerolle of Griffith University underlined the polarised nature of public discourse, a loss of trust in corporate and institutional integrity (especially evident in Australia on the heels of its much publicised banking enquiry), the sway of social media over public opinion and the loss of truth and authenticity in news reporting. As Mazerolle said, “In 2018, we find ourselves divided as a global community on many fronts.
THE ROLE OF OPTIMISM IN HELPING US TO NAVIGATE A DIVIDED WORLD WAS IN FOCUS AT AUSTRALIA’S INTEGRITY 20 EVENT IN BRISBANE IN OCTOBER. AN EVENT THAT BEGAN ALONGSIDE AUSTRALIA’S G20 IN 2014, INTEGRITY 20 LED BY GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY HAS COME OF AGE.
But are some of our current divisions simply small fractures along a pathway of disruption, social change and ultimate renewal? If so, how can we best navigate these paths?” Embracing integrity as a first principle enables us all to ask the right questions and support the dialogue we need to have to create a world and a future with more authenticity, social progress and optimism. Integrity 20 is doing just that….inspired by Australia’s G20 and consecutive G20 meetings (in particular, the B20) that have a pivotal role in addressing transparency and integrity. Argentina’s Presidency has also given a high priority to global anti-corruption effort with its introduction of a Commitment for Integrity and Ethical Standards across G20 members. Looking ahead, Paul Mazerolle says Brisbane’s Integrity 20 will continue to support the wider objectives of international cooperation that the G20 embodies, exploring new ways of working to deliver change at the grassroots. It continues to explore questions to which we are all seeking answers – “How do we create more connected, cohesive and compassionate societies? How do we bridge the divides to foster global cooperation that is so crucial to addressing the great challenges of humanity? ›
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 35
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Leadership
› And alongside these questions, how do we deepen our sense of optimism and use it positively to ‘rise and resist’ and achieve meaningful change? Popular Integrity 20 speaker, A. C. Grayling’s insights to the strains and stresses confronting the Westminster model highlight the need for reform and new ways of engaging communities, especially Millennials, in liberal democracies (in which a ‘right to a voice’ and the ‘right to good government’ are central). For Grayling, key contributors to the erosion of democracy are social media, global conflict and the fear of terrorism but also China’s proof that you don’t have to be a democracy to be economically successful. However, Grayling is optimistic about the future of democracy: “If we make these small reforms, it should really work. By ‘really work’, I mean it would give us a ‘good enough’ government. We cannot expect all government and constitutional processes to work perfectly; all things human are deeply flawed and events and complexities intervene” (https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/14032). Listening to the discussions at this year’s Integrity 20, it was easy to be reminded of the late Kofi Annan and his speech just a year ago on the crisis of democracy. As he rightly said, “the setbacks of the last decade have to be set against the remarkable gains since the end of the Second World War, when there were only twelve fully-fledged democracies. Today there are 117, and elections, however flawed, have become almost universal, illustrating the legitimacy they offer. We should not forget that liberal democracy almost died in the 1930s, but liberal democracies eventually defeated Nazism and Fascism”. Kofi Annan’s over-riding optimism came from his belief that the majority of the world still aspires to more freedom, more rule of law, more accountability and more say in politics, outcomes that only a genuine democracy can deliver. A robust democracy traditionally also gives much greater air time to women’s past, current and future contribution to society. Among the social and political challenges reaching a crescendo in the last 12 months, feminism has sprung back, illustrated most visibly by the five million people who joined women’s marches around the world and the viral explosion of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. And yet New Zealand’s Professor Marilyn Waring’s book Counting for nothing: What men value and what women are worth continues to shine a light 30 years 36 ❙ g20g7.com
since its original publication on the overwhelming exclusion of women’s contribution through unpaid work to GDP calculations. How we re-shape our democratic institutions and processes to re-engage citizens (most especially millennials) and deliver greater inclusivity across genders and cultures deserves an open and optimistic mindset. As Barack Obama has previously said, young people drive change because they’re not vested in the way things have been and can readily imagine how things should be. Yet global research tells us that our youth have lost faith in existing institutions and this brings us fairly and squarely back to the issue of democracy itself losing ground. However, we should also heed IPSOS ’ 2018 conclusions about the level of optimism in some of the world’s most highly populated nations – “The prevailing media narrative in the West of decline and fragmentation is literally a world away from connected citizens in India and Indonesia who see a bright future” (IPSOS, 2018). In the west, as Bill Gates has often said, our failure to focus on what’s getting better suggests the media generally is missing an enormous story. The focus of this year’s Integrity 20 on inconvenient ideas and how we re-learn how to listen and contribute ideas with respect and logic (in the media generally and on the internet) was especially important. Social media has been described as both enabling and destabilising democracies. Polonski from the University of Oxford sees the internet creating ever increasing conflict and ideological segregation with extreme views getting far more air time (World Economic Forum, 2016). Yet it is naïve to assume those views do not represent very real divides in social and political opinions and disillusionment with our leaders. And it is increasingly naïve not to grasp the impact, power and manipulation of the truth in digital media that reinforces and embeds social tribes (sometimes working for the greater good and at other times perpetuating mistruths and installing leaders whose agenda and principles fall short in delivering a genuine democracy). Integrity 20 speaker and philosopher, Julian Baggini speaks to these challenges of a ‘post-truth world’ honing in on the role of reason in helping us to deal with a lack of objective truth in public debate. As Baggini points out, “reason is the process that
Victor Perton: Australia’s most vocal champion of optimistic leadership
‘A Divided World’: the central theme of Australia’s Integrity 20 event this year
gives room for different points of view and processes to negotiate or consider them” and it is challenged in a world where almost all sources of truth including media and science are questioned. The critical thing to grasp is the line of reasoning that people adopt in a post-truth world. As Baggini has previously observed, “It matters less to people that Trump has said things that aren’t true…they just want to know that his basic understanding of how the world works chimes with theirs and he basically wants the same things as them” (Baggini in conversation with Daniel Rhodes, 2017). A belief and acceptance that everybody is a liar at least some of the time is the apparent driver of the ‘does the truth really matter’ phenomenon. Startling evidence on the extent to which we conceal our real lives and opinions in traditional research has been given by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of the book Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are. Our general lack of inhibition and intolerance for the views of others on social media appears to be more than matched by our willingness to expose our true selves in our Google search behaviour. Tribal divisions form quickly on social media and moral judgements by a few quickly coalesce into many more
voices that seek to aggressively shut down inconvenient ideas. However, as Integrity 20 speaker Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Index of Censorship has said, banning free speech is dangerous i.e. banning an idea gives it more attention and silencing those with whom we disagree is not in keeping with a tolerant and diverse society. Our ability to create further global unity and restore belief in the benefits of democracy is helped by the IPSOS research finding that people across the world believe they have more things in common than things that make them different. Reflecting on discussions at Integrity 20, we are inspired to shape a new way forward and a new architecture for change based on optimistic leadership. A. C. Grayling has said “A survey of the great landscape of history shows steps forward. There might be a step back every now and then. I think we’re in one of those moments of faltering and uncertainty” (Wichtel, 2017 in https://www.noted.co.nz). Perhaps there is no better moment to rethink and reform democracy, recognising new models of optimistic leadership in the process. Harvard psychologist, Steven Pinker’s bestselling book, Enlightenment Now has given us plenty of evidence that the world is getting exponentially better. To cultivate a more optimistic mindset, Pinker has said,
“Keep your perspective. Not everything that happens is a harbinger of the future. Not every problem is a crisis, plague, epidemic or existential threat…problems are inevitable, but problems are solvable” (Gallo, 2018 in conversation with Pinker). Similarly, the Optimists Voices initiative (https://twitter. com/optimistsvoices) led by Victor Perton in Melbourne, Australia has prompted thousands of leaders around the world to consider their view on optimism for the very first time and articulate its value in their individual and professional lives. Buy-in to optimism at all levels of society is critical if we believe it can create a new style of leadership. If we want to make optimism itself the architect of change, this year’s Integrity 20 event inspires us to encourage the world to tap into the optimism that people across multiple nations feel close to their family and home. We must find ways to build intergenerational leadership through active storytelling, engagement and change-making i.e. involving individuals and communities in optimistic thinking and learning and relearning how to make a difference. As Kofi Anan once said, “You are never too young to lead, and we are never too old to learn.” Victor Perton’s challenge to audiences young and old is to repeat the mantra “The leader looks like the person in my mirror.”
There is no ‘them’ for Victor’s optimistic leaders. When did you last declare your optimism in a meeting? When did you last ask your team members what makes them optimistic? Millennials are purpose and people driven and they want the world to be a better place. In this context, events like Brisbane’s Integrity 20 play an extremely important role, not just drawing attention to the declining love affair with democracy but making optimism the architect of renewal and change. In doing so, this event and others like it reflect the great work of The Elders (https://theelders.org/), an independent group of global leaders working together for peace and human rights, founded by Nelson Mandela and chaired until his very recent death by Kofi Annan. Neither of these elders ever abandoned hope or compromised on their optimism. ■ For more information about Integrity20 or contact the organisers go to www.integrity20.org and to hear more about the Optimists Voices initiatives, go to http://www.victorperton.com/index.html
Dr Robyn Stokes is a member of Integrity 20 Advisory Board, Brisbane, Australia
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 37
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Gun Control Authored by: Jacqueline Christ
What the U.S. Can Learn from International Gun Control
While gun reform sits in debate on the floor of Congress for years at a time, other nations have taken stark action against guns.
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n the United States, gun control is one of the most highly debated policies in the country. Even with the shock of frequent mass shootings, skyrocketing gun-related death rates, and victims that increasingly are younger, gun policy is locked in stalemate. This is a stark divergence from much of the world. From Germany to Australia, nations have tackled gun control with a drastically different approach. While guns have jumped to one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., the global community has squashed gun-related violence in its tracks. Why? Because unlike the U.S., other countries have learned from their mistakes. While gun reform sits in debate on the floor of Congress for years at a time, other nations have taken a shift and taken stark action against guns. In Germany, the tremor of a single mass shooting in 2002 led to tightened gun policies. The year after a teenage student shot and killed 16 of his classmates, Germany produced a reformed version of its Weapons Act, in which any person under the age of 25 must receive a psychiatric evaluation before acquiring a gun license. Since the passing of the law in 2003, the number of gun-related death rapidly decreased. According to data from Gunpolicy.org, the number of gun-related
deaths in Germany shrank from 1,122 in 2003 to 820 in 2014, a decline of nearly 26 percent. Similarly, in Australia, gun reform took place after the deadliest mass shooting in the nation. After a man killed 35 people in the Port Arthur colony, the government initiated a widespread campaign to adapt Australia’s gun laws. The National Firearms Agreement was established in 1996 and placed restrictions on automatic rifles, initiated licensing laws and even spearheaded a buy-back program in which the government bought guns back from citizens. According to an analysis from Gunpolicy.org, the changes helped drop the number of gun-related fatalities from 516 in 1996 to 238 in 2016, a drop off of nearly 54 percent. The effectiveness of gun buyback programs has also helped the UK combat gun violence. After the Dunblane massacre in 1996, in which more than a dozen children died from semi-automatic weapon violence, the government launched a temporary gun buyback program. The buyback program seized more than 20,000 weapons in the country, according to a report from BBC News. The UK has been at the forefront of gun reform dating back to the 1980’s— with the 1988 Firearms Amendment Act
AFTER THE DUNBLANE MASSACRE IN 1996, IN WHICH MORE THAN A DOZEN CHILDREN DIED FROM SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPON VIOLENCE, THE GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED A TEMPORARY GUN BUYBACK PROGRAM. THE BUYBACK PROGRAM SEIZED MORE THAN 20,000 WEAPONS IN THE COUNTRY. 38 ❙ g20g7.com
that established a list of banned weapons. The act placed bans on several automatic weapons and limitations on the amount of ammunition that can be purchased. While individual states have modelled effective gun control policies, the international community has advocated for limits on the proliferation of guns. The UN established a stance against the distribution of small weapons in the 2001 Small Arms Programme of Action. Even though it holds no binding commitments, the agreement established mandates for better licensing, destroying small weapons, and raising awareness. In addition, the UN added a component to The Arms Trade Treaty to regulate small weapons. The 2014 treaty was signed by 94 states—including the U.S. and other nations with high gun-related death rates such as Brazil and Colombia. The agreement “encouraged” nations to keeps records and track the international transfers of conventional arms. However, there is no measure of accountability in upholding the promises in the treaty. In light of several mass shootings, the UN reacted to the lack of implemented gun control in the U.S. in a report in UN News. After the 2016 Orlando gay night club shooting in which 49 people died, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein condemned the violence and cited the incident to the lack of sufficient gun control policies. “It is hard to find a rational justification that explains the ease with which people c an buy firearms, including assault rifles, in spite of prior criminal backgrounds, drug use, histories of domestic violence and mental illness, or direct contact with extremists— both domestic and foreign,” said Hussein. “Examples from many countries clearly show that a legal framework to control
the acquisition and use of firearms has led to a dramatic reduction in violent crime.” In fact, gun restrictions have been proven to reduce gun-related deaths. According to a study by Epidemiologic Reviews, the enforcement of gun control policies was correlated with a steep reduction in gunrelated deaths in 10 countries. Specifically, the data found that laws that passed holds on carrying firearms resulted in lower homicide rates in Colombia, with a decline of 14 percent in homicides in the city of Cali. In Australia, the implementation of constraints on semi-automatic weapons in the Victoria state correlated to a 17.3 percent decline in gun-related deaths and gun-assisted suicides. The limitations of gun and ammunition possession, heightened firearm costs and stronger penalties resulted in a decrease in firearm deaths in Brazil in just six months. Regardless of the specific type of gun control policy or country, the implementation of gun restrictions can rapidly decrease gun-related fatalities. The research indicated that in the U.S., a simple gun control policy can make a significant impact on firearm deaths as well. After a Maryland law required background checks and limited the sale to one firearm a month, the number of firearm homicides dropped by more than 10 percent. Even with many countries modelling successful gun reform, the application of such laws in the U.S. is easier said than done. Given the lack of consensus in Congress, lobbying efforts from the National Rifle Association and the normalcy of gun culture, the U.S. has a long way to go. However, in light of recent events within the U.S., the need for gun control is becoming more and more necessary. The U.S. should seek to adopt the gun control policies that have proven to be successful in the international arena, before it is too late. ■
Jacqueline Christ is Diplomatic Courier magazine’s correspondent.
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 39
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
The Race to 2050 Authored by: Sartaj Anand
Tiger Meets Dragon: The Race to 2050 An exploration of the differences between China and India
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hina and India routinely get compared to each other because of their population sizes and geographical proximity but based on technological, social and economic trends they are wildly divergent. India is at least a decade behind China in terms of core infrastructure development but what is more worrying is the persistent gap that has emerged in economic mobility, skills development and job creation. The Indian government must get its act together if it wants to deliver on its promise of long-term equitable progress. In the meanwhile, here are a few charts that highlight the disparity between the two giants.
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China has a massive lead in millionaire headcount
Data Sources: 2017 China Private Wealth Report & Global Wealth Report
The success of the Chinese economy has not only lifted millions out of poverty but it has minted more than 800 new millionaires, in US dollar terms, every single day in 2017. Although this growth rate is cooling down to 18% in 2018 we see a similar economic phenomenon entirely missing in India!
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Chinese household wealth is 6 times larger than India
Data Sources: Global Wealth Report
Indians are well-known for maintaining large holdings of gold, real estate and cash in the absence of effective social welfare but this culture of savings has recently mixed with a modern investment outlook. However, China is in a dominant position as its $29 Trillion household wealth war chest trumps India completely. We expect household wealth to grow to $7.1 Trillion by 2022 while China’s corpus will surge to $39 Trillion by then.
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India needs Gross National Income growth to kick in
Data Sources: World Bank
Income is never equitably distributed and usually concentrated in the top 10–20% of the population. This is precisely why GNI per capita is an important socio-economic metric 40 ❙ g20g7.com
to track since it roughly indicates the average income of a country’s citizens. As can be evidenced above, Chinese income grew by leaps and bounds over the last 30 odd years while income in India was much more sluggish. We expect a similar exponential breakout to occur in India if a favorable economic environment is cultivated through strategic stimulus and responsible policymaking. We believe Chinese income will grow 4 to 5 times during this timeframe as it becomes the largest economy in the world.
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Indian assets are much more stressed Data Sources: RBI and CBRC
India’s NPA ratio may hit 11.1% by September 2018 and this is a particularly troubling situation given the context that 19% of the population still remains unbanked with the vast majority only beginning to tap into formal credit. The debt of just 12 companies constitutes 25% of all NPA in India which highlights how disconnected small and medium enterprise customers are from the issue. China’s debt fueled economy is on a much tighter leash with just 1.7% of all assets being defined as non-performing thanks to a decade long restructuring exercise where asset-based securitization became the norm. Although India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is proving to be helpful we believe existing risks could push stressed assets to 15%. However, Chinese exposure seems to be limited to 3% because of interventions by the CBRC.
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China is the global leader in clean energy
Data Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
China’s Achilles heel has always been the environmental compromises it has had to make in order to accelerate its economic output. However, it is now seriously committed to undoing this wrong by using its abundant capital and manufacturing prowess to scale clean renewable energy solutions. In 2017 alone China added 53GW of solar PV accounting for nearly 50% of the global market. Cumulative PV installations in China
reached 130GW with the 2020 target being revised to 230 GW. India has already achieved its 20GW solar target a full 4 years ahead of schedule but to meet its new commitment of 100GW by 2022 it will require pumping in $160 billion. We consider such an investment essential for India and advise mandatory coupling of smart energy storage solutions with PV installation to accelerate rollout.
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Female participation in labor is lagging in India
Data Source: ILO
China and India have a shared history of attempting to manage their growing populations
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Food deficit is a very real and shared concern
Data Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization
Malnutrition has been a major concern for both India and China for the past few decades as they worked to reduce the infant mortality rate and improve the overall health of their citizens. Unfortunately, India is still home to 190.7 million undernourished people and 38.4% of children under the age of five are stunted. China has almost eliminated urban poverty but 134.7 million are still undernourished! However, innovations such as Ying Yang Bao, a sachet of micronutrients, are helping the government to make China hunger-free. India needs to adopt a multipronged approach by expanding on nutrition schemes for adolescent girls; leveraging the unique identification project to bring transparency to the public distribution system comprised of 400,000 fair price shops; and implementing the National Food Security Act fully.
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Billionaires aren’t growing the same way
Data Source: Hurun Research Institute
in varied ways with limited success and serious social and demographic consequences. However, China has managed to leapfrog India in terms of encouraging its female population to contribute to the workforce. In 2017, for every 100 male members of the labor force there were 81 female workers in China as compared to only 34 in India. India must continue to invest in changing the social narrative of women and provide meaningful opportunities for them because it could unlock an additional $770 billion to its GDP by 2025. The lack of participation and high-skilled work for women poses a giant risk to India.
The count of billionaires in a nation isn’t just a trophy but, in our opinion, a real indicator of wealth generation since a lot of new income does get routed to their mega-corporations. China is already home to more billionaires than anywhere else on the planet and will continue to outpace the US the coming few decades. The Chinese are also entering this rarified club at an average age of 55 years which is 6 and 7 years earlier than their American and European peers respectively. India is doing nowhere as well in age threshold, billionaire count and total net worth with China adding more new billionaires in the last 12 months than there are Indian billionaires.
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India is facing a serious job crunch
Data Source: India Labour Bureau and Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security
The greatest promise a fast-growing economy brings to its people is jobs which are widely believed to be gateways of economic mobility. They allow people to permanently escape poverty and provide opportunities to the next generation. In this measure, China has lived up to its potential by creating 65 million jobs in the past 6 years which is happens to be the entire population of France! In the same time frame India has produced a meagre
7 million jobs and its ability to consistently create jobs is suspect at best. It must particularly improve at providing high-quality employment opportunities since most new jobs have belonged to low-skilled categories which are at risk to be automated.
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India can learn from China about entrepreneurship
Data Source: ILO
Startups and SMEs form the heart of Chinese and Indian commerce but China is leading at scale with a wider base of employers, better gender diversity and significantly larger number of companies. According to the Administration for Industry and Commerce in China there are currently 77,469,000 companies! India on the other hand only has 1.13 million companies which indicates the severe lack of depth in its manufacturing, technology and services industry.
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China’s long-term dominance is linked to education spending
Data Source: UNESCO
China had set a target of minimum 4% GDP spend on education in 2012 and has since then consistently beat the mark. It understands the needs for being agile when it comes to skill development as can be evidenced by its use and strong encouragement of AI in education across all age groups. China’s state policy has made clear its desire to be the global leader in AI innovation by 2030. It wants to catapult the fledgling industry’s worth to more than $150 billion and has already commissioned a $2 billion AI research park in Beijing. In this context, India is a laggard with only a third of China’s annual operating expenditure towards education being allocated. Furthermore, its inability to innovate in teaching methodology and course curriculum is a major reason for Indian students to not realize their complete potential. ■
Sartaj Anand is an entrepreneur with an unreasonable dream to positively impact 1 billion human lives within his lifetime. He currently operates his holding company — egomonk — which has interests in consulting, media, events and travel. Sartaj considers himself a global citizen and has travelled, worked and co-created in more than 50 countries so far.
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Turkey Authored by: Daniel Metz
The Trials of Turkish Trade The increase in the unemployment rate, decrease in the private sector and consumer confidence indices, and constriction in import figures are strong indicators that a period of slowdown in the economy has begun.
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n Friday August 10, 2018, President Trump announced he was going to double down on tariffs for Turkish steel and aluminum, citing the American pastor who had been jailed in Turkey since 2016. While ongoing devaluation of the Turkish lira preceded Trump’s announcement - August 6 and August 9 suffered 4.25 percent and 4.75 percent losses, respectively - an already fragile Turkish market spawned a 13.75 percent loss that day, dropping from 5.53 to 6.8 liras to the dollar in a span of just a few hours. This was the worst day for the currency since a recession at the turn of
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the millennium, but it would be unfair to give Donald Trump all the credit. The lira had lost about 40 percent of its value against the dollar since the start of 2018, clearly beyond the purview of aggressive American trade policies. But what the tariffs threat did was spark the kindling that had been building up underneath the Turkish economy over the past decade. The 2010s introduced a new era of growing debts for Turkey. An economy rebounding after the 2008 crisis took to accruing massive private external debts. While the proportion of external debt to GDP sat at 36 percent in
2011, this figure barreled up to 53 percent in 2017. Turkish news wire Anadolu Agency reported in June that foreign debt reached $466.7 billion in the first quarter of 2018, 52.9 percent of GDP. Inflation is another dagger pressing against the back of the Turkish economy. Expectations for inflation at the start of 2018 were sitting around 10 percent. But this number jumped to an annual rate of about 15 percent in July and then even higher to above 24 percent in September. This is the highest inflation rate Turkey’s seen in 15 years. These elements don’t bode well for Turkey’s economic future. The Turkish people are being hit with rapidly increasing prices keeping pace with the rising cost of importing goods. Turkey imported nearly $250 billion in 2017, close to 30 percent of its GDP. Much of this is pegged to the dollar. When the lira plummeted, imports, lease agreements indexed to the dollar, and interest rates on foreign debt grow considerably more expensive. Accordingly, more than 2,500 companies in the construction sector have apparently declared bankruptcy. “What are the effects of these developments on growth?” asked Selva Demiralp, an economics professor at Istanbul’s Koc University, columnist at the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, and former Turkish Federal Reserve Board economist. “Financial tightening typically brings with it slowdown in economic growth. Likewise, the increase in the unemployment rate, decrease in the private sector and consumer confidence indices, constriction in import figures, and the drop all at once in PMI figures are strong indicators that a period of slowdown in the economy has begun.” Demiralp explained that Turkey has begun to exhibit signs of stagflation, the symptoms of which are high inflation, low economic growth, and an unmoved unemployment rate. Columnists in pro-government news outlets began using the term to describe the economy, although still in the same defensive, anti-interest context that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing. “They’re saying crisis,” Erdogan said, speaking to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in early October. “There’s no crisis in Turkey. Learn economics. There are manipulations, manipulative actions in Turkey related to the economy.” Any comfort in these words might be lost on a public struggling to handle rising prices.
The currency shock in August preceded a massive decrease in imports, dropping 22.7 percent compared with the previous August. Turkey imported approximately $233 billion in goods in 2017, about 27 percent of its GDP. The lira depreciation reflected almost immediately in consumer goods. Despite the severity of the situation facing Turkey, the only real policy the government took prior to the finance minister’s plan announced in October was the Central Bank (CBRT) raising interest rates. Even this was a struggle, as Erdogan’s disdain for high interest rates was firm and consistent. “We can’t ever mediate or be conduced to use this tool of exploitation called interest,” he told the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen in September. “Our goal is to overcome the issues we face by situating an economic understanding based on production, efficiency, and austerity …When you bring interest to the table as a › › cause-effect relationship, interest is the cause, and inflation is the effect.” This logic is diametrically opposed to the prevailing theory in economics, where low interest rates encourage borrowing and spending, thus pulling inflation up. Low interest rates, conversely, lead to less spending and reining in inflation. But rather than immediately address this issue, Erdogan pursued less traditional means to manage the currency shock. He urged Turks to exchange their dollars for liras, spurring numerous, almost comical videos of Turks burning, destroying, and even pickling their American currency. He then banned companies from raising the prices of consumer goods and encouraged Turks to report sudden increases in prices. Bloomberg reported that Turkish police even conducted surprise store inspections in Istanbul to catch store managers in the act. A struggle between the CBRT, which knew raising interest rates would the best solution to control inflation, and Erdogan, stubborn in his disdain for interest, ensued. It culminated in Erdogan taking a step back in mid-September and allowing the CBRT to raise interest rates from 17.75 percent to 24 percent. Demiralp, the economics professor, emphasized that lowering interest rates alleviates pressures from inflation coming from currency rates and contributes to financial stability. “Indeed, the improvement we observed in the rates, market interest rates, and risk premium after the second
INFLATION IS ANOTHER DAGGER PRESSING AGAINST THE BACK OF THE TURKISH ECONOMY. EXPECTATIONS FOR INFLATION AT THE START OF 2018 WERE SITTING AROUND 10 PERCENT. BUT THIS NUMBER JUMPED TO AN ANNUAL RATE OF ABOUT 15 PERCENT IN JULY AND THEN EVEN HIGHER TO ABOVE 24 PERCENT IN SEPTEMBER. THIS IS THE HIGHEST INFLATION RATE TURKEY’S SEEN IN 15 YEARS. Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
half of September is a result of the CBRT’s tough interest rate hike.” But one move by the CBRT isn’t enough to comfort investors or preclude an economic recession. Erdogan amended a currencyvalue law, making sales, lease, and service agreements indexed to foreign currency illegal. The Turkish government hired U.S. consulting firm McKinsey to navigate through the crisis, but in a speech at the beginning of October, Erdogan appeared to sever the relationship. “I just told all my minister friends, I said you won’t take any consulting services from [McKinsey]. There’s no reason, we are enough for ourselves.” Shortly thereafter, Treasury and Finance Minister, and Erdogan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, announced his “All-Out War on Inflation Program”, the first significant policy the government announced to target rising inflation rates. Included in the plan, Bayram stated, are an agreement with some businesses to cut the prices of consumer goods up to 10 percent, a price freeze on electricity and natural gas until the end of the year, and a 10-percent discount for bank loans sold with high interest rates. Turkish banks have been taking their own approach to the looming crisis by reducing the amount they lend and raising the rates of distributed loans. This is a sharp divergence from the common practice of banks to issue abundant loans with somewhat disregard for credit risks. The resulting “credit crunch” is a form of self-regulation where the banks are much more careful with how they are distributing their liquidity. Credit-rating agency Moody’s downgraded nine large Turkish banks from B1 to B2 in late September, attributed to “the lowering of Turkey’s foreign currency deposit ceiling.” Some economists view these changes as wholly insufficient for the mounting problems the country faces, and while the inflation hike in September resulted in a brief period of control for the erupting
exchange rates, tough times lie ahead. On September 20, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on changes to the Turkish economic forecast, with 3.8 percent predicted growth in 2018 and 2.3 percent in 2019. Both figures were previously set at 5.5 percent. The OECD also shared adjustments to its forecast, cutting its 2018 prediction down from 5.1 percent to 3.2 percent and 2019 prediction down from 5 percent to 0.5 percent. The IMF issued similar alterations, estimating 2018 economic growth to conclude at 3.5 percent and a dismal 0.4 percent growth for 2019. If inflation can’t be brought into check, rising costs will prove disastrous for the average Turkish consumer. What this all means for the Turkish economy is entirely dependent on how the government proceeds. Senior officials are unwilling to address the issue of inflation in any capacity that would restrict the spending power of the consumer. Erdogan views a strong economy and the prosperity of his citizens as the key to his success in power. What he may fear is the support of a previously unshakeable base faltering because the government’s policies negatively affect their livelihood. It’s clear that actions to avert a greater disaster, like the slowdown of growth and consumer spending, will result in economic conditions unfavorable to Erdogan’s views on his own power. What’s left to see is whether the CBRT continues to raise interest rates, whether more policies to lower inflation emerge, and whether Erdogan continues to relinquish control to officials pushing policies that oppose his vision of Turkey. ■
Daniel Metz is a writer and translator living in Istanbul who works on topics relating to politics, culture, and language with an emphasis on Turkey and the Middle East. He is a Contributor to Diplomatic Courier..
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series Branded Story_Generali Global Assistance
Data Globalization Gives New Meaning to the Ever-Evolving Identity Theft Threat A Review of the Evolution of the Identity Protection Industry t’s 2003, and the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just released some scary findings about this new crime called identity theft. There’s not much you can do to prevent it, and its effects are alarming – the FTC reports that the average victim in the U.S. spends about $1,200 and 60 hours trying to fix their identity theft issue.1 At this time, almost any type of identity theft protection or prevention service is solely focused on credit or data monitoring – which, as we know today, is just a single component in safeguarding one’s identity. Indeed, the concept of identity theft was still in its infancy in the U.S., and, at a global level, it was barely being discussed.
I
At this stage, fifteen years ago, Generali Global Assistance (GGA) took a different approach. Being owned by the company that invented the concept of real-time care assistance over 50 years ago (Europ Assistance), providing compassionate assistance to people in times of need is in our DNA. Today, we remain a global provider of assistance services to people in the fields of health, home and family, automotive, and travel, helping thousands of companies protect their customers and employees from life’s difficulties. Thus, the protection and restoration of identities was a natural fit for us as we came to know and understand the devastating ramifications that identity theft can have on people’s lives and families.
Accordingly, we launched identity theft resolution services via a business to business (B2B) offering, becoming one of the first identity protection providers to focus on helping the person behind the data. Monitoring services alone simply alert customers of suspected fraud incidents and stop there, leaving the victim to pick up the pieces and attempt to restore their identity on their own. As a company firmly rooted in the mantra “We care,” our goal was, and still is today, to go above and beyond for each one of our client’s customers. For those dealing with the aftermath of identity theft, we attend to the time-consuming and stressful tasks of contacting and following up with creditors, credit bureaus, law enforcement, and other third-parties on their behalf, while also providing compassionate assistance and expert advice to help put their mind at ease – something most other identity protection providers weren’t doing at the time and, frankly, some still struggle with today. Nevertheless, identity protection as a consumer product was very much still emerging a decade and a half ago, and most people held a false sense of security that something so life-changing could never happen to them. It’s different though today, in that our current climate has almost normalized large-scale data breaches and compromised personal information. Undeniably, awareness levels have increased since 2003 – and whether that’s good or bad is up to interpretation. What is certain is that the identity protection landscape has also evolved to keep up with the ever-advancing crimes of identity theft and fraud. Today’s Identity Protection Services The need for identity protection across the board has become increasingly apparent, and, as a result, more and more players are entering the identity protection space. The current landscape is varied, with some companies monopolizing the direct-toconsumer market, others operating more behind the scenes in the B2B realm like GGA, and even major credit bureaus and credit card companies have found opportunity to capitalize on the growing industry. The types of services offered by these players also run the spectrum, with some merely tacking on complimentary credit or identity monitoring services to a core offering and others offering an entire suite of identity protection services that make up a more comprehensive program.
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THE MORE DEVICES THAT ASK US TO INPUT OUR DATA, CUSTOMIZE TO OUR PERSONAL PREFERENCE, AND ACCESS REMOTELY, THE MORE GATEWAYS THERE ARE TO IDENTITY THEFT. Today, GGA’s offerings have certainly expanded but are still firmly rooted in full-service resolution services. Between 2008 and 2014, we added identity monitoring and alerts, 3-bureau credit monitoring and alerts, and an Online Data Protection Suite with anti-keylogging and anti-phishing software. In addition, GGA’s resolution team became Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialists (CITRMS) and FCRA-certified by the Consumer Data Industry Association. In 2016, we launched our most robust identity protection product yet – a 360° platform with a single, easy-to-use online dashboard – and we’ve since expanded our offering globally to also include smartphone protection with secured browser and keyboard. Today, GGA’s identity and digital protection product offering is pinned around four pillars: experience, solutions, technology, and service – none of which should be compromised. We don’t offer our products and services simply because they’re popular – for us, it’s the result of consistent research and continual awareness of a need that continues to grow. Looking back, we started offering identity protection services for a very simple reason: there was a genuine need to help people that wasn’t being fulfilled. Today, that need has evolved (e.g., IoT, data globalization, etc.) and become a global concern, and we’re leveraging our resources to address it. Our offering has naturally evolved and advanced over the years – to better protect our customers – and we’re sure it will continue to change and evolve as the identity theft landscape will as well. No matter what, our mission will always remain the same – to protect and help people. The Future of the Identity Protection Space & Its Influencers The more devices that ask us to input our data, customize to our personal preference, and access remotely, the more gateways › Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 45
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series Branded Story_Generali Global Assistance
› there are to identity theft. Indeed, the digitalization of even the most ordinary of objects has taken us to a place that’s more opportunistic than ever for identity thieves. But it’s not all bad. Our highly-digitalized lives have afforded us opportunities and conveniences that some of the greatest engineers could have never fathomed several decades ago. Digital globalization has given power to small one-man shops, allowing them to compete globally and sell to quite literally anyone in the world.
RECOGNIZING THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS CONSUMERS HAVE CONTROL OVER AND OTHERS THAT THEY DON’T, CONSUMERS MUST USE THEIR VOICES TO CREATE CHANGE.
With so much information being shared, downloaded, and accessed cross-continentally, there should be a global platform seeking identity and cyber protection for all. We’re still a long way from such an idealistic approach, but the European Union’s induction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was a major step in the right direction. Having officially gone into effect on May 25, 2018, its goal is to fundamentally protect all EU citizens, no matter where they are in the world. Thus,
AT A GLANCE: GGA and the Identity Theft Landscape
2003-2005
2006
2007
2008
GGA launches identity theft services and adds 1 bureau credit monitoring services
TJX data breach of U.S., Puerto Rico, Canadian customer transaction data. There were 45.6 million records stolen, making this the worst ever breach involving PII up to this point
UK-based financial company, Nationwide Building Society, has an unencrypted laptop stolen from a companyemployee that held the personal data of 11 million members
GGA adds identity monitoring services
California data breach law became effective (2003)
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the new data privacy regulation will apply to any company that does business with an EU citizen. As more countries start looking at data privacy and protection like this for their citizens, it won’t be such a big leap to start talking about personal identity protection for all. With half of the world’s traded services delivered digitally,2 businesses are no longer confined to serving local customers; the world is their consumer now. And yet, today, most businesses abide by only their country’s (or, for those in the U.S., their state’s) legislation regarding data privacy and breach notification. Unfortunately, most laws are inadequate at best, leaving consumers’ identity and digital protection primarily their responsibility – even while it’s oftentimes out of their hands. Recognizing that there are some things consumers have control over and others that they don’t, consumers must use their voices to create change. They can begin by putting increased pressure on their local legislators to encourage them to play a bigger role in putting more global regulations in place. And because every country has their own unique challenges in the identity protection realm, governments need to listen closely so that they can best meet their citizens’ needs. Consumers should also feel empowered to force the companies that they do business with (locally and abroad) to provide more transparency into how their data is being protected. Clearly though, data privacy and consumer protection isn’t going to change overnight, and we know it’s going to be an uphill battle – that’s why we’re doing our part too. At GGA, we recognize that education is a key piece in better protecting consumers; after all, they are their own best identity advocate. Education is a key component in the products we offer, and we’re also present in the space
to help foster consumer education. By participating in and partnering with various identity-focused organizations such as the University of Texas Center for Identity and the Identity Theft Resource Center, and speaking at industry events, such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Conference on Identity Theft, we understand our responsibility to remain engaged in the industry so that we can, ultimately, help shape it for the better. Additionally, GGA is continuously exploring new products and solutions to stay ahead of identity thieves. One of the most popular trends we’re seeing right now is the use of Blockchain technology, which essentially is a way to better protect and isolate data from potential hackers. We’re also seeing the use of biometrics becoming increasingly popular, particularly in consumer technology. As a means of identity validation, biometrics may be another great advancement in thwarting fraudsters. GGA as a Global Player As a global company, we’re constantly keeping our finger on the pulse of the market to adapt and evolve with it. We’re in a unique position to help people and companies all over the world. It’s an advantage that we take seriously and will use to truly be a part of the growing challenge to provide identity and digital protection globally – which we know we can’t do alone. The identity protection space itself is still rapidly evolving and perhaps will always continue to do so. Intrinsically tied to technology, there may be no end in sight – the identity theft problem, instead, will just expand, or morph, or develop, into different issues that are unknown to us today. For this reason, we are always looking ahead. Today, we’re taking the lessons learned in the U.S. – where the issues have been
fast-tracked and the market now a bit more mature – and applying those lessons globally. The U.S. identity protection market has, in a way, been reactive to the identity theft issues that have transpired over the last two decades. GGA has launched identity protection services in Canada and is in the process of launching across Europe and in India; these are unique products that meet each specific market’s identity protection needs, and, first and foremost, they’re proactively addressing the rising issues present in each country. In the U.S., we’ve seen the identity protection industry go through many phases and stages, with different protection components getting different levels of attention throughout the 2000s. With data breaches now a mainstay in societies across the world – and so much information being made available to fraudsters – it’s only a matter of time until that manifests into larger issues for vast numbers of people. We predict this will ultimately put resolution services into the industry spotlight and when it does, resolution services will become necessary to participate in the global identity market as a true player. It is at that point that other companies will then follow suit, but we have been there all along providing caring, compassionate assistance – the foundation upon which our services are built. Today, we’re exploring the future of identity from a global perspective while maintaining local considerations and keeping white-glove service and the “We care” mentality close to heart. We hope others follow us in that – sooner rather than later. ■ Resources 1 https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ reports/federal-trade-commission-identity-theft-program/ synovatereport.pdf 2 https://hbr.org/2016/03/globalization-is-becomingmore-about-data-and-less-about-stuff
2009-2011
2012-2015
2016-Present
GGA add 3 bureau credit monitoring services and GGA Identity Resolutions Specialist become certified
GGA adds anti-phishing & anti-keylogging tools, enhanced identity monitoring services, and family plans
GGA launches new 360° identity protection services in the U.S., Canada, Europe and India
• Target is breached with 70 million U.S. and Canadian customers affected (2013)
GGA launches smartphone protection
• Year of the Breach: Korea Credit Bureau, AOL, eBay, UPS, Home Depot, Gmail, JPMorgan Chase, Sony Pictures Entertainment were all breached (2014)
• Alabama became the last U.S. state to enact data breach legislation, completing the nationwide patchwork of state data breach laws. (2018)
• Canadian Digital Privacy Act amends Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act (PIPEDA) to include breach notification requirements (2015)
• NetEase data breach of 1.2 billion subscriber records in China (2017)
• Equifax data breach of 145+ million U.S. consumer records (2017) • EU’s GDPR is enacted (2018)
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Women in STEM Authored by: Chrissy Horansky
The State of Women in STEM As the technological advances of the space age propel the future of work and life forward, now is the time to ask: where do women and girls stand?
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he future is female, or so we have heard. Go online and you’ll see the latest ‘girl power’ phrase proudly proclaimed by women of all ages and the next generation of little girls. In a flurry of inspirational hashtags and Instagram captions, a growing chorus of 21st-century women appear optimistic about the world that together they can build.
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What will that world look like? The architectures of the future are likely to be archways between physical and virtual domains, public space and private life, the ingrained challenges of the past and a glittering hope for progress toward a world where equality of opportunity reigns free. As the technological advances of the space age propel the future of work and life
forward, now is the time to ask: where do women and girls stand? And who is designing the parameters of the spaces in which they will live out their hopes and dreams? The State of Women in STEM The new frontiers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) represent promising engines for future global economic growth and innovation. The UN estimates that in Europe alone, there will be 7 million STEM jobs by 2025 and not enough qualified workers to fill them. And yet, it continues to be a sector in which female participation, education and career advancement lag woefully behind. In 2017, UNESCO released its flagship report, Cracking the Code: Girls and Women’s Education in STEM.
“Not only do girls have fewer initial education opportunities, but there are systemic impediments at every step that push them out of the STEM fields,” reports UNESCO, detailing how the global gender gap develops throughout the pipeline: › Childhood: Gender differences in STEM education participation at the expense of girls begin as early as Early Childhood Care and Education in science- and math-related play, and are more visible at higher levels of education. › School: Girls appear to lose interest in STEM subjects as they get older, particularly between early and late adolescence. The gender gap in STEM becomes particularly apparent in upper secondary education, as reflected in girls’ choices of advanced studies in mathematics and science.
› Training: Gender gaps become stark in higher education. Female students represent only 35% of all students enrolled in STEMrelated fields of study globally. Differences are also observed by disciplines, with female enrolment lowest in engineering, manufacturing and construction, natural science, mathematics and statistics and ICT fields. › Career: Women continue to drop out of STEM disciplines in disproportionate numbers during their higher education studies, while transitioning to the world of work and even during their career cycle. UNESCO, 2017
Female participation is especially low in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) fields. Worldwide, only 3% of women in higher education choose ICT studies. That statistic is particularly alarming given how much these industries are shaping the future. What is the real cost when women are so starkly underrepresented in the STEM fields? The Cost of the Global Gender Gap in STEM The impact of this gap is far-reaching. When those designing the world come mostly from one gender demographic, the needs of women and girls are all too often left out of the picture. A lack of female perspectives can lead to critical gaps in funding, research and prioritization, as well as empathy for how something may affect half the population. Consider for example geotagging, which is an automatic function of many apps today. Not only can our smart devices and social media platforms track our locations, they often broadcast them. This privacy concern poses a special danger for women and girls, who experience startlingly high rates of stalking, dating violence and domestic abuse. When the user experience of women and girls is not taken into consideration in the development process of shiny new inventions, the end results can be grave. Secret or disappearing-message apps like Snapchat and Kik are beloved by teenagers but their design also makes them favored hunting grounds for child predators and sex traffickers. What happens if instead of women and girls bearing the unintended consequences of scientific and technological advancement, they become the architects, the focal points? Our world might start to look different. Consider instead crowdsourcing apps
designed to allow women to name, locate and report street harassment, which hinders their ability to move freely within public spaces and transportation. In India, a woman created one such app, Safecity, after the tragic rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi. Data collection is a starting point to identify and address problems with policymakers. The global gender gap in STEM means not only untapped female talent but a world of unrealized innovations that could positively impact women, girls and their communities. Young women are using invention for social good: such as Iraqi teenagers who turned their school science fair project into a bomb-sniffing device, or those manufacturing banana fiber sanitary pads India to improve access to menstrual hygiene products. Today, there is a clear global imperative to increase women and girls’ representation in STEM. Doing so can move the needle forward on the UN’s Global Goals for education while also helping to facilitate broader societal progress towards gender equality. Girls Can Crack the Code The good news is that a strong movement is underway to help build up the pipeline of young women entering these fields and narrow this gap. Efforts to attract girls into STEM play an important role in addressing the stark digital divide that girls face in accessing the opportunities of a world that wasn’t always built with them in mind. How do we change the formula that keeps girls out of STEM classes and careers? Seeing is believing, especially for children when it comes to where they can envision themselves as adults. Too many girls bump into stereotypes that dissuade them from STEM in the classroom or culture, and end up taking themselves out of the equation. A recent study by the Inter-American Development Bank found that 75% of self-mocking messages about ability in STEM subjects posted to social media were made by girls. Role models can help girls imagine themselves as astronauts, chemists or hackers. Media representation of female scientists and engineers in film and television encourage girls to never stop dreaming those dreams. In 2016, Hollywood scored a break-out hit with Hidden Figures, the Oscar-nominated true story of › Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 49
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Women in STEM
› mathematician Katherine Johnson and her fearless team of black women, who overcame the racism and sexism of the 1960’s American south to help NASA launch its first astronauts into space. They are now immortalized as best-selling Lego toys, inspiring girls to play and imagine. Today, dedicated coding schools are popping up to empower girls to take an active role in computer programming and create new applications for technology. Code to Inspire, Afghanistan’s first all-female coding school and its young female Afghan founder are working to launch young women into careers in technology and entrepreneurship. From Chicago to Johannesburg, Black Girls Code is training girls of color with the STEM skills to become leaders in their communities and architects of their own digital spaces. As access to mobile and internet connectivity continue to explode around the globe, the opportunity for young women to code the parameters of their own worlds could help create a ripple effect of gendersensitive applications built to empower their users. Women, Technology and a Changing World Technology has the potential to alter the lived experiences of women and girls across the planet. The majority of women in industrial nations and a growing portion of those in emerging economies will have their lives influenced by communication technologies and opportunities they provide. Mobile phones and social media in particular are changing the way that women can track their health, look for work and connect with one another. Our social fabric has gone digital. Virtual communities can give women a chance to participate more fully in the economic and social life of a country. In Saudi Arabia, the company Glowork utilizes teleworking to enable greater female labor participation. Movements for women’s rights that transcend borders are growing online and spilling into the streets. The Women’s March is a prime example, spreading like wildfire around the globe in 2017 after the U.S. spectacularly failed to elect its first female president. The promise of technology in women’s hands cannot be underestimated. It can open new channels of access where social barriers once existed. It can help increase female agency by putting better knowledge and tools at their fingers tips. It can offer 50 ❙ g20g7.com
SEEING IS BELIEVING, ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN WHEN IT COMES TO WHERE THEY CAN ENVISION THEMSELVES AS ADULTS. TOO MANY GIRLS BUMP INTO STEREOTYPES THAT DISSUADE THEM FROM STEM IN THE CLASSROOM OR CULTURE, AND END UP TAKING THEMSELVES OUT OF THE EQUATION.
a platform to address gender inequality in their own lives and a megaphone on which to be heard. That which cannot be seen or named often goes unreported and unchallenged. Now, common occurrences which women have long suffered alone and in silence, such as discrimination and violence, are being made visible as endemic patterns within society. A more equal world requires female representation in both voice and problem solving. A Room of Her Own in a Digital World There has been fascinating work done on what it takes to make public space work for women. In the built environment, urban designers can pay special attention to features that make parks more accessible for mothers or streets safer for women walking alone. What happens when we apply that lens to the digital public domain? The results are rather dismal. Amnesty International found that 1 in 5 women reported being the targets of online harassment, according to its poll of 8 high-income nations. Platforms like Twitter have struggled to combat gender -based hate speech online, including verbal abuse, violent threats and “doxxing,” the release of private information. For women entering male-dominated tech fields, the toxic culture women face online
unfortunately can mirror the experience encountered by those who could help work to change it. Gender discrimination in the workplace can stymie women’s contributions and career advancement, leading to labor attrition. Case in point: tech hotbed Silicon Valley has gained notoriety in recent years for enabling hostile work environments toward female employees, ones plagued by misogynistic attitudes and sexual harassment. Women are moving around these obstacles by creating their own spaces and networks to help one another thrive. Women in the Digital Ecosystem (WiDE) is one such community, promoting the inclusion of women in the digital economy. Co-founded by a young woman in Argentina, it has since expanded within South America and to Spain. From its launching pad in South Africa, Women in Engineering (WomEng) is a leadership incubator co-founded by two young female engineers that now reaches 17 countries. Ensuring the Future Is Female Gazing out towards the new frontiers of space and time, it is clear that there are opportunities and obstacles alike. How do we elevate the best of what humanity has to offer and keep the mistakes of the past in the past, as lessons for the history books? To not replicate entrenched systems of discrimination requires conscious effort. This means asking the right questions of how innovation could be used for benefit or harm. We need to know what biases are being picked up, whose perspective is being left out. What happens, for instance, when we program Artificial Intelligence to “learn” from modern day humans? Microsoft quickly ran into a problem with its AI chatbot, which picked up new language from interacting with people online. It didn’t take long for the software program to start parroting racist and misogynistic phrases it learned online. When we think about the future, we must ask ourselves how we want it to be different from the present and who we must include in order to get there. With women and girls on board, we have the chance to engineer a more just, equal, representative world. ■
Chrissy Horansky is an author and speaker based in Washington, DC. She is a Contributor to Diplomatic Courier magazine.
Women Authored by: Dr Mariane J. Legato
Thoughts on the Second Sex: What the World Thinks of Women
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have lived a life of privilege in a society where my education and opportunities to contribute to others are respected and acknowledged. But most women in the world are not as fortunate: the horrendous injustices and abuses that the majority have experienced (and which are not only tolerated but perpetuated) have troubled me all my life. The actual spectrum of the inequities women suffer varies from the subtleties of how their medical care is often not informed by a clear understanding of their unique physiology to the horrors of rape, murder and enslavement of women by conquering invaders in wartime. Rape has always been an accepted weapon of war. What’s more heartbreaking is that women who manage to escape from their captors and abusers are often rejected when they try to return home—as are the children they bore during their enslavement. The rights of women to own property, vote, drive cars and even to travel freely in some societies are all denied. They are compelled to conceal their entire bodies, including their faces, with voluminous clothing, as though personal beauty is an irresistible, fatal trap for men. They receive horrific punishment for violation of societal rules and customs in some countries, where they are stoned to death for alleged offenses like adultery. Honor killings of women by their own family members are tolerated and/or ignored. In the most sophisticated societies, we are still pointing out the different pay given to women compared to men for the same work. In the most primitive societies, the denial of nutrition, education and even rudimentary
health care are the issues with which women have to deal with. In India, for example, doctors have confided to me that they are often reluctant to send a healthy, newborn baby girl home to her family because they are aware that the odds of that child surviving are not favorable. Sons, not daughters, are the favored sex for many Indian families. The assumption that women are somehow the less valuable, less complex, less useful sex is reflected even in the scientific world: until recently, it was assumed that the unique features of the female child develop “by default” in the womb, whereas the development of the male child is an active process directed by testosterone! Molecular biologists have only recently begun to correct this notion: it is now apparent that the formation of the female is just as active a process as the male and involves a unique and gender-specific sequence of intrauterine activity. Americans need not be smug about their enlightened treatment of women: this year, the United States made the list of the ten most dangerous countries for women in the world. Racism, poverty, malnutrition and inadequate education create women who at the least are disadvantaged, and at the most, murdered. The American College of Physicians has just told us that the rate of maternal mortality in the United States is the highest of all the developed countries and that black women suffer disproportionately from maternal deaths: 43.5 deaths in 100,000 compared with white women for whom the figure is 12.7 in 100,000.
Happily, women are finding the courage to move out of the shadows. Tokyo Medical University has just admitted responsibility for what has been termed the loss of a generation of brilliant women: women’s scores for admission examinations to medical school were arbitrarily reduced by 20% for at least seven years; 81 other Japanese medical schools have been asked to submit their admission data for inspection as a result of the emerging scandal. The numbers of women reporting sexual abuse by superiors in a position to destroy their careers are increasing. The feminist movement, begun decades ago, was off to a slow, grindingly difficult start; the right of American women to vote has been established for less than a century. Finally, though, we find ourselves in an era of increasing transparency about the position women actually occupy in the world’s family. But we have miles to go to save the lives of the too often mortally threatened by abuses of all degrees: the savage, multifaceted disregard of society for so many women have produced a tremendous loss of talent from which we should all have been able to profit. The penalty for societies that ignore the importance of women’s well-being should be as draconian as governments can make it. ■
Marianne J. Legato, M.D., Ph.D. (hon. c.), F.A.C.P. is Emerita Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins.
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Global Health Authored by: Ana C. Rold
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The Future of Health: Developments in Precision Medicine With the help of breakthrough technologies and increased research efforts Precision Medicine is well on its way to transforming the world of healthcare.
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ealthcare has long been regarded as a double-edged sword. On one hand, advances in healthcare throughout he centuries—especially in the past decade —outpace nearly all other forms of human advancement and are continuing to accelerate as research progresses in areas such as oncology, genetics, and molecular biology. On the other hand, increases in individual health and wellbeing continue to drag far behind rising healthcare costs, and issues with under- and over-diagnoses, improper treatment, and lack of access to proper healthcare continue to plague a large portion of the population. With a healthcare system geared towards broad treatment of the average patient, it is easy to see that a shift away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach towards one that treats patients on an individual basis in a cost-effective manner is necessary in order to tame burgeoning health costs and increase wellbeing for each individual. Luckily, the shift towards Precision Medicine—also commonly referred to as Personalized Medicine—is occurring not only
within the United States but also around the world. With Precision Medicine, rather than focusing on treatments that target a generalized demographic, researchers and medical professionals instead take into account factors such as the environment, genetic makeup and lifestyle habits of an individual that contribute to the success or failure of individualized treatment plans. Indeed, with former president Barack Obama’s launch of the Precision Medicine Initiative in 2015—whose mission statement is to enable a new era of medicine through research, technology, and policies that empower patients, researchers and providers to work together toward the development of individualized care—the federal government has already begun to provide support for Precision Medicine through programs such as the All of Us Research Program, which is intended to collect a broad range of health data from over one million U.S. volunteers, and the FDA’s precision program, which is a cloud-based platform where users can test, develop, and validate genomic sequencing technologies. ›
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series Global Health
› With support from the healthcare industry, the technology sector and the federal government, substantial progress in Personalized Medicine is projected to majorly disrupt the future of health, with several key trends shaping this transformation. First, advances in genomic science and technology are leading towards lowered costs and impressive breakthroughs throughout the healthcare industry, with many oncology-based studies beginning to reach clinical trials and promising new and more cost-effective solutions. Similarly, the shift towards value-based reimbursement models and healthcare digitization is creating more stratified and outcome-based targeted therapies where patients are treated based on successful outcomes rather than a trial-anderror approach. Likewise, increasing transparency around drug pricing is pushing the pharmaceutical industry to more heavily invest in Precision Medicine, with reports revealing that pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies alike have doubled their investment in Personalized Medicine in the past five years—and are projected to increase investments by another one-third over the next five years. Second, while the Precision Medicine industry continues to see immense progress in terms of oncology, increasing knowledge around genomics and disease progression is leading to more advanced research in non-oncology therapeutic areas as well, such as research into cardiovascular, inflammatory, and infectious diseases. In fact, studies show that an estimated 93% of current phase 3 pipelines are diagnostic dependent, with around two-thirds of these pipelines focused on non-oncology areas. With increased focus in both oncology and non-oncology research, then, continuous research into different cancers, chronic conditions, Diabetes, and a host of other persistent and life-threatening diseases can reveal answers into both the causes and potential solutions to some of the biggest health concerns the world faces today. 54 ❙ g20g7.com
WHILE TRENDS IN PRECISION MEDICINE CONTINUE TO BODE WELL FOR A FUTURE OF EFFECTIVE HEALTHCARE, THERE ARE CERTAIN CHALLENGES THAT MUST FIRST BE ADDRESSED IN ORDER TO ACCELERATE THIS HEALTHCARE PARADIGM.
Third, Precision Medicine’s ability to use big healthcare data has begun to shift focus towards preventative care and recovery and away from traditional after-the-fact treatments. While chronic diseases have become more manageable in recent years due to breakthroughs in treatment and therapy, the longer lifespan of people afflicted with poor health conditions has dramatically increased healthcare costs for both individuals and the healthcare industry as a whole. With Precision Medicine, however, focusing on individual patients holistically across many factors such as environment, genetics and lifestyle has the ability to not only increase wellbeing for patients but also simultaneously decrease costs significantly for individuals and healthcare providers alike. With data on a variety of factors such as family history, weight, food habits, smoking,
alcohol intake, and physical activity levels, researchers and healthcare providers can begin assisting individuals on gaining and maintaining health while preventing chronic conditions from occurring in the first place. While trends in Precision Medicine continue to bode well for a future of effective healthcare, there are certain challenges that must first be addressed in order to accelerate this healthcare paradigm. For example, though research in Precision Medicine continues to advance at unprecedented rates, transforming these findings into practical clinical applications remains a challenge. Similarly, too much focus on the research and technology aspects of Personalized Medicine has led to a decreased focus on the basic determinants of population health, such as socioeconomic and geographic disparities as well as other environmental factors. While it is crucial to continue focusing on research, it is equally important to remain consistent in applying this data to real-world use in both clinical treatment and transforming individual lifestyles. Ultimately, the healthcare paradigm shift towards Precision Medicine is not only a positive sign that the industry will continue to become increasingly more effective and less costly, but also that individuals around the world will be able to experience more engagement and empowerment when it comes to taking control of their own health and wellbeing. With the help of breakthrough technologies and increased research efforts, then, Precision Medicine is well on its way to transforming the world of healthcare. ■
Ana C. Rold is Founder and CEO of Diplomatic Courier, a Global Affairs Media Network. She teaches political science courses at Northeastern University and is the Host of The World in 2050–A Forum About Our Future. To engage with her on this article follow her on Twitter @ACRold.
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Branded Story_Liveyon
Towards Greater Expectations Transforming Medicine. Transforming Lives. Transforming the World with Liveyon.
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he founder of Liveyon, John W. Kosolchareon can probably pinpoint to the actual moment he became passionate and determined to be involved in delving more into regenerative medicine. When Liveyon first opened its doors in 2016, John with his world class team of scientists have immersed themselves in finding avenues of self-healing of the human body through regenerative medicine. The potential scope of therapies using regenerative medicine isn’t really that surprising. Scientists have been researching and experimenting on this subject for decades now. The nature of the treatment is no doubt attractive to anyone who is looking to enhance their quality of life, particularly
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having suffered from continued pain from degenerative diseases, sports injuries or osteoarthritis. The form of treatment is fairly easy and painless with minimal downtime. Thus, it is natural that anyone would want to try a therapy that provides a new age treatment along with concentrating on patient convenience. For those not so proficient in the knowledge of regenerative medicine, the concept of this new age science is built on the foundation of the human body’s individual capability to make things healthy for itself. To many, this form of treatment is also referred to as stem cell therapy. As Dr. Ernesto Gutierrez, Chief Operating Officer at Liveyon says, “There’s enough
research in the field of regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy to establish that human bodies have the ability to self-heal. Everything depends on how well the healing process may be controlled through optimal conditions for the body to proceed towards this selfhealing.” The Building Blocks of Life Stem cells are the building blocks of our blood and immune system. These stem cells have the potential to multiply into different categories of cells in order to restore damaged areas in the associated tissues and organs. Stem cells are found in numerous parts of the human body like bone marrow, blood, embryos, muscle, hair follicles, foetal tissue, baby teeth and fat. But not all stem cells can be used in clinical procedures. Studies have shown that umbilical cord blood is the richest source of stem cells that can be effectively used in therapeutic applications. Upon obtaining maternal informed consent, the cord blood is collected right after child birth. The umbilical cord is clamped and cut and then the cord blood is collected via venepuncture into a sterile cord blood collection bag. Post collection, the cord
blood is transferred to Liveyon’s cGMP, ISO-certified laboratory for processing. Stem cells are concentrated and extracted from the cord blood using validated proprietary methods and are then cryopreserved in a manner so that they remain intact and viable for years without undergoing any decay or aging. Regenerative Medicine is the New Ray of Hope You may be questioning if there are any benefits of stem cell therapy and organic regeneration at all? Bringing in a new ray of hope, stem cell therapy may be able to: › detoxify our organs and blood system and improve cellular activities › tone our muscles and improve the strength of our osseous system. Research studies have shown various muscle-related diseases and conditions may be treated with stem cells. › repair our body tissues and give birth to a new self. Liveyon is able to offer you a product that has been derived from umbilical cord blood that contains the most valuable source of stem cells. These cells are best for tissue repair, immune system modulation and reduction in inflammation. “These cells are hard and fast workers,” says John W. Kosolchareon, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Liveyon. Next Gen Therapy It is important to commercialize the use of stem cells for rapid development of biomedical research and improve public health through awareness. There are some important reasons why the commercialization of this gen next therapy is a necessary step that carries sustainable impact for future generations. › Commercialization supports the development of innovative technologies and academic property for specific stem cell research, amplifying their significance in the therapeutic market. › It directs at arousing economic progression as well as enriching public health. › It promotes for grants or funds to be employed in clinical research to create more commercially viable services and products in the market. › It is undeniably important for the translation of public knowledge.
FOR THOSE NOT SO PROFICIENT IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, THE CONCEPT OF THIS NEW AGE SCIENCE IS BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE HUMAN BODY’S INDIVIDUAL CAPABILITY TO MAKE THINGS HEALTHY FOR ITSELF. TO MANY, THIS FORM OF TREATMENT IS ALSO REFERRED TO AS STEM CELL THERAPY. FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb MD, stated: “We support sound, scientific research and regulation of cell-based regenerative medicine, and the FDA has advanced a comprehensive policy framework to promote the approval of regenerative medicine products.1” The New England Journal of Medicine has recently published a special report by Gottlieb, co-authored by Peter Marks, MD, PhD, Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, that defined definite strategies to encourage and aid in the development of stem cell therapies and other regenerative medicine products that have been proven to be safe and effective. In the report, the author wrote, “An increasing number of safe and effective therapies are becoming available on the basis of the findings of well-designed clinical trials. It is critical to focus on efforts to facilitate the development of such therapies, rather than propagating products with dubious clinical efficacy and possible risks.2” A substantial part of the medical community too is now open to adapting to this gen next stem cell therapy due to its rising demand amongst patients. And due to its numerous medical benefits, medical companies and research institutes want to bring its clinical applications from the bench to the bedside. A Better Life with Better Science An experienced team of researchers and scientists at Liveyon, through a number of trials, have been able to establish that improvement in the quality of life is possible with regenerative medicine. While there are other routes of treatments available in the field of regenerative medicine, Liveyon provides therapies that are a notch above other players in the market. The process of treatment is non-invasive and is performed with the help of a simple, non-surgical injection that is administered into the affected joint area. As soon as the
umbilical cord blood stem cells are injected in to the patient’s body, it acts as a catalyst to jumpstart the process of balancing the chemical environment instantly through a series of reactions. Acting as a stimulant, the appropriate growth factors and proteins initiate the nourishment and regeneration of cells. Patients typically see positive outcomes between 10 and 12 weeks. Eventually the patients will be able to increase their quotient of activity levels further to match their physical capabilities. As Dr. Gutierrez states, “Before beginning treatment, we emphasize the importance of educating patients on the advantages of regenerative medicine as well as its limitations. While every patient is different, most experience a significant reduction in pain that will allow them to be active once again.” A pioneer in the space of regenerative medicine, Liveyon has taken its flagship product and incorporated advancements in stem cell technology to make the selfhealing process of the body – superior, effective, unfailing, cleaner and pure! With an array of new stem cell products, at the heart of it is “The Pure Series”, a product that has been developed in Liveyon’s cGMP laboratory over the last two years which aims to bring the ‘Pure Feeling of Healing’ within everybody’s reach. With a long-term vision in place, Liveyon’s goal is to work towards establishing stem cell therapy not just as an alternative form of medical treatment but as a medically accepted, FDA approved offering which can be availed by every individual. With Liveyon’s Pure Series®, it is going to bring about that much needed evolution in science and set the ball rolling in the right direction. ■ 1. Distinguishing ‘Stem Cell Hype’ From Hope in Knee Osteoarthritis - Healio Rheumatology, July 2018 2. Distinguishing ‘Stem Cell Hype’ From Hope in Knee Osteoarthritis - Healio Rheumatology, July 2018
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G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Branded Story_Mandala Authored by: John Boyce
Cryptocurrency’s Problem is not Regulation but Its Need for It
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his year’s Group of Twenty (G20) priorities include sustainable food future, gender perspective, infrastructure for development, and the future of work (“Unleashing Peoples’ Potential.”) with the theme of “BUILDING CONSENSUS FOR FAIR AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.” The Communiqué released following the first G20 meeting of Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors, which occurred on March 19th and 20th, illustrates a focus on the impact increased digitalization will have on the global economy. Global finance leadership recognizes that advancements in technology will lead to robust economic opportunities; however, the adoption rate by governments, businesses, and individuals generates a variety of challenges. One such developing technology, cryptocurrency (blockchain based digital assets), has proven to be a model for the predicament that international Governments face in fostering novel technological opportunity while mitigating the risks associated with it. G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors expressed their understanding of the benefits that cryptocurrency has on the broader economy as it can bolster efficiency
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and inclusiveness. However, following their third meeting in Buenos Aires, the following statement was issued: “Cryptoassets do, however, raise issues with respect to consumer and investor protection, market integrity, tax evasion, money laundering, and terrorist financing.”(1) The level of concern expressed by global leaders is entirely justified and here is why. Investments in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), a financial mechanism used to raise capital for a prospective blockchain related project, increased exponentially throughout 2017. In a report released on July 11th, 2018, Satis Group found that 80% of all ICOs were scams, causing a loss of roughly $1.3 of the ~ $12B raised by ICOs. Despite the fact that ICO scams resulted in 11% of total investments lost, this same report found that 70% of all ICOs funded were listed on an exchange, granting some level of return on investment. (2) A report by EY research found that in 2017, an estimated $1.5 million worth of ICO investments was stolen by hackers using phishing scams. (3) Although these numbers are extensive, they are meager compared to asset loss post-ICO.
Group-IB reported a total of $882 million lost between February of 2017 to September of 2018. The data collected is the summation of money lost between fourteen cryptocurrency exchanges. The only described perpetrator of these hacks is, according to Group-IB’s report, Lazarus, a group of hackers allegedly sponsored by North Korea. (4) Two major concerns of The Group of Twenty, outside of illegal acquisition of virtual assets, are money laundering and terrorist funding. The statement issued on July 22nd by the Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors offers little insight into the measures being taken to prevent the many issues plaguing digital asset markets and its adoption on a global level. However, The Group of Twenty is taking these matters seriously. During their first meeting in March of 2018 in Buenos Aires, G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors called on the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and various standard-setting bodies (SSBs) to issue a report by July on their work done concerning digital assets. The report highlights work done by the FSB, Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI), International Organization of Securities Commissions
(IOSCO) and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). The following information serves as a summary of the FSB report provided to G20 officials in July, before their 3rd meeting. Thus far the Financial Stability Board has not discovered crypto-related financial instability. Standing Committee on Assessment of Vulnerabilities (SCAV) and CPMI, through collaboration, devised a framework to efficiently identify potential concerns for financial instability related to cryptocurrency assets. This framework mostly uses data from public sources and is less reliant on supervisory data despite their belief that this data would increase the validity of its results. Although the FSB members have a working framework for quickly observing emerging instability, another standard-setting body works with its members to discuss concerns and compile information from each jurisdiction in the hope of reducing risks to financial stability. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) intends to continue to work with its members through the established ICO Consultation Network where members can share their experience and concerns to open dialogue with fellow regulators. Also, the IOSCO Board intends to develop a Support Framework in which resources will be offered to regulators of individual jurisdictions. These resources may be the product of international cooperation through the ICO Consultation Network. In essence, the IOSCO aims to build information from a broad spectrum of data to offer resources to individual government regulators to combat emerging risks related to ICOs. In this report, the IOSCO also describe crypto-asset platforms as a non-risk to global financial stability. The IOSCO does recognize, however, the potential problems these platforms (I.e.cryptocurrency exchange) pose to investor protection, market integrity, money laundering, and terrorist funding. The IOSCO acknowledges the sovereignty of nations, especially with their decisions on crypto-asset platform regulation and voices understanding of a jurisdiction’s choice to treat some cryptocurrency exchanges as a form of spot market exchange and payment structure. At the time of the FSB report, IOSCO’s Committee on Secondary Markets continues their examination of these exchanges to potentially explore the appropriateness
UNNECESSARY REGULATION CAN BE AVERTED AS LONG AS THERE IS MUTUAL RESPECT AND COOPERATION BETWEEN AN INDUSTRY AND ITS REGULATORS, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IS TOO IMPORTANT FOR UNNECESSARY RISKS. Anant Handa, Chief Strategy Officer of Mandala
of applying IOSCO’s Principles for Secondary and Other to digital asset exchanges. Several other issues that may be worth including in the Committee of Secondary Markets assessment are (i) transparency; (ii) custody and settlement; (iii) trading; and (iv) cybersecurity and systems integrity. The IOSCO’s effort to understand risks associated with crypto-assets relies on international cooperation between securities and futures market regulators. The calculation of risk that cryptocurrency exposure, as it pertains to banks, lies in the hands of a different standard-setting body: the BCBS. A group of banking supervisors known as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) reports pursuing policy and supervisory initiative to gather quantitative data to analyze banks’ exposure to cryptocurrencies. The data collected will be used to decide if there is a necessity to “clarify the prudential treatment of crypto-assets” across a battery of risk categories. The BCBS does mention that scarcity of reliable data on crypto bank holdings. (5) The agenda put forth by the FSB, and standard-setting bodies discussed the need for proper regulations concerning anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist funding measures; however, another international governing body is responsible for overseeing appropriate regulations in this area. In their July statement, G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors asked FATF to have a report ready by October to clarify how its standards pertain to digital assets. The Financial Action Task Force or FATF is a multi-national organization, initially created by The Group of Seven in 1989,
tasked with combating money laundering and terrorism funding. FATF consists of thirty-five member jurisdictions. In their October report, FATF discusses changes made to their lexicon and strongly emphasize the need for increased anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulation for crypto-service providers. FATF does intend to provide further updates to regulatory bodies when necessary. (5) As the G20 Summit on December 1st marks the end of G20 Argentina 2018, where does the crypto industry stand with world leaders? When discussing regulation, the CEO of Mandala, Nate Flanders said this “many crypto enthusiasts believe that Government is anti-crypto, but this simply isn’t true, if you objectively look at what Government bodies are trying to do, you begin to realize that protecting their citizens from financial instability, corruption and terrorism is more important than conspiring to disrupt innovation, in fact, these measures are designed to preserve the future of cryptocurrency.” Given the agenda of this year’s G20 summit and the attitude that regulators have expressed towards the crypto industry, it is evident that they appreciate its potential to connect the universe. It is apparent that the significant issue regulators have is keeping up with this technology. International regulatory bodies require information from cooperating countries to make proper recommendations. Assistance from industry leaders is needed for any government to have the best information. Cooperation between innovators, enthusiast along with their respective government regulators is paramount for a global consensus on future guidance. Thru collaboration, sensible measures will be achieved to protect the industry and its participants. ■
Works Cited 1. https://www.g20.org/en/documents 2. https://research.bloomberg.com/pub/res/ d28giW28tf6G7T_Wr77aU0gDgFQ 3. https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/eyresearch-initial-coin-offerings-icos/$File/eyresearch-initial-coin-offerings-icos.pdf 4. https://www.group-ib.com/media/gibcrypto-summary/ 5. http://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/ P160718-1.pdf 6. http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/ fatfrecommendations/documents/ regulation-virtual-assets.html
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Digital Geneva Authored by: Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah
Why We Need A Digital Geneva Convention We urgently need new norms and conventions that will protect civilian interests: a Geneva Convention for the digital world.
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s Western governments look for ways to punish Russia for its brazen attacks abroad, one idea that has been getting a lot of media attention is the possibility of state-sponsored cyberattacks on Russia. Cyber operations may well be one of the most effective tools left in a depleted foreign policy toolbox but we cannot afford for rights and freedoms to become collateral damage in the new cyber arms race. We urgently need new norms and conventions that will protect civilian interests: a Geneva Convention for the digital world. The Geneva Conventions are a set of rules that seeks, in times of armed conflict, to protect civilians who are not participating in the hostilities. There is no denying that the internet has become the new frontier for waging war, especially for countries like Russia and North Korea who are frustrated by limits on projecting their conventional power and by non-state actors wanting to exploit the asymmetries of power in the digital era. Russia’s preparedness to use cyber means was best demonstrated in the 2016 U.S. elections and the Brexit referendum. But while it could be argued that these attacks did not resemble war or incur casualties, Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian electricity grid in 2015 with phishing emails and viruses left hundreds of thousands without power. Naturally, those on the receiving end are keen to defend themselves but now they are already building offensive capacity. Indeed, cyber operations may well be one of the tools from the ‘full breadth of our National Security apparatus’ that Prime Minister Theresa May mentioned in her statement to the British parliament in March, as the response to the attempted murder of former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal. We know the UK has been investing in a National Offensive Cyber Programme that would “deploy offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of operations” and been part of plans to give NATO a more offensive role. Yet, not only are these activities covert but the rules governing them are unclear or do not exist. This has to end. Just as the Geneva Conventions were instrumental in curbing the worst excesses of war in the 19th and 20th centuries, we need new rules of engagement in the 21st century that protect rights, freedoms, and civilians. The promising news is that this issue is being taken seriously by some tech leaders, notably Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, who has recently called for a new
Convention that bans states from conducting cyberattacks and the creation of a neutral international body that would investigate and attribute attacks that occur. This is welcome, especially given that any intervention in this area will need the cooperation of key private sector internet and technology companies, but it is critical that this process is led by genuine multilateral process. While publicprivate cooperation will be critical, we cannot afford this to be led by powerful companies with clear vested interests. And given this is also about creating a new set of norms for a digital era, it should also be grounded in genuine citizen participation. It is also encouraging to see some diplomatic efforts to control cyberattacks, including regular meetings by a small group of UN member states and some bilateral agreements around cybercrime. However, these attempts have dealt with vague principles from legally binding commitments. We need a global response based on international law. There is no underestimating how difficult these issues here are. Much of what goes on and how it is policed will inevitably be covert. Tracing who was responsible for cyber-attacks—let alone linking them to state authorities—will be extremely difficult. The nerve agent allegedly used in the Salisbury attack was apparently traced to the Russian state lab but in the internet era threats will be dispersed and far harder to trace. But this shouldn’t stop us from trying. A new digital Geneva Convention may not stop new forms of attacks but it will be critical in several ways. For a start, it will define what is considered as unacceptable, fleshing out what (if any) moral consensus there is. It will also give us a legal basis to respond to those who do breach these norms, not just with mischievous states but also to create obligations on big internet companies and in policing cyber-criminals. It will also help guide the actions of those who may mean well but whose actions may create a dangerous race to the bottom. And progress here will be a critical first step to addressing a greater set of challenges around digital freedoms. In 2018, we’re only just beginning to understand how the digital revolution will alter the make-up of our societies and lives. We need to be asking ourselves what a free society actually looks like in a digital world and what forms our democratic rights take online. It’s no longer just our right to assemble peacefully offline that needs to be protected, it is also our
RUSSIA’S PREPAREDNESS TO USE CYBER MEANS WAS BEST DEMONSTRATED IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTIONS AND THE BREXIT REFERENDUM. BUT WHILE IT COULD BE ARGUED THAT THESE ATTACKS DID NOT RESEMBLE WAR OR INCUR CASUALTIES, RUSSIA’S ATTACK ON THE UKRAINIAN ELECTRICITY GRID IN 2015 WITH PHISHING EMAILS AND VIRUSES LEFT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WITHOUT POWER.
right to assemble and mobilize online. Much of the encryption that currently protects our privacy online looks set to be invalidated by the development of quantum computing. Many might think that this is naïve wishful thinking when the internet feels like the Wild West—cyber criminals, statesponsored hackers, unregulated private interests—but we have no option but to try to bring principle-based order to this chaos. Yes, Iran and North Korea have thumbed their nose on nuclear conventions and yes, Russia seems to have breached the chemical warfare principles, but in each of these cases it has helped to have a set of legal norms to fall back on. Russia may be showing that it is not interested in international laws and norms
but that shouldn’t be an excuse for those of us who claim to be civilized to throw out our own values and principles. Many argued that the current Geneva Conventions would have been impossible to achieve, let alone police and yet they are held up as one of the greatest achievements of modern humanity. As cyberwarfare becomes a new reality, we need a new set of rules. ■
Dr. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah is Secretary General of CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance.
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 61
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Branded Story_Tri Hita Karana Forum
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10 - 11 OCTOBER
SPECIAL REPORT INDONESIA LEADS ON THE SDGS, MOBILISING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE, WOMEN, OCEANS AND FORESTS WITH A FOCUS ON HARMONY AND HAPPINESS
Cherie Nursalim Vice Chairman, Giti Group G20 CEO Advisory Group
As the fourth most populous country in the world, and one of the fastest growing emerging markets, Indonesia’s ability to deliver high-quality, inclusive growth, in harmony with its natural and human resources is vital. Indonesia is already demonstrating strong leadership for the SDGs: it is striving to meet ambitious climate targets (committing to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 29% under the Paris Agreement). It is implementing a Roadmap for Sustainable Finance, issued the world’s first green sukuk bond ($1.25 bn) and the world’s first sustainable land use bond ($95 m) earlier this year, has reduced the country’s poverty rate to 9.8% and increased access to clean water to 76.74%. All this has occurred alongside a major national infrastructure programme which aims to deliver $400 billion worth of new public-works projects in the transportation, energy, water and waste sectors over five years, in line with the G20’s priority focus on infrastructure. Indonesia’s national infrastructure finance institution – PT SMI – has recently launched a first-of-its-kind integrated funding platform called “SDG Indonesia One”, under the leadership of Sri Mulyani, Minister of Finance. SDG Indonesia One will support large-scale sustainable infrastructure projects in Indonesia; the platform has already reached USD2.34 billion in commitments out of a target of USD4 billion. Indonesia continued to set a clear course for the SDGs while hosting the 2018 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bali. The “Tri Hita Karana Forum on Sustainable Development” (THK Forum) – a two-day conference preceding the Annual Meetings – was a prime example. Endorsed by President Joko Widodo and counting Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman and Christiana Figueres amongst the THK Forum Steering Committee, more than 500 high-level delegates attended the THK Forum, under the theme of “Blended Finance and Innovation for Better Business Better World”. Blended finance is the use of development finance (public or philanthropic funds) to mobilise commercial capital for the SDGs. President Jokowi shared with the ASEAN Leaders gathering in Bali and subsequently at the APEC in Port Moresby with 21 heads of States that “Indonesia encourages innovative sources of financing like blended finance.”
“As leaders, as politicians, and as technocrats, we often get very busy and very The THK Forum showed the effectiveness of this approach to excited talking about indices, talking about ratios and talking about statistics. We often forget that the ultimate purpose of everything that we work so hard to achieve is quite simply to deliver happiness to our people.” President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo sharing the Triple Happiness key to SDGs at the THK Forum , October 2018
financing the SDGs. THK launched over 30 high-impact projects, investments and initiatives, and is estimated to have mobilised close to $10 billion for priority SDG sectors including green infrastructure, sustainable land use, oceans, ecotourism, health, women and innovation.
In particular, there was a strong focus on women and SDG5; the co-founders of THK Forum were women from diverse backgrounds and many of the key partners and speakers were women leaders, including Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, IMF), Kristalina Georgieva (CEO, World Bank), Mari Pangestu (President, United in Diversity Foundation (UID)), Patricia Espinosa (Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC), Naoko Ishii (CEO, Global Environment Facility), Emma Sri Martini (President of PT SMI), Anousheh Ansari (first female private astronaut, CEO, Prodea Systems), Henrietta Fore (Executive Director, UNICEF), Mary Ellen Iskenderian (President, Women’s World Banking), Resa Boenard (Princess of the Dump), Melati Witsen (Bye Bye Plastic), Marisa Drew (CEO Impact, Credit Suisse), Ingrid van Wees (VP Finance and Risk Management, ADB), Shelly Porges, Yu Foo Yee Shun (Singapore MP), Annie Koh (SMU) and others. The Billion Dollar Fund for Women campaign was also launched at the THK Forum, with almost half a billion dollars already committed to invest in women entrepreneurs across all sectors including food and agriculture, financial services, consumer package goods, AI, blockchain and enterprise software. 62 ❙ g20g7.com
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Other highlights from the THK Forum include a commitment from Starbucks Indonesia to go “plastic free” by 2020, Blue Halo S, an innovative concept to support sustainable fishing with concession system, projects on renewable energy, low carbon transport and connectivity, a roadmap for the future of Indonesia’s food and land use system, a 25 year commitment from Cargill to support an innovative finance mechanism for forest protection and restoration, and the groundbreaking of Tsinghua University’s Southeast Asia Centre at the UID Creative Campus in Kura Kura Bali. The cross-cutting nature of major initiatives at the THK Forum reflected the Balinese “Tri Hita Karana” philosophy which means “Three Ways to Happiness”. This philosophy focuses on finding harmony between people, the environment and the spiritual. In his powerful and profound address to the THK Forum, President Jokowi said Indonesia may not be the most advanced or the most wealthy, but it can teach the rest of the world how to be happy by focusing on this ethos of “triple happiness”.
The 2018 THK Forum was co-organised by the Government of Indonesia with United in Diversity Foundation, International Chamber of Commerce, Business and Sustainable Development Commission Blended Finance Taskforce, and UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The World Bank, IMF, China Development Bank, OECD, World Economic Forum, ADB, Milken Institute, Tsinghua University, University of Indonesia, KADIN, APINDO, HSBC, Gajah Tunggal, GITI, MAP, Starbucks and Unilever were also all key partners for this event. Faculty who contributed include Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University, Lord Nicholas Stern from LSE, Robert Kaplan from Harvard, Charlie Fines from MIT, Bambang Brodjonegoro and Mari Pangestu, President Qiu Yong and Vice President Yang Bin from Tsinghua University, Ketut Dharma from Udayana University et al.
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Jeremy Oppenheim, Chair of the Blended Finance Taskforce, Founder of SYSTEMIQ and advisor of the THK Forum said that “as Indonesia makes highquality inclusive growth – based on low-carbon infrastructure, sustainable land-use, gender equality, eco-tourism and blended finance – central to its economic strategy, it will inspire countries around the world to step up and show the same level of ambition and action”.
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The ground-breaking ceremony for the Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center (Tsinghua SEA) held at Kura Kura Island in Bali, Indonesia.
Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated as when the “Tri Hita Karana Roadmap for Blended Finance” was signed at the THK Forum, led by the Indonesian government, ICC, Blended Finance Taskforce, PT SMI, Convergence and major partners from governments including Canada, SIDA, Africa Dev Bank, private sector and civil society facilitated by OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria. The THK Roadmap for Blended Finance is a significant milestone as the international community and Indonesia commit to a shared blended finance value system and action required for the greater mobilisation of private funds to support the delivery of the SDGs. Driving more leadership and collaboration like this will be critical if we are to deliver the SDGs in Indonesia, and the world. “This is partnership in action! ” KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA CEO, World Bank
“The THK Forum emerges as the platform to celebrate concrete commitment announcements and progress being made to drive the sustainable development agenda...we can set the example to the whole world on what is possible…” PAUL POLMAN CEO, Unilever Group/ Chairman, ICC/ THK Forum Steering Committee
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The Roadmap is only a starting point and will shape future action on increasing the effectiveness and scale of blended finance. Partnership from all who operate in the blended finance market is invited. It is only through engaging with a wide set of actors, and building a global community of support to drive this agenda forward, that blended finance can achieve its full potential in the SDG era. The action will be centred around five areas: (1) Practice: Translate the common narrative into good practice, (2) Mobilisation: Accelerate mobilisation of private commercial finance, (3) Transparency: Build on efforts to facilitate transparency in the use of blended finance, (4) Build inclusive markets: Addressing specificities in the local and international investment climate, and (5) Impact: Promote measurement and monitoring of the impact of blended investments towards the SDGs. Therefore bringing on board all relevant actors will be important in ensuring the effectiveness and impact of the roadmap, including other G20 Members.
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Join us in TRI HITA KARANA ROADMAP FOR BLENDED FINANCE towards achieving the sustainable development goals Contact > info@thkforum.org
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“And I believe that the spiritual dimension that is particularly emphasized under this Balinese saying is too often missing from the debates that we have in a lot of forums.” CHRISTINE LAGARDE Managing Director, IMF
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 63
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Y20 Authored by: William Greenlaw and Elizabeth Zalanga
Y20: The Youth’s Perspective on the Future of Work and Education
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illiam Greenlaw was born and raised in Northwest Indiana, once the essence of steel manufacturing, but now another notch on the rust belt. He personally witnessed friends’ and family’s livelihoods being wiped away by automation, globalization, and macro-economic restructuring. As the son of a steelworking father ever wary of impending layoffs in his factory, much of what ails the global working class is not theoretical; it is real. His parents grew up working with their hands for their livelihood, but the future of work requires different skills to put food on the table. And those skills require a mid-career, re-education in a fast-moving economy that many Americans do not have the luxury of pursuing. Another reality: Many Americans can no longer afford to wait for an education that works for them. Our education system is unable to meet the many demands of our competitive, ever-changing, and global economy. The outdated “factory model education” that has long undergirded American education shaped by the original American Industrial Revolution, has not aged well. It is no longer properly prepares young people for future employment. The skills, abilities, and knowledge required to compete for and gain employment in today’s job market have changed drastically, even over the last decade and continues to evolve. To remain relevant, education must shift from a linear, singledegree process to prepare young people for the “fourth industrial revolution” currently underway, marked by rapid technological advancement. The future of work is synonymous with the future of education. If new technologies will displace even more blue- and white-collar workers in the future, then our education must adapt to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs, while also helping today’s workforce reskill and
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upskill to meet the new requirements of the changing job market. American education historically focused on tangible skills like writing, reading, and arithmetic—all critically important. Yet emerging research has identified “21st century skills” like critical thinking, communication, and technology literacy are becoming increasingly more valuable, to students and to employers, than only technical skills. Unlike routine tasks of factory work, these skills are transferable across a wide range of jobs that exist today and that will exist in the near future. For men and women like William’s parents, re-skilling in a four-year education is too expensive and time-consuming, especially if they’re still paying down loans on a home or even another child’s education. Re-graduating with even more loans is out of the question. For our generation, the same applies. Entry level positions for even the very well-educated may be eliminated altogether. For example, the legal profession has begun adopting artificial intelligence software to remove the need of having dozens of paralegals review documents. Software design has begun employing self-improving software that mitigates the need of having too many entry level coders. And even finance has begun removing staff after finding that machines might be better than humans at identifying financial markets and executing trades, than human beings. For these people caught in transition in an economy with ubiquitous technology adoption, additional education is critical, but often unattainable. At the Y20, the G20 Youth Summit, our international colleagues agreed. Delegates from 20 nations called on member states to re-calibrate education and improve reskilling in their countries. That’s why we overwhelmingly voted for policy
recommendations to call on member states to guarantee “upskilling, and re-training educational opportunities in the everchanging digital world” and incorporate “cross-cultural and diverse identity education, including social and interpersonal skills”. Global citizens deserve governments that deliver on education, and we call on the United States and other world leaders, to do the same for average working families nationwide. ■
AT THE Y20 YOUTH DELEGATES FROM 20 NATIONS CALLED ON MEMBER STATES TO RECALIBRATE EDUCATION AND IMPROVE RESKILLING IN THEIR COUNTRIES.
William Greenlaw and Elizabeth Zalanga were selected by Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) to be the U.S. delegates to the 2018 Y20 Summit in Cordoba, Argentina. A graduate of Harvard University, William Greenlaw was born and raised in Northwest Indiana. He now works in government for the State of New York. Elizabeth is a junior at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities majoring in Global Studies.
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 65
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Branded Story_ South American Jets
South American Jets Welcomes the Argentina B20-G20 Summit
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s a company, we look forward to being part of the future that is setting bases today and celebrate that the private sector´s voice, also called B20, gathers for the first time in Latin America, under the frame of the G20 summit 2018. All major leaders and principal actors in business are reunited in Argentina, acknowledging the new challenges that imply to create politics for a sustained and inclusive economic’ growth that globally will start to impact countries and their people.
Who is South American Jets? We are a service provider, and we help to charter private jets for you, your business and your cargo. However, in reality, we are 66 ❙ g20g7.com
much more than such a simple premise as that; and, naturally, we strive to go further. The business of chartering private jets is an emerging industry growing steadily every year- according to the words written by the Global Air Charter Services Market 2018-2022. With such favor business conditions, big and small firms in the industry are specializing in delivering fast responses to a wide range of services. Chartering airplanes ‘companies are responding to the needs in the market that are not being met by commercial airlines. We are talking about an industry that is creating new work skills and innovating service with digital markets by the conception of charter’s services portals.
South American Jets is an enterprise with 24 years of experience, home base in Argentina. Our top priority is aircraft safety. Hence, we work with international corporations as Arg/Us and Wyvern; regularly auditing our operator’s maintenance records, flight history, insurance coverage, the frequency of aircraft inspections and a program’s ability to meet or exceed FAA standards. What kind of necessities covers South American Jets? South American Jets can fly you, your family, your staff or your equipment and cargo to any destination. SAJ will get you on board into the right aircraft. You would be attended by people proud of what they accomplish every day.
WE ARE A SERVICE PROVIDER, AND WE HELP TO CHARTER PRIVATE JETS FOR YOU, YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR CARGO. HOWEVER, IN REALITY, WE ARE MUCH MORE THAN SUCH A SIMPLE PREMISE AS THAT; AND, NATURALLY, WE STRIVE TO GO FURTHER.
If you are interested, get in to our web page: South American Jets: southjets.com South Medical Jets: southmedicaljets.com
Remarkably pilots, crew members, and executives’ advisers will customize your need on leasing an airplane accordingly. What solutions we give you with our service? First and most important of all is Time. Whether you were flying alone or with a group of people, your experience will be swift, fast, without delays and time-saving. All you need is to be 15 minutes before in the airport, stop in the VIP room, go through a rapid documents check in, get into the plane, arrive, and 15 minutes later you are out of the airport, going to the place where you should be. The company has a wide range of portfolio for different products such as air-ambulances, helicopters, small or big planes, etc.
South American Jets shared a vision for a global economic with a sustainability in business, work, education, trade and growth In the present day, companies face considerable new challenges produced by the impact of the digitization in business and the effect of what today is called the industrial revolution 4.0 The opportunities that these new technologies bring about are changing how business is done today. Furthermore, it also influencing education and skill learnings, and unsettling, somehow, the workforce. Technology is moving fast, but there is always the controversy for some business´s sectors that it might not move fast enough, and for other economics’ sectors that it might be moving so fast that it is disrupting groups and communities. Themes such as these will be addressed in the B20 summit. South American Jets welcome the world leaders today and salute
their joint effort so to create assertive responses politics with sustainability growth. We want to be part of the vision that brings the summit of B20, and our personal goal is to strive for: › Produce levels of new business formation › The creation of a wide range of work skills and expertise’s that is contributing to creating innovating jobs and employment. › Increased productivity innovation that foster creativity (new portfolio for new services in the aviation industry, new skills, new jobs) › Help to build a stable source of sustainable regional employment › Take the business to the full digitization era, and strive for global connectivity As a business enterprise, we do have big interest in the G20. The course that the world economy and trade is taking in this new century needs leaders, business visionaries, innovators to signal the path for wealth and economic growth, that is inclusive and sustainable through time. ■ Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 67
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series LEAD FEATURE
Artificial Intelligence Authored by: Ana C. Rold
The Future of AI is Intelligence Augmentation It is time to envision a more realistic future, one in which AI and machine learning are used to supplement and support human intelligence, rather than subvert it.
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rtificial Intelligence is no longer a sci-fi vision of the future. We are living in a world where AI is disrupting industry and society at large in truly transformative ways. From chat bots reinventing customer service performace to machines such as IBM’s Watson beating some of the most intelligent human beings to ever live, artificial intelligence is altering everything from the biggest technological innovations to the simplest of tasks we perform on a daily basis. And both scenarios are true; AI has both the ability to push the world towards a state of permanent utopia, or it may very well trigger the downfall of humanity. The question, is no longer whether or not AI is possibly driving us to one of these two futures, but whether or not we can adapt at this early stage in a way that benefits humanity. One of the first issues we’ve come to face is the question of what artificial intelligence, and intelligence in general, really is. While inventors such as Elon Musk have already begun designing brain-computer interfaces that could theoretically be used to treat a variety of medical issues, access thoughts and memories and perhaps one day even upload one’s consciousness to the internet, our current lack of understanding of how exactly the brain works—let alone our understanding of abstract concepts such as thoughts and human consciousness—makes it extremely difficult for scientists to create AI-powered devices that can precisely interact with the brain and the body in a way that isn’t detrimental. However, as we continue to deepen our understanding of the brain and human consciousness, we can further begin using technology simultaneously to deepen our understanding of human intelligence.
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It is time to envision a more realistic future, one in which AI and machine learning are used to supplement and support human intelligence, rather than subvert it. The concept of intelligence augmentation demonstrates how artificial intelligence and humans will be able to live together in a mutually beneficial fashion. While artificial intelligence may surpass humans in structured environments where inputs and outputs are clearly defined—such as a game of chess or the organization of large sets of data—this same machine learning often fails to work in less defined environments that involve nuanced decisionmaking and problem-solving. In structured settings, artificial intelligence can organize massive amounts of documents, emails and customer information in a business in mere seconds. But this same AI lacks the ability to evaluate what should be done with these data sets—which is the sort of nuanced decision making that humans excel at. If humans and artificial intelligence worked together, then, artificial intelligence algorithms could organize these data loads into a user-friendly interface with which human workers could more quickly and effectively make decisions. Augmented Humanity Our population generates close to 10 billion megabytes of new information every second, which is an impossible amount of data to keep up with. With artificial intelligence’s ability to sort through data and note trends at lightning speed, however, we may soon be able to make headway of all the useful information that already exists in order to reach new insights in science, technology, and even society. Already, artificial
intelligence is being used not only to collect data in the medical field, but is also being used to create device prototypes that can augment humans physically—and perhaps one day intellectually. Even organs as delicate as our eyes can be augmented using artificial intelligence devices to aid in preventing blindness and degenerative diseases. E.J. Chichilnisky, a professor of neurosurgery and ophthalmology at Stanford University, is designing a device that may be able to reverse the effects of retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration—both of which cause cells in the retina, which is responsible for converting light into electrical signals the brain can read, to die off—by inserting retinal implants that mimic the way the cells in the retina behave. This project that, if done successfully, could lead to radical insights in neural prosthetics. Similarly, a research team from Ulsan
OUR POPULATION GENERATES CLOSE TO 10 BILLION MEGABYTES OF NEW INFORMATION EVERY SECOND, WHICH IS AN IMPOSSIBLE AMOUNT OF DATA TO KEEP UP WITH.
National Institute of Science and Technology and Sungkyunkwan University are developing a contact lens capable of measuring and monitoring glucose levels through tears, with an LED pixel in the lens that can be used to warn wearers visually when their glucose levels are off. While these innovations may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, they are well on their way to becoming a reality in a matter of years, if not months. Intelligence Augmentation One of the most promising avenues for intelligence augmentation in recent years, however, is thought-controlled prosthetic limbs. Engineers at John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab have created a 26-joint prosthetic arm that is controlled by a person’s thoughts through the remapping of remaining nerves from the missing arm to the new
prosthetic arm. This device may even be able to one day allow users to feel sensations in the prosthetic as the remapped nerves grow deeper. As we begin to better understand how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used to create devices that interact with our neural framework, we may one day be able to insert chips into the brain itself that could be used to modulate mood and alertness, help us recognize and mediate unhealthy behaviors, and even augment our memories. While there are undoubtedly risks involved in humans and artificial intelligence’s deepening relationship, if governed correctly, these sort of braincomputer interfaces could very well elevate humanity to new heights. In the end, humans have always adapted to new technology and will undoubtedly continue to adapt to the disruptions that
artificial intelligence and machine learning are bringing. Indeed, while the risks involved with artificial intelligence are many, there are also enormous benefits that could change the world for the better. Ultimately, it will be this partnership between artificial intelligence and human intelligence that will transform humanity and bring us one step closer to Singularity. ■
Ana C. Rold is Founder and CEO of Diplomatic Courier, a Global Affairs Media Network. She teaches political science courses at Northeastern University and is the Host of The World in 2050–A Forum About Our Future. To engage with her on this article follow her on Twitter @ACRold.
Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 69
G20 Leaders Executive Talk Series Global Energy Authored by: Euan Mearns and Didier Sornette
Ranking Electricity Supplies It is a case of out with the old and in with the new as the OECD turns its back on coal.
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ur electricity-generating systems are in the process of being overhauled. It is very much a case of out with the old and in with the new as the OECD turns its back on coal. The OECD envisions decarbonizing electricity generation using a combination of wind power, solar power, and biomass instead. Focusing on CO2 intensity alone has led to a number of bizarre outcomes such as transporting wood pellets from North America to Europe for industrialscale power generation; covering hilltops with wind turbines; and fields with solar panels. It is difficult to find an environmental reason in these measures. Researchers at ETH Zurich wanted to develop a more holistic approach to characterize various generating technologies, but they were confronted with a challenge. How does one compare nuclear power with wind and coal power? This is like comparing apples with barley and potatoes. Multi-criteria
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decision analysis offered researchers a means of quantifying all of the relevant information for the task. They began with the three pillars of sustainable development: › Environment › Economy › Society In the hierarchy that that they developed, these three universally accepted measures appear as a top category level. However, researchers soon recognized that measures, such as Scalability, were missing from their scheme. Little good can come from discovering a utopian electricity supply, if there is only enough of it around to power a tiny fraction of the world’s cities. Geothermal power is a good example. Even with today’s technology, engineers can only deploy geothermal power in areas with active volcanic activity like in Iceland and New
Zealand. This is not much use when it comes to powering cities like New York and Paris. “Resource,” therefore, was introduced as a fourth category in their hierarchy in order to measure the size and availability of a given energy resource. Recognizing that not all electricity is equal, and at risk of sounding like Donald Rumsfeld, researchers have identified three main classes related to the production characteristics of electricity: Class 1: Electricity that is produced when we want to use it. Class 2: Electricity that is produced when we do not want to use it. Class 3: Electricity that is not produced when we want to use it. Class 1 electricity is the ideal. Class 2 electricity, leaves suppliers with just three choices: export the surplus, store the surplus,
Energy Matters Electricity Technology Survey (EMETS)
Table 1: Design showing 5 categories and 12 criteria against which 13 technologies were measured. The example shows how 12 criteria may be applied to coal, but may equally be applied to gas, biomass, etc.
FOCUSING ON CO2 INTENSITY ALONE HAS LED TO A NUMBER OF BIZARRE OUTCOMES SUCH AS TRANSPORTING WOOD PELLETS FROM NORTH AMERICA TO EUROPE FOR INDUSTRIAL-SCALE POWER GENERATION; COVERING HILLTOPS WITH WIND TURBINES; AND FIELDS WITH SOLAR PANELS. IT IS DIFFICULT TO FIND AN ENVIRONMENTAL REASON IN THESE MEASURES. or waste the surplus. In each eventuality, consumers would accrue and pay a significant cost. Class 3 electricity either results in rolling blackouts or requires a back-up system. Both outcomes are costly for the consumer. In the view of researchers, policy makers have greatly undervalued the production of electricity when we need to use it (Class 1). Therefore, they introduced a fifth category of the “Grid” to the hierarchy. The Grid category provides a means of quantifying the controllability of supply. As part of the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), researchers further delineated 12 sub-categories, called criteria, in order to characterize the most essential aspects of an electricity generating technology (see Table 1). Of course, there is bound to be some overlap and even gaps in the process, but they have endeavored to capture most aspects of a functioning energy system. Given this information, would anyone
argue that the cost of electricity is not equally important to CO2 intensity? According to researchers, there seems to be little value in lowering CO2 intensity, if high costs for alternative electric power spreads “energy poverty” and erodes economic well-being. Equally, there seems to be little purpose in a low CO2 supply, if it destroys other parts of the natural environment. Using a structured MCDA hierarchy, researchers sought to capture all of these variables. *ERoEI (energy return on energy i nvested), is a measure of efficiency and considers the full energy production cycle. In conventional MCDA, stakeholders are often asked to express a preference at the criteria level. The approach researchers adopted was rather different. They sought, instead, to assign scores to each criterion where a 1 = good and a 10 = bad. For example, low fatalities, low CO2 and high availability are all regarded as “good.”
Nineteen participants, mainly engineers, physicists, geologists and geophysicists assigned scores, using professional judgement and not preference as a guide. The results, summarized in Figure 1, show 13 technologies in rank order based on total mean scores. In order to display results for individual technologies, researchers developed a 12-axis spider diagram (see Figure 2). The spider diagram for nuclear power shows that it scored well on all criteria and that is why it emerged, albeit narrowly, as the top technology. Hydroelectric power displays an uneven distribution on criteria scores. It has performed less well on resource availability, because most good hydroelectric sites are already in use and less well on environmental costs and environmental footprint since hydro reservoirs destroy natural habitats and occupy a substantial area.› Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 71
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Nuclear: 32.6_Hydro :34.9
Electricity Technologies by Rank (Un-weighted)
Solar PV: 70.9_Wind: 67.2
Coal :53.3_Gas CCGT: 34.6
Figure 1: Thirteen electricity technologies arranged in rank order according to their total mean MCDA score selects 3 clear winners nuclear power, combined cycle gas, and hydroelectric power. Outright losers include all of the new renewable technologies. In the middle, Geothermal and diesel, both niche technologies, and coal - cheap, abundant and controllable - are down-rated on health and environmental grounds.
› The spider diagrams for gas and coal (Figure 2) shows how each perform well in the Resources, Economics, and Grid categories and less well in the Health and Environmental categories. Unsurprisingly, coal performs particularly poorly in terms of health and environment. The diagram highlights the similarities and differences between gas and coal. The slightly poor performance of gas in the Health and Environment categories is offset, however, by good performance in the Resources, Economics and Grid categories resulting in a total mean score that is comparable to nuclear and hydroelectric power. Wind and solar photovoltaic systems have similar shapes in the diagram, performing well in Health and Environment and poorly in Resources, Economics and Grid categories. This shape is common to all of the noncombustion, renewable technologies including wave, tidal, and solar thermal energy. The wind and solar spider diagrams are effectively a mirror image of coal. To sum up, the structured, hierarchical MCDA provided researchers with a means 72 ❙ g20g7.com
of comparing and quantifying electricity generation technologies. Their survey of 13 technologies sampling expert opinion produced three clear winners, namely nuclear power, combined cycle gas turbine, and hydroelectric power. This should come as no surprise to anyone since these technologies are already widely deployed, known to be among the safest available, and already proven to work together to provide a stable and reliable grid at low cost. What is less easy to explain is why countries like Germany, Switzerland and France have plans to close down their nuclear power stations and replace them with wind and/or solar power that the survey suggests are vastly inferior, at least compared with the present available technologies. ■ A full account of this research is found in our two articles [1,2]: [1] Structured Hierarchical Multi Criteria Decision Analysis to Inform Energy Policy. ETH Zurich preprint (2018) [2] Comparing electricity generation technologies based on multiple criteria scores from an expert group. ETH Zurich preprint (2018)
Figure 2: Spider diagrams for 6 out of 13 technologies surveyed. Researchers developed a 12-axis spider diagram, one axis for each criterion scaled from zero in the center to 10 at the circumference. The ideal electricity source would be represented by a circle with a radius of 1 (the best score in each category). The axes are arranged according to hierarchy. The total mean scores are shown in the panel headers.
Dr. Euan Mearns has a PhD in isotope geochemistry. A former academic, businessman, investor, consultant and energy blogger, he has been employed as a Senior Researcher at ETH Zurich since January 2018. Dr. Didier Sornette is Professor on the Chair of Entrepreneurial Risks at ETH Zurich since 2006 in the department of Management, Technology and Economics, and a professor at the Swiss Finance Institute. Sornette is also associated with both the departments of Physics and of Earth Sciences at ETH Zurich. In 2008, Sornette founded the Financial Crisis Observatory to diagnose and predict financial crises. He is also a founding member of the Risk Center at ETH Zurich. He is also a research leader at the Future Resilient Center at the National University of Singapore and is a specially appointed professor of Tokyo Institute of Technology in the Institute of Innovative Research. He is the lead author, with Prof. W. Kröger and Dr. S. Wheatley, of the new book “New ways and needs for exploiting nuclear energy” to appear in October 2018 with Springer.
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Argentina: President Mauricio Macri
auricio Macri was elected President of Argentina in 2015. His victory over David Scioli, the chosen successor of outgoing president Cristina Fernandez de Kichner and favorite for the presidency, came after he forced the first run off vote in Argentinian history. Macri, a relative newcomer to politics, is the son of prominent Italian-born businessman, Franco Macri. In 2003 Macri founded the political party Commitment for Change (CPC), which developed into Macri’s current political party, the Republican Proposal (PRO). Between 2003 and 2015 PRO grew into Argentina’s first new viable national political party in over 60 years. The party is viewed as right wing although Macri self-identifies as center-right. Macri is the first right-wing president Argentina has had since its return to democracy in 1983. Although Macri comes from a wealthy background he appealed to working-class voters with campaign promises to implement extensive infrastructure developments, boost existing welfare programs, and enact swift pro-market economic changes. Since 2015 Macri has remained true to his promises of economic change. His administration reversed capital controls imposed by his predecessors, hiked interest rates to cut inflation, and eliminated price controls on food and gasoline. In 2016 Macri also settled Argentina’s debts with foreign bondholders, reestablishing Argentina’s access to global credit. As a result, Argentina has seen an influx of investor and lender interest, as well as a staggering 77 percent
gain in the stock market over 2017 and additional 7 percent so far in 2018. The influx of investors has allowed Argentina to diversify, stabilizing its economy further. Macri s administration is most focused on the agricultural and oil industries, in which Argentina is most competitive internationally; however, this has spurred job loss in other industries, especially in manufacturing. Macri has responded to the resulting outcry by slowing social spending cuts, although he remains committed to lowering the fiscal deficit. U.S. relations with Argentina have improved noticeably throughout Macri’s tenure. Macri is the host of this year’s G20 Summit, which will take place from November 30 December 1 in Buenos Aires. President Macri met with various leaders in January of this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to discuss the agenda and themes for the G20 throughout 2018. These leaders include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, CEO of British Petroleum Bob Dudley and representatives of Temasek International (investment), Total (petroleum and energy), Cargill (agro-chemicals), Coca Cola (beverages), Facebook, Siemens, and Lloyd’s (insurance). Macri has expressed as his hope and vision for Argentina to strengthen its global positioning, after decades of what Macri has described as Argentina being isolated from the world. As G20 president, Macri has expressed his agenda for the G20 with themes of “putting people first and committing to multilateralism, more inclusive growth, and intergenerational progress.” President Macri met with Bill and Melinda Gates in Davos, where they discussed the importance of a sustainable food future. Another strong theme in the 2018 G20 agenda is a focus on women, specifically the Women 20 engagement group. ■
Following Macri’s meeting with Merkel in Davos, he stated:
WE SPOKE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF FOCUSING ON EDUCATION. WE ALSO SPOKE OF INFRASTRUCTURE, HOW NECESSARY IT IS FOR DEVELOPMENT, AND HOW WE CAN NARROW THE GAP BETWEEN DEVELOPED AND EMERGING COUNTRIES THROUGH PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT. VENEZUELA’S GOVERNMENT MUST WORK TOWARD ACHIEVING A TRUE CULTURE OF DEMOCRACY FOR OUR REGION. THERE’S NO ROOM FOR PERSECUTION BASED ON IDEOLOGICAL REASONS OR FOR THINKING DIFFERENTLY.
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hinzo Abe was first elected Prime Minister for a brief term from 2006 to 2007, making him the youngest Prime Minister elected since WWII; however, he stepped down in 2007 citing health issues. In 2012, Abe was reelected as Prime Minister in a landslide victory as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. Abe comes from an elite, high profile political family. His father, Shintaro Abe, was a former foreign minister and his grandfather was former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. In 2017 Abe won a snap election, reaffirming his position and clearing the path for him to become Japan’s longest serving Prime Minister in history. Shinzo Abe has garnered a reputation throughout his tenure as Prime Minister as a right-wing hawk. He has taken a muscular stance on Japanese defense, especially in regards to territorial issues. Domestically, Abe has employed what is informally known as his “Abenomics”, a three-pronged series of monetary, fiscal, and structural policies that aim to increase Japan’s GDP and counter the chronic deflation it has faced over the last three decades. To boost the economy, Japan’s central bank, the Bank of Japan, has engaged in massive asset purchases to inject liquidity into the economy, while Abe has pumped 19.3 trillion yen into the Japanese economy through government spending on critical infrastructure projects. Abe has also pushed through structural reforms, including slashing business regulations, liberalizing Japan’s labor market and agricultural sector, decreasing corporation tax, and increasing diversity in the workforce. Abe’s foreign policy takes a two-pronged approach, and is dominated by his zero sum view of the international community. First, Abe is determined to create an independent Japan. To this end he pushed for the right to Japan’s collective defense, a highly contradictory move, in 2015, and hopes to amend Japan’s constitution to allow for a standing army by
2020. He has also implemented policies to counter China’s rise in the region, including disputing China’s territorial claims in the East China Sea. Second, Abe aims to maintain a close relationship with the United States to protect Japan while Abe pursues its first goal. In a news conference following the G7 summit, Shinzo Abe expressed his thoughts on how the summit went. He described the discussions between the leaders on trade as “heated.” Abe emphasized the need for trade with fair and free rules that complies with the World Trade Organization. Furthermore, in line with Abe’s commitment to economic growth, he commented that the G7 leaders would monitor market trends and work to keep the economy as stable as possible. A high priority of Abe’s administration has been and continues to be ensuring the return of 12 Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Abe noted that the G7 remained united on the issues surrounding North Korea. The leaders supported the historic U.S.-North Korea summit, and Abe added that if the abductees are returned and the nuclear and missiles issues are resolved, Japan is willing to move forward with North Korea and work on relations. Shinzo Abe noted the importance of countries to call for the application of the United Nations Security Council resolutions surrounding issues with North Korea. He expressed gratitude for the G7 summit and hope for promoting democracy, human rights, rule of law and freedom. In Hamburg last year, Abe strongly advocated for the G20 leaders to focus on climate action and take collective action to combat climate change. Climate is likely to be a focus of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, and this aligns with Abe’s goals. Furthermore, discussions surrounding North Korea and denuclearization between Abe and Trump occurred in Hamburg last year and are likely to be a central theme yet again in Buenos Aires. ■
Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
I BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE JAPANESE WRITE A CONSTITUTION FOR OURSELVES THAT WOULD REFLECT THE SHAPE OF THE COUNTRY WE CONSIDER DESIRABLE IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
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Canada Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau
orn in 1971, Justin Trudeau entered into the political spotlight right away, as the son of Pierre Trudeau, who was the Canadian Prime Minister from 1968-79 and 1980-84. Despite his family’s political prominence, Justin Trudeau spent his early career in education, away from the political arena. In 2006, however, Trudeau joined the Liberal Party’s task force on youth renewal. He furthered his political career in 2008 by winning the Parliamentary seat of the Papineau district, a racially and economically diverse district Trudeau used to prove his ability to win uphill campaigns. In 2013 Trudeau became head of the Liberal Party. Two years later he ran a campaign for Prime Minister on a platform advocating increased abortion rights, the legalization of marijuana, and environmental protection. Trudeau and the Liberal Party won in a landslide in the 2015 election, capturing 48 new Parliamentary seats and making Trudeau the second youngest Prime Minister in Canadian history. Once in office, Trudeau continued his liberal tradition domestically. He announced that his administration would run a fiscal deficit for three years to increase spending on infrastructure projects. Trudeau assured his electorate that the projects would boost the economy. After reports of a series of suicides of indigenous Canadian youths Trudeau pledged to improve the living conditions of indigenous people in Canada. Trudeau also announced a five year ban on drilling licensing in Canada’s Arctic waters in 2016; however, he attracted criticism for his decision to implement the Kinder Morgan
Trans Mountain Pipeline. Internationally, Trudeau has recommitted Canada to the United Nations, reflecting his faith in multilateral diplomacy. Trudeau also developed a warm friendship with former President Barack Obama, a sharp contrast from the chillier relationship between former President Obama and Trudeau’s predecessor, Stephen Harper. Trudeau has had a markedly less friendly relationship with President Donald Trump. In response to Trump’s refusal to welcome refugees, Trudeau announced they would be welcome in Canada. He also warned Trump that Canada would retaliate on any increased tariffs that violated the NAFTA agreement. As the recent host of the 2018 G7 Summit, Trudeau created an agenda based on the goal of sustainable economic growth that benefits everyone. As the G20 is an international forum focused mainly on financial stability, the economic growth goal of the G7 under Trudeau’s G7 presidency will likely translate to his goals for the G20 Summit. With the recent conflict between Trudeau and Trump regarding the U.S. tariffs, trade will be a key part of the G20 agenda and specifically that of Trudeau, as Trump’s tariffs negatively affect the Canadian economy. Trudeau has called Trump’s tariffs “totally unacceptable” and a “turning point” in the relationship between Canada and the U.S. ■
AMERICANS REMAIN OUR PARTNERS, FRIENDS, AND ALLIES. THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT AT SOME POINT THEIR COMMON SENSE WILL PREVAIL. BUT WE SEE NO SIGN OF THAT IN THIS ACTION TODAY BY THE US ADMINISTRATION.
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Helping businesses navigate climate change
Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) can help your organization make more informed decisions — and increase resilience — in the face of climate change. How? By identifying climate-related risks and opportunities. By estimating financial impacts and performing scenario analyses. By advising on long-term business performance. Need a strategic response to climate change? Enlist a CPA. FIND OUT MORE AT cpacanada.ca/ClimateChange 17-0683
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Building Trust through Climate Action
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rust forms the bedrock of our society and economy. It is essential for rational discourse and evidencebased decision-making in the public interest. With the proliferation of fake news, media distrust and increased demands for transparency, public and private sector institutions need to focus on building and maintaining trust with their stakeholders. During Canada’s 2018 G7 Presidency, Canada has an opportunity to build trust and lead on a number of themes through the lens of climate change. An inclusive and just transition to a resilient low-carbon economy requires investing in growth that works for everyone and preparing for jobs of the future. Combatting climate change can create new economic opportunities and jobs for Canadians if efforts are supported by thoughtful and well-informed policies that consider a broad range of stakeholders. However, trust across the G7 countries is in decline. According to the 2018 Edelman rust Barometer, all G7 nations fell into the category of “Distrusters” on the Trust Index 2018, with less than 50% of the general population trusting their country’s institutions. The Edelman Trust Barometer is a 28-market index that tracks the level of trust in institutions annually for the past 18 years. This year, the United States experienced a record-breaking drop in public trust. Falling by nine points to the bottom quartile of the
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index, it was the steepest decline in US since the survey’s inception. Society’s expectations of corporate leaders are evolving. Nearly 7 in 10 respondents say that building trust is the top priority for CEOs and nearly two-thirds say they want CEOs to take the lead on policy change instead of waiting for government. In order to encourage behavioural shifts in our society, climate change actions must focus on relevant facts and evidence. Canadian Perspective As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Canada needs to work harder to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. Further, there is an opportunity to build a nationwide strategy to adapt to the impacts of climate change. In March 2018, Canada’s auditors general issued a collaborative report on Perspectives on Climate Change Action in Canada – an unprecedented effort to work together to examine government responses to a critically important issue. According to the auditors general, “the impacts of a warming climate and extreme weather events are already being felt in Canada and are forecast to become more severe and more frequent… Beyond environmental and physical impacts, climate change is also expected to have significant
economic and social impacts.” Their findings noted more than half of governments did not have greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, and most governments had not fully assessed climate risk, nor developed adaptation plans. This is concerning for a country like Canada. The rate of warming in Canada is about twice the global rate – a 2 degree Celsius increase (the goal of the Paris Agreement) translates into a 3 or 4 degree Celsius increase for Canada. Canada is already experiencing roughly 2 degrees Celsius of average temperature rise and an increase in extreme weather events causing record-breaking economic losses according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. The time for climate action is now and trust will be the foundation for effective collaboration. Public & Private Sector Collaboration Climate change continues to be one of the top global risks identified by the World Economic Forum in its 2018 Global Risks Report. Climate-related risks will amplify over time due to their linkage with other global risks such as resource scarcity, increasing energy demand and large-scale involuntary migration. With a world population forecasted to reach almost 10 billion people by 2050, we must collaborate and be innovative in our response to climate change.
It is not the sole responsibility of government to address climate issues – it is a shared responsibility among government, business and consumers. According to Mission 2020, led by Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), $1 trillion in annual investment in climate action is needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and about 80% will come from the private sector. Transparency and the Role of Business Global business leaders and investors recognize climate change as a business issue. The impacts of climate change are ubiquitous, extending across markets and borders. Climate-related risk is systemic and its impacts can be direct and indirect. The importance of mitigating and adapting to climate change cannot be understated due to the economic value at stake. According to the US-based Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), 93% of US equities are facing material risks due to climate change, representing 72 of 79 industries researched. To enable the efficient allocation of capital by the investment community, businesses must enhance their disclosure of climate-related financial information. The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), established by Mark Carney and chaired by Michael Bloomberg, is a strong example of climate change as a financial issue. Recognizing that unpriced climate risks could impact global financial stability, companies with a combined market capitalization of $6.3 trillion USD are publicly committing to supporting the TCFD recommendations and improving their climate-related disclosures. Disclosure is an important focus area for the private sector given its strong potential to influence behavioural change. After all, what gets measured gets managed. Investors are incorporating climate change considerations into their investment decisions. Companies are utilizing this information to set strategy, manage risks and make better decisions for their business’ long-term future. Ultimately, senior executives and Boards of Directors are responsible for executing and overseeing the company’s strategic response to climate change issues. It is essential that business leaders set a strong tone at the top
Gordon Beal, CPA, CA, M.Ed. Vice President - Research Guidance and Support, Chartered Professional Accountants Canada (CPA Canada) Gord oversees a team of senior professionals who conduct technical research and produce guidance and thought leadership resources to help shape the future of the CPA profession. Areas of focus include strategy, risk and performance management; external reporting and audit; and corporate oversight and governance. Climate change and other sustainability issues, along with the impact of emerging technologies, are core elements of this work. Gord leads CPA Canada’s strategy on climate change and the role of CPAs in creating sustainable enterprises. Since 2013, he has been a member of Canada’s National Climate Change Adaptation Platform Plenary and is a member of the National Assessment Advisory Committee on Canada in a Changing Climate. Gord is also on the Board of Directors for the Clean Air Partnership, a Toronto based not for profit organization focused on advancing the implementation of actions to foster low-carbon, resilient communities. Prior to CPA Canada Gord has over 15 years of experience in senior roles in Canada’s manufacturing and construction sectors, professional audit and advisory services, in addition to a senior training and development role in the Ontario Ministry of Finance. Gord is a CPA, CA and has a Masters in Education that focused on the role of leadership in organizational learning and adaptation.
for taking meaningful action on climate change and that their boards are knowledgeable and actively engaged in creating a strategy that addresses climate risk. Private sector companies that incorporate climate change into strategy will be well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities. Bold action is needed in today’s business planning cycles to realize the opportunities in tomorrow’s economy. Companies must follow through with climate commitments with the full support of their executive team and Board of Directors. Role of Accountants Transparency is essential in maintaining and building trust in our institutions as we work together in combatting climate change. Accountants add substance and evidence to the climate change conversation – an essential ingredient to building trust with stakeholders. Accountants act as trusted advisors to public and private sectors. As governments and businesses move to set targets to achieve Canada’s climate change goals, reporting on progress over time is an essential part of the process. By establishing internal controls and processes, they can enable accountability by ensuring the reliable measurement and reporting of climate-related information. Accountants in leadership positions excel at translating data and information into actionable insights for strategic decision-making. This
information is useful to senior executives and Boards of Directors in setting targets and measuring performance over time. It is also useful to investors allocating capital in alignment with their climate change investment strategies. However, they cannot do it alone. Accountants must work with other disciplines and across functions. Climate change requires an interdisciplinary and integrated response. We have an opportunity to establish global best practices here in Canada. In order to do this, we must build capacity to bridge the gap between plans to address climate change and the tangible actions required to achieve real progress on this burning issue. ›
AS A SIGNATORY TO THE PARIS AGREEMENT, CANADA NEEDS TO WORK HARDER TO ACHIEVE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS OF 30% BELOW 2005 LEVELS BY 2030. Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 79
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› Role of Consumers Consumers also have a role to play. The largest single threat to the ecology and biodiversity of the planet in the decades to come will be global climate disruption due to the buildup of human-generated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon is tied to consumption and we continue to consume more resources. As our population grows, so will consumption. We must educate, and encourage consumer awareness that will lead to individual actions. Time to Act is Now We are in this together. A just transition to a resilient low-carbon economy requires informed and holistic decision making that leaves no Canadian behind. It is our shared responsibility to build and maintain public trust in the economic shift toward a more sustainable world. In doing so, we must: ■ Recognize and act on the need for public and private sector collaboration ■ Enhance climate-related financial disclosures for improved decisionmaking and transparency ■ Demonstrate bold private sector climate change action and leadership ■ Leverage a broad range of subject matter expertise, including professional accountants ■ Build capacity through education and training opportunities With trust, transparency and coordinated climate action, we can make a significant shift in our stewardship of the planet. ■ 80 ❙ g20g7.com
Gigi Dawe LL.M Director – Corporate Oversight and Governance, Research Guidance and Support – CPA Canada Gigi Dawe leads the Corporate Oversight and Governance department at the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). As such, she oversees CPA Canada’s development of influential, thought leading resources and events that improve board performance. Gigi launched the governance discipline at CPA Canada to facilitate enhanced board and executive response to market demands. Her history includes consulting in organizational development in a variety of industries. Gigi is a board member of Youthdale Treatment Centres. She is also on the International Corporate Governance Network’s Corporate Board Governance Committee, sits on the advisory board of Women Get on Board and of Simon Fraser University’s Next Generation Governance Project. She is a past board member of Active Healthy Kids Canada and Family Daycare Services Toronto. Gigi is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Institute of Corporate Directors, and the International Corporate Governance Network. Gigi obtained a Master of Laws at Osgoode Hall Law School. She teaches Corporate Responsibility and Ethics in the Masters of Financial Accountability program at York University.
Sarah Keyes, CPA, CA Principal – Strategy, Risk and Performance, Research Guidance and Support – CPA Canada Sarah Keyes is a Principal at Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). She develops research and thought leadership on climate change issues and the implications for business decision-making, reporting and corporate governance. Prior to CPA Canada, Sarah worked as a Senior Auditor in the mining and extractives sector at PricewaterhouseCoopers and as a Senior Energy Consultant at MNP. She is a member of the Energy and Economics Working Groups as part of Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Platform convened by Natural Resources Canada. Sarah is certified in ISO 14064-3: Greenhouse Gas Verification and Validation. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) registered in Ontario. Sarah also holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting with distinction from McGill University.
DEEP IN CHARLEVOIX, LESS THAN AN HOUR AND A HALF FROM QUÉBEC CITY,NATURE’S HEARTBEAT BRINGS A LANDSCAPE TO LIFE. You Echoing down green mountains and across crystal streams, it joins the rhythm
of bustling village streets before mixing with the waves of the majestic St. Lawrence as it f lows to the sea. Whether you comefor a cultural getaway, an epicurean adventure, or the chance to explore a natural world of limitless horizons, you will leave transformed by
the incomparable charm of Charlevoix.
© Éric Coulombe, Geneviève LeSieur, Bleu Outremer and Robert Chiasson.
Book your experience today! | charlevoixtourism.com 1 800 667-2276
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Welcome to Charlevoix!
© Tourisme Charlevoix, Steve Deschênes
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harlevoix is like no place else on earth, with its breathtaking mountain vistas, unique natural habitats and fascinating history that is intimately linked with the majestic St. Lawrence River. Boasting an exceptional terroir, the region’s charming villages are home to a people with a singular fondness for the good life. Everything sets Charlevoix apart – even its climate! From sea to taiga, an extraordinary experience awaits you at the heart of the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve.
Petite-Rivière-Saint-François – the gateway to Charlevoix This village is nestled along a narrow six-kilometre strip of land between the St. Lawrence River and the mountains. Dating back to 1675, Petite-Rivière-Saint-François is the site of the region’s first modern-day settlement. Without a doubt, this is the best place to start your trip. For nature lovers, it’s hard to beat the Massif de Charlevoix, which boasts the 82 ❙ g20g7.com
highest vertical drop east of the Canadian Rockies. Here, winter enthusiasts have a wide range of outdoor activities to choose from, including the famous sled run! The explorer in you will love the Sentier des Caps trails, a main feature of Petite-Rivière. Once the snow falls, the hiking paths transform into a winter paradise of frosted fir trees, offering snowshoers and cross-country skiers extraordinary panoramic views. Baie-Saint-Paul – at your service Baie-Saint-Paul is a destination in and of itself. Beautifully integrated with its natural environment, this remarkable city is sure to impress you with its brightly coloured centennial homes and undeniable charm. Amazingly, this town of 7,000 inhabitants was named the Cultural Capital of Canada in 2007! But it won’t take you long to understand why: to use a current buzz phrase, Baie-Saint-Paul is the archetypal organic city, whose history, heritage and architecture
are all perfectly in tune with its surroundings. Baie-Saint-Paul has many more painters, sculptors and artisans than one might expect for its size. But there’s a good reason for this: the city offers the perfect environment to pursue a creative calling. Its natural setting, inspiring landscapes and exceptional quality of light are a magnet for artists – so much so that Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street now boasts the highest concentration of art galleries in the country. These establishments vie with each other in an art scene that goes well beyond pictorial representations of the surrounding nature. In fact, it was here that Cirque du Soleil was born in 1982 as a group of street performers, known then as the Club de talons hauts (high heels club). Strolling through the city centre, visitors can admire public art works as they sample the wares of regional chocolate makers and explore unique local shops such as the Shamâne soap boutique and Charlevoix Pure Laine weavers. Here, creativity reigns supreme!
© Rêves d’automne - Festival de peinture
BAIE-SAINT-PAUL IS A DESTINATION IN AND OF ITSELF. BEAUTIFULLY INTEGRATED WITH ITS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, THIS REMARKABLE CITY IS SURE TO IMPRESS YOU WITH ITS BRIGHTLY COLOURED CENTENNIAL HOMES AND UNDENIABLE CHARM.
© Tourisme Charlevoix, Caroline Perron
Baie-Saint-Paul has been so successful in fanning the flames of art that it has become a de facto cultural capital. The Museum of Contemporary Art organizes internationally renowned exhibitions and events, including the popular Symposium of Contemporary Art, which each year showcases 12 visual artists and their creative processes. Among BaieSaint Paul’s many cultural events, you won’t want to miss Le Festif! music festival and the dazzling celebration of colour that is the Rêves d’automne painting festival.
mountain, peak and valley, rock and vegetation. It’s hard to resist the call of the mountaintops as they recede ever farther into the distance. But just how far can you go? As far as your feet – and hiking boots – will take you! In summer or winter, you can continue your adventure along one of Québec’s most beautiful natural paths, the legendary Traversée de Charlevoix. This 105-kilometre trail between Saint-Urbain and Mont Grand-Fonds offers the ultimate backcountry experience.
Mountain Road Get ready for a few surprises and some friendly encounters as you discover the food producers along the top of routes 138 and 381. Here you’ll find an abundance of local products with which to build your own picnic basket or simply enjoy along the drive! Mountain Road’s elevation offers some of the best views of Charlevoix’s breathtaking landscapes. You’ll be astonished by the surreal interplay between river and
St. Lawrence Route This road is a bit easy to miss the first time, but once you discover it you’ll readily find your way back! The St. Lawrence Route’s appeal lies in its unique mix of familiar comforts and unexpected surprises. You can take a mere 40 minutes to drive the short (and sometimes bumpy!) 58 kilometres from Baie-Saint-Paul to La Malbaie, enjoying spectacular river views along the way. But if you opt for a more leisurely pace, that’s when
the magic happens! Don’t let its unassuming name fool you: the celebrated St. Lawrence Route is considered one of the most beautiful and panoramic roads in eastern North America. Route 362 could also be called the “Cultural Highway”. With each mile, you’ll travel deeper into the fascinating history, know-how and traditions of the farming communities that are still shaping the region today. Be sure to stop in the village of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, a true cultural gem. Then, follow the road to the ferry and take a ride to the Isle-aux-Coudres, where you can sample cider at Vergers Pedneault or explore the famous flour mills. If you decide to stay on the mainland, drop by the Papeterie Saint-Gilles for some handcrafted paper products, or spend an afternoon at the Charlevoix Maritime Museum and tour its schooners and shipyard. Saint-Irénée – picturesque by nature It’s impossible not to stop at Saint-Irénée’s famous Jetée des Capelans pier, with its eye-catching red buoy and anchor embedded in the ground. During the winter holidays, the site becomes aglow with a captivating display of multi-coloured lights. Once you’ve crossed the railway tracks, there’s nothing separating you from the St. Lawrence. Winter visitors can catch sight of immense ships travelling up and down the river beyond the cape, against the backdrop of an Arctic-hued lunar landscape. During the summer, Saint-Irénée’s sandy beach is one of the most beautiful and popular in Québec – and you can even go horseback riding! Charlevoix loves its beaches, and Route 362 passes alongside many notable examples as it follows the shoreline all the way to Cap-aux-Oies. La Malbaie – so much to offer La Malbaie is the perfect jumping-off place for the region, with water and mountain activities within reach all year long. From here, you can easily arrange for a tour of Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie Park by snowmobile or dog sled, or hit the slopes and trails at Mont Grand-Fonds ski resort. But it’s La Malbaie’s hotel and entertainment offerings that are its true calling card. The Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu is worth the trip alone, with four restaurants featuring locally sourced products, an indoor/outdoor spa and a multi-award-winning 27-hole golf course. Speaking of restaurants, the area’s Flavour Trail offers foodies the ultimate farm-to-table experience. › Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 83
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© Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu
› The Trail includes four inns between Saint-Irénée and Cap-à-l’Aigle, in addition to the Manoir Richelieu itself. There is no shortage of opportunities to indulge your inner gourmet in and around La Malbaie! No visit to La Malbaie would be complete without a trip to the famous casino. It’s much more than your typical gambling establishment, offering a wide variety of shows, concerts and activities that perfectly complement the local scene. One of the casino’s must-see events – and no doubt the most spectacular – is Ode à l’hiver (ode to winter), a music and fireworks extravaganza set against the backdrop of the beautiful Pointe-au-Pic wharf. From river to sea Once you pass La Malbaie, the St. Lawrence slowly starts to surrender to the Atlantic 84 ❙ g20g7.com
© Tourisme Charlevoix, Caroline Perron
Ocean. The air suddenly changes, becoming more and more saturated with sea spray, and on windy days you can even taste the salt on your lips! Port-au-Persil – pure magic The Association des plus beaux villages du Québec (Most Beautiful Villages of Québec) has four members in Charlevoix; of these, Saint-Siméon and Port-au-Persil hamlet are arguably the most stunning. Head up the road to check out the donkeys at the Ferme de l’Âne du Saint-Laurent. Keep an eye out here for one of the most beautiful views of the St. Lawrence! A short drive later, you’ll find yourself crossing a small stream, signalling your arrival at Port-au-Persil. In summer and winter alike, visitors flock to the pier to admire the white McLaren Chapel and the colourful houses that dot the cove. Words
can’t describe the feelings evoked by the beautiful views on display here, where the river meets the horizon. The effect is even more striking in winter, when the sun breaks through the wind-swept snow clouds and mist rolls over the jagged ice on the frozen St. Lawrence. Baie-des-Rochers – a well-kept secret Located directly across from Île aux Lièvres, Saint-Siméon is also the gateway to the beautiful Baie-des-Rochers Park. This municipal park offers three exceptional hiking paths, including the Anse de Sable trail which starts where the road ends at Baie-des-Rochers’ quay. Then again, you might choose to arrive by water instead, following a two-day kayak trip from Cap-àl’Aigle. Baie-des-Rochers offers the adventure of a lifetime. Here, you’re at the edge of the
IF YOU OPT FOR A MORE LEISURELY PACE, THAT’S WHEN THE MAGIC HAPPENS! DON’T LET ITS UNASSUMINGNAME FOOL YOU: THE CELEBRATED ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND PANORAMIC ROADS IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA.
Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, so chances are good you’ll cross paths with a few seals – and maybe even a whale! Baie-Sainte-Catherine – a calm retreat The most striking thing about Baie SaintCatherine is its utter tranquility. Located in the heart of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, it’s the last village before the ferry to Tadoussac and, further east, the mythical North Shore. Here, the marine biodiversity is unlike anywhere else on the planet. And exploring the waters of the St. Lawrence and the Marine Park is the best way to discover it. You have a wide range of options to choose from: if you prefer to remain above water, you can go kayaking, take a Zodiac, or board a whalewatching boat. But if you’re feeling more adventurous, you can try diving in the
unique, cold saltwater environment of the St. Lawrence Estuary and Saguenay Fjord. Isle-aux-Coudres – full of surprises There’s something fascinating about Isle-auxCoudres. Although this tiny island appears rather peaceful at first glance, it plays host to a dizzying array of sports and cultural events, gastronomical experiences and holiday activities. Upon disembarking from the Saint-Josephde-la-Rive ferry, there are two things you should know. First, the islanders’ nickname – Marsouins – pays homage to their beluga fishing heritage. Second, it’s possible to explore the 23-kilometre island entirely on a bike. But by the time you leave, you’ll have made many more discoveries along the way. The island has not one but two economuseums, both of which bear the
imprint of the surrounding terroir and reflect the rich local history. The first museum is not far from the pier as you arrive and can be visited on foot or bicycle; this is the Cidrerie et Vergers Pedneault, where you can go apple picking in season. The second, the Moulins de l’Isle-aux-Coudres, immerses visitors in the world of milling and traditional flour-making. After visiting these two must-see attractions, be sure to leave room for pie at the Boulangerie Bouchard, where the signature pâté croche (a savoury meat turnover) will no doubt tempt your taste buds. Isle-aux-Coudres offers a number of beautiful walks with exceptional panoramic views of the St. Lawrence. A good example can be found at the Parc de la Roche à Caya (Caya’s Rock), which features an interpretation trail that takes visitors alongside a series of beaches and sand bars. At Pointe-de-l’Islet, you can clamber over the coastal granitic rocks at low tide amid refreshing sea spray. Don’t be surprised if you see a few large, multi-coloured sails zigzagging across the sky – Isle-aux-Coudres is one of Québec’s most popular kitesurfing destinations. In winter, the main event is still La Grande Traversée, a thrilling canoe race across the ice between Isle-aux-Coudres and Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive. The road back As you cross back to the mainland, take some time to enjoy the exceptional view of Mount Éboulements, the site of an ancient meteorite impact that shaped the region some 400 million years ago. By all measures an historic event – just like the 2018 G7 Summit. Although your visit to Charlevoix may be winding down, the memories you’ve made will last a lifetime, as will the desire to come back again! ■ Buenos Aires. Argentina 2018 ❙ 85
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United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May
heresa May began her political career in 1984 as a councilor of London, a post she kept until 1994. After running and losing twice as a Conservative candidate for the House of Commons, May cinched the Maidenhead seat in 1997. Once in the House of Commons, May steadily climbed through the Conservative Party’s ranks, holding a series of shadow positions, and finally becoming the first woman to chair the Conservative Party in 2002. Through her tenure in the House of Commons May garnered a reputation as a no nonsense legislator and tough negotiator. She famously called for the modernization of the Conservative Party, warning its leaders in 1999 that they were quickly becoming the “nasty party”. In that vein, May has voted in favor of same sex marriage and policies to decrease domestic violence and the gender pay gap. After David Cameron was elected Prime Minister in 2010 May became the Secretary of State for the Home Department. As secretary, Theresa May pursued policies to decrease immigration of arrivals coming from outside the European Union, aiming to reduce their numbers from upwards of 300,000 to the tens of thousands. She was also openly critical of the British Police Federation, warning in 2014 that its problems did not come from “just a few bad apples”, but rather a system corruption. After David Cameron announced his imminent resignation following the U.K.’s referendum decision on Brexit, Theresa May emerged as the Conservative Party’s leading candidate. In April 2017 she was elected Prime Minister. Despite general dismay on the results of Brexit among the electorate, Theresa May made it clear that there would be no second referendum and that the United Kingdom would move forward on its decision. May faced challenges, however, from both Parliament and the House of Commons in activating Article 50, which would guarantee the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union within two years. May has vocalized
her intent to negotiate Brexit in a way that will benefit the United Kingdom’s net trade and protect European free trade. She has also committed to finding a solution for E.U. citizens currently residing within the United Kingdom, although she has not proposed any concrete policies. Most of May’s foreign policy has been geared toward negotiating Brexit. Theresa May has voiced her strong support for ensuring girls throughout the world receive a quality education. At the G7 Summit, she announced the UK would fund £187 million ($248 million) for over 400,000 girls to have access to 12 years of a quality education. Throughout May’s leadership, she has focused on the environment and sustainability. She recognized the need for collective global action in this area and the importance of the G7, as an opportunity for world leaders to address environmental issues. May announced in a statement at the G7 Summit in Canada that she was disappointed in Trump’s decision to impose aluminium and steel tariffs on the EU. She stated the EU would take action in response to these tariffs, but she also noted the need for constructive dialogue rather than intensifying the situation. Additionally, Theresa May stated at the summit the need for a “unified international response” to foreign actions that threaten democracy d the shared values of the G7 countries. Similarly, tariffs and trade are expected to be important topics of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires. In Hamburg last year, May expressed concern that the United Kingdom had lost global influence due to Brexit, but that the UK will be bold and plays an important in role in trade, as well as counter-terrorism. In addition to trade, May is expected to continue to advocate for action regarding climate change and to further press Trump regarding the Paris Climate Agreement. May will stand with many other world leaders, including Macron, Merkel, Trudeau, and more in advocating for Trump to lift the aluminium and steel tariffs. ■
I WILL BE RUTHLESS IN CUTTING OUT WASTE, STREAMLINING STRUCTURES AND IMPROVING EFFICIENCY.
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United States President Donald J. Trump
onald Trump spent the majority of his career as a real estate mogul and reality T.V. star. Trump owns a series of hotels at home and abroad, as well as multiple golf resorts. Trump also starred a chain of reality T.V. shows, first The Apprentice, then its spin-off The Celebrity Apprentice. Despite announcing his interest in the presidency in 2000 and 2012, Donald Trump ran in earnest for the first time in 2015, gaining the Republican Party’s nomination. Trump ran on a strongly anti-establishment platform, fiercely criticizing Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton, and the “swamp” of Washington D.C. Trump appealed to blue collar, mostly white, voters and Evangelists because of his conservative social policies and promises to revive the manufacturing and coal industries. He also promised to curb immigration by blocking refugees and building a border wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. Trump earned a surprising victory over Hillary Clinton in November 2017. Since taking office, Trump has wholeheartedly pursued his agenda outlined over the course of his campaign. In his first 100 days Trump nominated the conservative judge, Neil Gorsuch, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. He also implemented a so-called travel ban on the majority Muslim countries
of Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq. He added Venezuela and North Korea to the list after being blocked by a federal judge. Trump also crippled the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s healthcare legacy. Trump recently announced his decision to block transgender Americans from serving in the military. Economically, Trump has been staunchly pro-American business. He has promised to negotiate better terms in NAFTA. He has also cut corporation taxes to attract big corporations back to the United States. Diplomatically, Trump has pursued an America first, brash policy. He has pulled the United States out of the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Paris Climate Agreements amid claims they put undue strain on the United States. Donald Trump has proved to take a large step away from President Obama’s multilateral diplomatic platform. With the way that the G7 Summit ended, as Trump retracted his support from the communiqué and posted a series of angry tweets about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it will be interesting to see his agenda for the G20 Summit. This largely depends on what occurs in the coming months regarding trade. As the G20 Summit focuses on financial stability, if the current tariffs Trump has imposed remain in place, this will likely be a central subject and theme of discussion during the summit. While some countries within the G20 Summit are exempt from these tariffs, including Argentina and Australia, there are many that are suffering from these tariffs, including Canada and European countries. Furthermore, Trump has recently proposed tariffs on auto imports, which if enforced will have widespread effects and also be an important topic of the G20 Summit. ■
WE CANNOT HAVE FREE AND OPEN TRADE IF SOME COUNTRIES EXPLOIT THE SYSTEM AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS. WE SUPPORT FREE TRADE BUT IT NEEDS TO BE FAIR AND IT NEEDS TO BE RECIPROCAL.
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n 2000 President Boris Yeltsin announced he would step down and named the relatively obscure Vladimir Putin his successor. Promising to rebuild a weakened Russia and improve the Russian economy, Putin won the presidency that same year. In his first term, he centralized power in the Kremlin by transforming Russia’s 89 regions into seven federal districts and abolishing privileges traditionally held by regional governors. At the same time, in a proclaimed bid to decrease corruption, Putin weakened Russia’s most powerful media oligarchs by closing several major media stations. He also created a tightly regulated market economy to break Russia free of the recession that had held it throughout the 90s. The resulting steady economic growth ensured Putin’s reelection in 2004. In his second term Putin gained popularity with his nationalist, anti-West rhetoric and his successful campaigns against Chechen rebels. Constitutional limits prevented Putin from seeking a third term in 2008; however from 2008 to 2012 Putin acted as Russia’s prime minister, keeping him among the Kremlin’s leadership. He was reelected to a third term in 2012 among rumors of election meddling. He has since continued his campaign to make Russia a world power, unbeholden to any other country. Putin’s campaign has been characterized by aggressive foreign policy that has placed it at odds with much of the international community. For example, in 2013 Putin weakened relations with the United States, already strained by Putin’s anti-West and anti-democratic leanings,
further by granting asylum to Edward Snowden. In 2014 in response to the expulsion of Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych, Putin forcefully seized Ukraine’s Crimea, prompting international condemnation and fighting along the border. In 2015 Russia sent troops to Syria to combat ISIS. After a two-year campaign, Russia withdrew its forces in 2017; however Putin left the possibility of launching a second campaign open. In 2017 Russia was implicated in meddling in a series of Western elections in an attempt to weaken Western democracies and strengthen Russia’s global position. Putin remains one of the world’s most powerful, enigmatic leaders. While dismissed from what was once the G8, now the G7 group, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Russia is still a part of the G20 group. There was much anticipation regarding Putin’s arrival to the G20 summit last year, as it was his first face-to-face meeting the U.S. President Trump. While Putin has implemented an assertive foreign policy since his election, the Russian economy has struggled due to Western sanctions. Depending on the situation regarding sanctions, trade, and U.S. relations with Russia, as there is controversy and confusion surrounding potential election meddling, these could all be strong themes of conversation for Putin at the G20 Summit in Argentina. ■
Russia: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
WE DON’T NEED A WEAKENED GOVERNMENT BUT A STRONG GOVERNMENT THAT WOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND CARE FOR THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.
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Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel
ngela Merkel became the first female chancellor of Germany in 2005 as head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Her oft-repeated slogan that in Germany anyone can be anything drove her popularity, especially in light of her childhood spent in East Berlin. Angela Merkel was elected to her fourth term as chancellor in 2017. All four of Merkel’s terms have been characterized by a firmly centrist approach. Accordingly, some have criticized her for her seeming lack of ideology, while others have lauded her pragmatism and stout leadership. Her supporters included the United States, and she was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Honor in 2011. Angela Merkel remains to many across the world a beacon of hope for liberal democracy in an uncertain time. In light of Merkel’s pragmatic approach to the leadership of Germany, it is unsurprising that her four terms have been most clearly shaped by the global crises she has navigated, rather than the policies she has created. Early in her first term, Merkel faced the global financial crisis and the corresponding Eurozone debt crisis. Merkel responded by forcefully advocating severe austerity measures, mostly directed at Greece. As the debt crisis deepened, Merkel was successful in crafting a fiscal compact that obligated signatories to conform to balance-budget benchmarks, leading some to criticize Merkel for the severity of her austerity measures. In 2011 the international community faced the consequences of the failure of Fukushima’s nuclear power plant. In response, Angela Merkel phased out nuclear power in Germany. In response to the forceful annexation of Ukraine by Russia in 2014 Merkel spearhead the E.U. effort to impose strict sanctions on the Russian regime. Finally, in response to the refugee crisis stemming from the Middle East, Merkel responded by opening Germany’s borders, allowing more than one million refugees
enter Germany and garnering praise from humanitarian aid advocates. Although she paid a steep political price domestically, Merkel remains a clear leader in the region. Leading up to the summit, Merkel stated that she expected debate and controversy throughout discussions among the world leaders. However, she also noted the importance of the summit to keep communication going. When Trump retracted his support from the communiqué regarding trade, Merkel described his actions as “sobering and somewhat depressing.” Merkel and Trump have had a tense relationship since Trump’s decision pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Climate Accord. Merkel posted a photo on her Instagram account which soon went viral, featuring the G7 leaders gathered together with Merkel standing, with her arms pressed into a table, which was between her and Trump, who was seated with his arms crossed (see below). Many have noted the power dynamic between Merkel and Trump evident in this photo taken at the G7 Summit. As the host of the 2017 G20 Summit, Merkel prepared intensely for the meeting of world leaders. However, widespread protests in Hamburg proved to be a disruption for the summit. Furthermore, Merkel described the discussions between the world leaders as, “very difficult.” Following Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, Merkel tried to serve as a negotiator between Trump and the other world leaders, in addition to serving as the host. This year, Merkel will not have to be the host, however, her stance regarding the Paris Climate Agreement and Trump’s decision to withdraw have not changed. In addition, Merkel’s stance on trade and Trump’s tariffs are consistent with Trudeau and the other European leaders and is expected to be an important part of Merkel’s agenda at the summit in Buenos Aires. ■
THE EURO IS OUR COMMON FATE, AND EUROPE IS OUR COMMON FUTURE.
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espite being a novice politician, Emmanuel Macron beat out rival Marie le Pen to capture the presidency in 2017. Macron enjoyed widespread, multipartisan support in the 2017 election thanks to his position as a centrist alternative in a campaign populated by far left and far right candidates. Macron’s success established him both as the first French president to win without the backing of an established national political party, and the country’s youngest president to date. Over the course of his campaign, Macron maintained a staunchly centrist, mostly status quo platform; however, he was vocal about his intention to fight international terrorism and uphold law and order. To this end he vowed to increase defense spending and institute a special task force to combat ISIS. Macron also voiced his intention to boost French’s flagging economy, and reform welfare and pension policies. This vow is inline with his stint as the French Economy Minister, during which he instituted a number of pro-market policies, including Macron’s Law. Immediately upon taking office Macron faced a shifting regional and global stage. In the European Union, Brexit continued to send shockwaves through E.U. member states. Internationally, Trump’s erratic behavior and reneging on multilateral agreements, like the Paris Climate Agreement, has fostered uncertainty across the world. Macron has responded to these challenges by pushing France to become a world leader. He staunchly supports the single bloc market of the European Union, going so far as to draft a proposed common Eurozone budget. He has also announced his intention to fill the United Kingdom’s shoes as a regional leader. In response to Trump’s refusal to sign the Paris Climate Agreement, Macron declared France the new homeland of climate change scientists. Domestically, Macron aims to implement economic reform, beginning with France’s fiscal deficit. He has decreased fiscal spending on public services and cut some government jobs. Macron opines that cutting jobs will free up France’s beleaguered labor
market. Macron has also implemented tougher immigration policies, increasing the speed of deportation proceedings and limiting further the number of accepted asylum seekers. This policy, as well as his cuts to fiscal spending, has been met with disapproval and protests at home. Leading up to the G7 Summit, Macron urged other members of the G7 to fight back against Trump’s trade policies. While the French president and U.S. president once shared a close relationship, these relations turned hostile following certain policy changes made by Trump. Macron has called Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs a shift towards U.S. hegemony. Macron has signaled to Trudeau that he would assist in creating a statement signed by all seven members, however that it is more important to focus on the subject of the statement, rather than simply focusing on whether or not Trump signs it. He has called this possibility a “G6 plus one” outcome. Macron announced that he would not sign the G7 statement without concessions from Trump. Macron voiced his goal to focus on the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Deal in addition to tariffs and trade policy. Following discussions between Macron and Trump, Macron noted that it was an open discussion and “things were moving forward.” As the G20 Summit focuses on the global economy, Macron will likely continue discussions on trade. Similar to many other leaders, Macron has and continues to advocate for multilateral trade and an open, global economy that would benefit all. Last year at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Macron made a statement that he has “not given up trying to get U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to change his mind about withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate change agreement.” The G20 Summit last year strongly showed the divide between the United States and the other G20 leaders regarding environmental policy. Climate change is expected to be another central theme of this year’s summit and a central theme of Macron’s agenda. ■
France President Emmanuel Macron
OUR DEMOCRACIES MUST BE STRONG STANDING UP TO TERRORISM… BUT AT THE SAME TIME OUR DEMOCRACIES MUST COMPLETELY PROTECT THE RULE OF LAW.
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South Korea President Moon Jae-In
oon Jae-In began his political career as the senior secretary for civic affairs in 2002 under the administration of his friend and mentor, Roh Moo-hyun. Throughout his tenure Moon acted as one of Roh’s closest advisors, and became chief of staff in 2007. After the Roh administration ended in 2008, Moon returned to his position as a human rights lawyer in the private sector. In 2017 Moon returned to the national political stage in the snap election following the impeachment and removal of Park Geun-hye from office. Moon ran on a campaign promising to reign in the influence of South Korea’s chaebols, the family-owned conglomerates some say choke small business, and address income inequality and the decentralization of government. Moon also proposed opening 6-nation peace talks aimed at denuclearization and the decrease of tensions. Moon has made it clear that while he values South Korea’s relationship with the United States, he believed that the country must learn to say no. Moon won the snap election in a landslide, making him the first liberal South Korean president in nearly a decade. Moon’s tenure as president of South Korea has been dominated by North Korea’s nuclear maneuvering. Only four days after Moon’s inauguration on May 10, Pyongyang tested a missile it claimed was capable of carrying
a nuclear warhead to the mainland of the United States. Moon responded by testing the South Korean Hyunmoo 2c ballistic missile and South Korea’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), as well as cooperating with U.S. forces to carry out live fire drills. Moon asserted that he remained open to talks with Pyongyang; however, he would do so with a strong national defense. Moon also reversed his campaign decision to halt South Korean cooperation with the United States on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), a theater missile defense program. Moon took advantage of the 2018 Winter Olympics as a unique opportunity to open diplomatic talks with North Korea. In the games South and North Korean athletes walked under a common banner and played as one ice hockey team. Moon has since kept the diplomatic current alive, paying a state visit to Pyongyang in March of 2018 to open denuclearization talks. Diplomacy with North Korea has been a central part of Moon’s presidency. With the recent historical summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore, the stakes were high for Moon, as he has worked to improve relations with North Korea and much of his presidency and success depends on this. Another theme of Moon Jae-in’s platform was creating stable jobs for citizens of South Korea. Immediately after Moon was sworn in as president, he raised the minimum wage in South Korea by 16 percent. However, this backfired, as thousands of people lost their jobs following this economic policy. Yet, Moon’s efforts with North Korea, both in improving South Korea’s relations with the North and in acting as a bridge between Trump and Kim Jong-Un, have largely overshadowed his somewhat failed economic policy. As the G20 Summit centers around financial stability, Moon’s goals for economic and job stability in South Korea will likely translate in his discussions at the summit in Argentina, as these are still central goals for Moon’s presidency. ■
I AM A BELIEVER IN DIALOGUE, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT DIALOGUE IS POSSIBLE WHEN WE HAVE A STRONG NATIONAL DEFENSE.
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pon King Abdulaziz’s death Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was crowned King of Saudi Arabia. Before taking the throne, King Salman served as governor as Riyadh for forty-eight years. He became crown prince in 2011 after his brother’s death, serving for one year before ascending the throne. King Salman is the most powerful member of the Ibn Saud, an influential faction within the Saudi palace comprised of the sons and grandsons of King Abdulaziz and Princess Hassa al-Sudairi. He is also an influential businessman, holding a large stake in one the Arab world’s most influential media conglomerates. As governor, King Salman oversaw the transformation of Riyadh from a small desert town to one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant metropolitans. Today, Riyadh’s skyline is full of skyscrapers and its streets full of universities and Western chains. Its transformation reflects King Salman’s moderate, modern-minded leanings. Throughout his tenure as governor of Riyadh King Salman grew adept at courting foreign delegates, cultivating a positive international reputation. He also learned to balance the interests of Saudi Arabia’s conservative traditionalists and liberal technocrats. As king, King Salman’s balancing skills are salient as he inherits the social and economic reform campaigns begun by his predecessor, King Abdulaziz. King Salman
was recorded saying that he believed democracy ill suited for Saudi Arabia and, cognizant of the delicate balancing act of politics in Saudi Arabia, promotes caution in implementing the reforms of King Abdulaziz. King Salman is less concerned in enacting these reforms, then in pursuing pragmatic domestic policies that maintain Saudi Arabian stability. Economically, King Salman has pursued the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economy, traditionally reliant almost wholly on its deep oil reserves. His moderate international repute has attracted foreign investment. King Salman has also pursued close relationships with Western powers, in particular the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Under his reign, the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has deepened past oil supply and demand. Last year, King Salman sent Saudi Finance Minister Muhammad Al-Jadaan in his place for the G20 Summit in Hamburg. Although there was so reason issued as to why, many sources have attributed it to Saudi Arabia’s dispute with Qatar. As King Salman has pursued diversifying the economy, this will likely be a continued theme of Salman’s agenda, as well as maintaining close ties with Western powers, who have relied on the oil of Saudi Arabia. ■
Saudi Arabia King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
WE WILL CONTINUE, GOD WILLING, TO HOLD THE STRAIGHT COURSE THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS FOLLOWED SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT BY THE LATE KING ABDULAZIZ.
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India Prime Minister Narendra Modi
arendra Modi became the fourteenth prime minister of India in 2014 as head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a mainstream national party. Modi’s victory came after a career in politics, including a ten-year stint as the chief minister of Gujarat. Modi first entered politics as a member of the student-wing of Rashtriya Swayameskvak Sangh Party (RSS), a Hindu nationalist party. Modi was driven underground along with other members of RSS during the political crisis of 1975. While underground he wrote his first book, Gujarat Under Emergency, beginning his second career as a prolific writer. Moti served as chief minister of Gujarat beginning in 2002. Although he was implicated in a series of human rights abuses to Muslim citizens of the region, he was later absolved of any guilt. Throughout his tenure as chief minister, Modi softened his stance on Hindu nationalism and refocused his policies on economic growth, a focus he has continued throughout his term as prime minister. During his reign as Prime Minister Modi has heavily emphasized increasing Indian economic growth and transforming India into the global manufacturing epicenter. To attract foreign investment capital Modi has opened up over 90% of India’s industrial base, including its defense and railroad industries. Modi has also increased the privatization of
state-owned enterprises. Also in an attempt to boost the economy, Modi demonetized India’s two highest currency marks to eliminate untaxed and black-market currency from the money market. Recently, Modi launched a campaign to provide easy banking access to all Indian citizens. The policy is aimed at helping boost povertystricken citizens. Prime Minister Modi has attracted some criticism for his more lax on environmental policies. He has decreased Indian environmental protection laws, especially where they conflict with manufacturing growth. In regards to foreign policy, Modi favors multilateral agreements. He has participated in BRICS, ASEAN, and the G20 Summit. At the G20 Summit last year in Hamburg, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the importance of the Paris Climate Agreement, saying that it was “mandatory to implement the consensus of the agreement.” This was shortly after the Trump pulled the U.S. out of this deal. Modi stated that India would be implementing the accord fully and go beyond the agreement in fighting climate change. Modi has expressed the need for collective action against protectionism. Modi’s has also placed economic growth and anti-terrorism as central themes of his agenda. As the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement in June of 2017 and has since then implemented aluminium and steel tariffs, these are two actions starkly contrasting Modi’s goals and values. However, as the G20 Summit is an international forum, it is likely sustainable economic growth and sustainability will be strong themes of discussions between Prime Minister Modi and other world leaders. ■
BY GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE SOCIETY, WE GET A CHANCE TO REPAY OUR DEBT.
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cott Morrison became Prime Minister of Australia in August of 2018. He is preceded by Malcom Turnbull, who served as Prime Minister from 2015-2018. As leader of the Liberal Party, Turnbull faced pushback from the conservative members of his party. Turnbull’s progressive goals lead to Australia’s legalization of gay marriage in 2017. As tension from the conservative party grew, Parliament member Peter Dutton challenged Turnbull for his spot as leader of the Liberal Party. Turnbull defeated Dutton in a leadership ballot, but ultimately dropped out when the party voted for a second ballot. During the second vote, Morrison became a promising candidate and beat Peter Dutton and Julie Bishop for leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister. Many have viewed Morrison as a compromise candidate, as he was an agreeable candidate for both moderate and conservative voters. Morrison has had a longstanding career in politics, being first elected to Parliament over ten years ago in 2007. Throughout his career he has served as Treasurer, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, and Minister for Social Services. While serving in these roles Morrison successfully reduced Australia’s debt deficit, reduced abuse of the welfare system, and has aided in reforming Australia’s financial and banking systems.
In his past roles, Morrison has taken conservative stances on issues such as social welfare and immigration. As Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Morrison oversaw efforts to halt illegal immigration by boat. As Prime Minister, Morrison has announced a free trade deal between Australia and Indonesia – a deal that was previously being negotiated under Turnbull. The long-awaited trade deal brings the promise of strengthening diplomatic and economic ties between the two nations. Last year’s G20 Summit was deemed a success by former Prime Minister Turnbull, and trade was at the forefront of discussions. It will be interesting to see what newly elected Prime Minister Morrison will bring to the table at this year’s Summit. ■
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison
MY VISION FOR AUSTRALIA IS A NATION THAT IS STRONG, PROSPEROUS AND GENEROUS: STRONG IN OUR VALUES AND OUR FREEDOMS; PROSPEROUS IN OUR ENTERPRISE; AND, ABOVE ALL, GENEROUS IN SPIRIT, TO SHARE OUR GOOD FORTUNE WITH OTHERS, BOTH AT HOME AND OVERSEAS.
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Brazil President Michel Temer
ichel Temer took office in August of 2016 following the impeachment and removal of his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff. Temer is the president of the centrist Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB). In the run up to Rousseff’s impeachment PSDB released its manifesto, Bridge to the Future, in which it outlined its new policies. Its policies focus on rebalancing Brazil’s budget by, among other plans, increasing the minimum retirement age, reducing the scope of social programs, cutting fiscal spending on public medical care, and cutting fiscal spending on public education. The Bridge to the Future also emphasized pro-market reforms, including opening up the oil industry to the international market and attracting new foreign investment to Brazil. Upon assuming office, Temer inherited the worst economic recession Brazil has seen in over a hundred years and a fiscal deficit of over 10% of Brazil’s GDP. To combat the crisis Temer pushed forward with the policies outlined in his party’s manifesto and introduced a mixture of tough austerity measures and pro-market reforms. Temer aimed to attract investors and much-needed capital, as well as give Brazil’s production a boost by deregulating Brazil’s financial market and privatizing its state-owned oil industry. Since the reforms have been implemented, both Brazil’s stock market and
currency have strengthened, while inflation and interest rates have decreased. Temer’s economic reform is one of two parts in his plan to integrate Brazil more fully into the international community. In addition to globalizing Brazil’s economy, Temer has implemented, what he calls a non-ideological foreign policy centered on trade and securing foreign investment. Temer’s non-ideological foreign policy is a major change from his predecessors’ neoliberal, multilateralfocused foreign policies. During last year’s G20 Summit in Hamburg, Temer originally announced he would not be attending the summit to work on labor reform. However, he made a last minute decision to attend the summit in Hamburg in an efforts to work on foreign investments for Brazil and strengthen Brazil’s economy, a central theme of Temer’s political agenda. It is likely that with the upcoming G20 Summit, these goals will also be reflected in Temer’s goals for his meetings with the G20. ■
WHEN YOU HAVE A NEW GOVERNMENT ASSUME POWER, EVERYONE, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, HAS TO WORK FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMON GOOD.
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n 1983 Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the Welfare Party, beginning his adult political career. In 1994 Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul; however, he was removed and jailed for inciting religious violence after reciting a poem that contained imagery glorifying Muslim violence. In 2001 Erdogan founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He went on to become Prime Minister in 2003. Throughout his first term as Prime Minister Erdogan focused on salvaging Turkey’s economy. Erdogan began by reigning in the inflation that had ballooned to over 100% in the 1990s, and slashing six zeros off Turkey’s currency to restore its credit. Once Erdogan had restored the economy to its feet he focused on attracting new foreign investment, eventually establishing an annual growth rate of 4.5% and raising per capita income. Although Erdogan has faced some criticism over his three terms as Prime Minister for apparent power grabs, he did make strides toward increasing democracy and transparency and decreasing endemic corruption. Some even called his tenure Turkey’s Silent Revolution. He has retained strong support due to his hand in Turkey’s economic growth. Due to constitutional limits Erdogan could not run for a fourth term; however, in 2014, Erdogan ran for and won the presidency. Traditionally a mostly
symbolic role, Erdogan made it clear that he intended to create a more muscular presidential role. Securing the Turkish economy has remained an important priority throughout Erdogan’s presidency. He has also strongly pushed for Turkey’s acceptance as a new member of the European Union and has made clear his intention to make Turkey a regional leader and global player. In that light, Erdogan has condemned Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and sent Turkish troops to back Syria’s plight against Assad. Domestically, Erdogan has implemented notably liberal reforms, including ending requirements for women to wear headscarves in public, a requirement that had been held for decades. Last year in Hamburg, there was controversy between Erdogan and Germany, as Erdogan wanted to address protestors outside of the summit, but was banned to do so by the German government in an efforts to keep ties between Germany and Turkey from further eroding. Erdogan has cited interest rates as the source of Turkey’s economic struggle, which he called “the mother of all evil.” He has stated continuously that high interest rates increase inflation. His economic policy has largely surrounded this principle, as he has held down interest rates. Many have deemed him to be a pragmatist, seeking stability primarily. With the upcoming G20 Summit, which has historically been focused on how to ensure stable economies globally, it is likely this will continue to be a goal and central point of discussions for Erdogan. ■
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
IF YOU’RE THE LEADER, YOU HAVE TO COMMUNICATE THE MESSAGE OF IMMORTALITY TO YOUR PEOPLE. BECAUSE I BELIEVE IF A LEADER HIDES BEHIND A ROCK, THEN THE PEOPLE WILL HIDE BEHIND A MOUNTAIN.
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South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa
yril Ramaphosa first entered the political arena while studying law at the then University of the North (Turfloop) through the political activist group, the South African Students Organization, a group aligned to black consciousness ideology. Ramaphosa continued his political activism after graduating law school, joining the Black People’s Convention. Ramaphosa was jailed for sixth months for his advocacy in this group. After being released from prison Ramaphosa helped found the National Union of Mineworkers, leading it to become the largest trade union in South Africa, and serving as its general secretary for over a decade. Ramaphosa’s prominence led to his appointment as general secretary of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1991. After 1991, Ramaphosa went on to act as the lead negotiator for the ANC in the redrawing of South Africa’s post-Apartheid constitution. After narrowly losing the competition to become President Nelson Mandela’s deputy in 1994, Ramaphosa returned to the National Union of Mineworkers. In 2012 Ramaphosa made a political comeback, first becoming deputy president of the ANC, then president of South Africa. Ramaphosa continued his long tradition of socialist activism as president. He has raised the national minimum wage and increased labor standards throughout the country.
Ramaphosa also made clear his intention to decrease the land disparity between black and white citizens, although he did make clear that redistribution of land would be carried out in a way that ensured food security. Ramaphosa has pursued economic growth by increasing business confidence, attracting new foreign investment, increasing trade, and decreasing unemployment. Ramaphosa has also made clear his intention to close South Africa’s fiscal gap, trim its state owned enterprises, and eliminate corruption. He has identified the mining industry as South Africa’s sunrise industry. In the context of foreign policy, Ramaphosa publicly supports Palestine, South Sudan peace talks, and the self-determination attempts of West Sahara. Ramaphosa also intends to increase trade with Cuba, and condemns the reinstitution of the U.S. embargo. Ramaphosa has placed fiscal stability at the top of his agenda as president. While the inflation rate in South Africa has stayed low, Ramaphosa also wants to expand economically, while also keeping the budget deficit manageable. Ramaphosa has stated his plan to re-industrialize South Africa in an efforts to win over the labor movement and improve the economy. As economic growth is a central platform of Ramaphosa’s agenda, it is likely this will be an important theme of his discussions with other G20 leaders in Argentina. ■
WE WANT TO RENEW OUR VOWS WITH OUR PEOPLE. WE WANT TO RECONNECT WITH OUR PEOPLE. WE WANT TO GET OUR PEOPLE EXCITED AGAIN.
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orn in 1953, Xi Jinping enjoyed a comfortable life as the son of a prominent member of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Zhongxun. Until his father’s purging from the upper echelons of the party in 1962 Jinping was considered a prince, expected to rise quickly through the ranks of the party. After his father’s fall from grace, however, Xi was sent to a remote agricultural village for a state-mandated, seven-year long reeducation program.In 1974, after several unsuccessful attempts due to his father’s reputation, Xi Jinping succeeded in joining the Chinese Communist Party, where he rose quickly though its ranks, finally being chosen to succeed Hu Jintao as president in 2012. Upon taking office in 2013 Xi unveiled his “China Dream” or the rejuvenation of China politically and economically. Although he was vague on the specific policies entailed in the China Dream, several analysts in China, including retired general, Liu Mingfu, opined that Xi’s China Dream would entail creating a strong nation with an even stronger military capable of retaking its place as a global leader. So far, Liu’s analysis seems to be correct. Xi has forcefully sought to strengthen both China’s military and its economy. Under Xi, China as staked its claim in the South China Sea, building artificial islands and sending out naval patrols hundreds of miles outside of its
ports, despite international condemnation. China has also pumped millions of dollars into investment projects in Asia and Africa. Xi has complemented his military strategies by implementing economic policies aimed at reversing the slowing growth of China’s economy. Domestic reforms included cutting some of China’s bloated state-owned enterprises; however, the most prominent economic policy Xi has implemented lies outside of China’s borders. China has spearheaded the One Belt One Road (OBOR) trade investment project, a massive, multilateral infrastructure investment project. OBOR emphasizes infrastructure and energy projects that will facilitate the movement of goods from China to Europe, the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean along three separate routes. OBOR currently has over seventies pledged countries with China as the project’s primary donor, pledging 113 billion dollars. At the G20 Summit last year in Hamburg, Jinping called for the other leaders to embrace an open world economy. Jinping has urged for multilateral trade, contrary to Trump’s tariffs. China faces increased risk for economic decline if Trump’s protectionism continues. As such, the G20 Summit will prove very important for discussions regarding trade and relations with the U.S. Jingping as also advocated for more global investment in the digital economy, as so much business is tied with the Internet today. “Inclusive global growth” has been a strong theme of Jinping’s goals for the previous G20 Summits in Hamburg and Hangzhou. As such, it is likely to be even stronger in this year’s summit in the wake of the U.S. tariffs. ■
China President Xi Jinping
WE SHOULD NOT DEVELOP A HABIT OF RETREATING TO THE HARBOR WHENEVER WE ENCOUNTER A STORM, FOR THIS WILL NEVER GET US TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OCEAN.
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Indonesia President Joko Widodo
oko Widodo was elected Indonesia’s Prime Minister in July of 2014 as the candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. He soundly defeated the former general Prabowo Subianto. His entrepreneurial background and lack of military experience diverges from Indonesia’s tradition of leaders culled from the political and military elite. Many analysts have marked Widodo’s success as an apparent shift toward a more democratic era in Indonesia. Widodo ran on a populist campaign platform that emphasized eliminating corruption, nepotism, and intolerance while simultaneously increasing Indonesia’s investment in education and meritocracy. He believed that eliminating Indonesia’s widespread corruption was key to attracting foreign investment capital. Widodo enjoyed widespread support due to his empathy for Indonesia’s poor and his relocation of slum-dwellers, as well as his support of small businesses during his term as governor in Jakarta from 2012 to 2014. Since coming to office Widodo’s largest focus has been to improve Indonesia’s flagging economy. He has implemented cuts to fuel subsidies, increased infrastructure projects, and launched a large fiscal stimulus package all to boost the Indonesian economy. Widodo’s foreign policy, too, revolves around economic stimulus. Diverging from his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who embraced
a multilateral foreign policy of “one thousand friends and no enemies”, Widodo has turned to bilateral economic diplomacy. Far from courting every nation as a possible ally, Widodo has prioritized relationships with clear and direct benefits for Indonesia. As part of his retreat from multilateral diplomacy, Widodo has distanced Indonesia from ASEAN. Widodo has also voiced his ambition to make Indonesia a two-ocean, Indo-Pacific maritime fulcrum, causing some tension among ASEAN member countries. Widodo faced international controversy, especially among ASEAN member states, in April 2015 when he refused to release two Australian drug traffickers. Widodo defended his decision by saying that a hardline stance on drugs was the only way to protect Indonesia. As the Indonesian economy has more than tripled in the past 10 years and is a fast-growing economy in Southeast Asia, the G20 Summit will be especially important for President Widodo, as many leaders have expressed plans for increased trade with Indonesia, including President Trump. Indonesia has been an important part of the G20 summit, since the summit’s beginning in 1999. Since Widodo’s inauguration, he has never missed a G20 Summit, and summits have proven to be central to national development for Indonesia. Widodo is particularly drawn to the G20, as it is not solely the G7 leaders, but also includes countries with newer markets and developing economies. Improving infrastructure has been an important part of Widodo’s agenda, and will likely maintain this topic as a central part of his agenda during the G20 Summit. ■
I AM OF THE VIEW THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY CANNOT BE LEFT ONLY TO THE THREE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. WE MUST BUILD A NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER THAT IS OPEN TO NEW, EMERGING ECONOMIC POWERS.
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nrique Peña Nieto had a passion for politics from an early age. His father’s cousin, Alfredo del Mazo Gonález, served as the governor of Mexico, and Nieto worked from González during his time in office. Peña Nieto earned his law degree from Universidad Panamericana in 1989 and his MBA in 1991 from Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. It was during this time that Nieto began to strongly align with and support the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). While the PRI was Mexico’s dominant political party for decades, it was widely controversial and often deemed corrupt. Nieto began his political career serving in various state offices and eventually as a congressman. In 2005, Nieto ran and won governor of the State of Mexico. He won the favor of many voters, and his popularity continued when he ran for president on the platforms of reforming the Mexican economy and enforcing stricter rules to shut down the cartels. He won the 2012 election and has been president since. Immediately after Nieto was sworn in, he followed through on his campaign promises, strengthening Mexico’s security forces and creating specific units and teams to focus on the thousands of missing cases due to cartel violence. Nieto has also worked to improve the automobile industry in Mexico, working to make it easier for certain car companies
to build factories in Mexico. Furthermore, Nieto has worked to deregulate Mexican energy industries, so that foreign investment can be possible and the economy can improve. However, there has also been widespread controversy surrounding Nieto’s presidency. The escape of the infamous drug lord “El Chapo” from prison in addition to the continued drug violence, has led to some of Nieto’s unpopularity among Mexican citizens. With immigration policy being an important topic currently, in addition to Trump’s proposal of a wall on the U.S. Mexican border, these are central topics surrounding the U.S.-Mexico relationship. However, with the upcoming G20 summit, and its focus on economic stability, Nieto will likely focus on foreign investment in the energy industries in Mexico and economic growth for the country. However, if Trump implements his proposed automotive tariffs, this would severely impact Mexico and be an important topic for the summit. ■
Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto
IN THE MEXICO WE WANT, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR CORRUPTION, FOR COVER-UPS, AND LEAST OF ALL FOR IMPUNITY.
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Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
argely unknown prior to running, Giuseppe Conte is an academic and was a law professor before entering the Italian political sphere. He graduated from La Sapienza University of Rome in 1988, where he studied law. He continued to study at various universities, including Yale Law School, Duquesne University, Cambridge, and more. He began his career as a professor, teaching at Roma Tre University and continued teaching at various universities, including LUMSA University, the University of Malta, the University of Sassari, and the University of Florence. He stepped into politics when he was elected as a member of the Bureau of Administrative Justice in 2013. In May of this year, Conte was proposed to be the Prime Minister, representing a coalition government between the Five Star Movement and the far-right League, both political parties in Italy. On June 1, 2018, Giuseppe Conte was sworn in as the 58th prime minister of Italy. Despite having little political experience, Conte he has strongly advocated for various new policies, including stricter immigration policy, stronger actions to fight political corruption, and reform of the Italian tax system. Many have dubbed him as the “new anti-elite prime minister.” The coalition of the Five Star Movement and the League, which Conte represents, is known as Government of Change. Conte has assured that as part of
reforming the Italian tax system, he will introduce flat tax rates for businesses and individuals in addition to creating a no-tax area for low income families. Conte has suggested lifting the sanctions placed on Russia imposed after Russia annexed Crimea. Conte and the coalition he leads have also placed public health reform, public water improvements, and more attention towards the environment, on their political agenda. Prime Minister Conte attended the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, which was one of his first times taking the international stage. While getting along the fellow leaders attending the summit, Conte took one stance that was controversial to many of the seven leaders.He backed President Trump in his call to re-admit Russia into the G-8, in line with Conte’s suggestion that sanctions placed on Russia should be lifted. Trump and Conte have an unexpected connection over two important issues. They both take the same stance regarding lifting sanctions for Russia and admitting them back into the G8. In addition, both world leaders agree on strong immigration policy. For his first G20 Summit, it will be interesting how the dynamic between Conte and the other leaders plays out, as Conte shares similar viewpoints as President Trump. However, as part of the EU, represented by Tusk and Juncker, it is interesting that Conte has not taken a strong stance regarding Trump’s tariffs. Tariffs and trade are expected to be a large part of the discussion at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, and as such, Conte’s stance on this topic will be a point of interest. ■
ITALY CANNOT ACCEPT HYPOCRITICAL LESSONS FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE ALWAYS PREFERRED TO TURN THEIR BACKS WHEN IT COMES TO IMMIGRATION.
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ean-Claude Juncker began his political career in Luxembourg in 1974 as a member of the center-right Christian Social Party. Juncker was soon successful in gaining a seat in Parliament. Throughout his tenure he gained renown within the European Union. In 1984 Juncker secured his first ministerial job aboard the cabinet of Prime Minister Jacques Santer. In 1989 Juncker was promoted again to Luxembourg’s minister of finance. Juncker continued his political ascent in 1992, becoming leader of the Christian Social Party. Finally, Juncker was elected Prime Minister of Luxembourg in 1995. As Prime Minister, Juncker had a self-described red streak that he credits with making his policies amenable to European socialists. In 2005 Juncker joined the ranks of the eurogroup, the committee of finance ministers charged with determining austerity measures and bailout policies during the eurozone crisis of 2008. Junker served as Prime Minister until 2013. In 2014 Jean-Claude Juncker was selected as the center-right European People’s Party’s candidate to replace José Manuel Barroso as the European Union’s President of the European Commission. Juncker won the presidency despite ardent opposition from David Cameron and the United Kingdom, who opposed both Juncker himself and the process through which he was elected. Juncker was elected through the Spitzenkandidat, or lead candidate, election process, which aims to give the European Commission a more human, relevant face. Cameron opposed the move away from the close-door process of selecting a unanimously supported candidate. President Juncker has been described as a federalist for his support of deeper E.U. integration; however, he has countered that he has no desire to see an “E.U. super state”. Juncker has advocated for a single, digital E.U. market and has strongly defended the euro. Juncker also strongly supports the Common Agriculture Policy, although the program has been critiqued for
wasting funds. Finally, Juncker has pushed for a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States; however, he has not outlined how that agreement could coexist with current E.U. protection policies. Leading up to the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Juncker expressed the importance of discussing trade. During the summit, Juncker presented data regarding trade, and while many leaders have expressed frustration about the tariffs Trump has implemented, Juncker has recognized the importance of maintaining open communication with the US to achieve a solution. Juncker made a proposal at the summit to visit Washington to discuss and assess US and EU trade. At the summit prior to the trade discussions Juncker stated, “We will discuss trade this afternoon. It is not only about America first but about European unity first. This is what we will show today. […] On trade, we will explain the facts and figures, why the EU is an ally, and not a national security threat to the US. We want to continue talks with the US but will not negotiate with the colt pointed at our head.” In joint statement released by Tusk and Juncker last year, they stated the key issues they would be discussing at the G20 Summit in Hamburg. The central issues they discussed in this statement will likely make a reappearance at the G20 Summit this year in Buenos Aires. These issues include “the G20’s key role in making the global economy work for all,” advocating for a multilateral trade system, showing that climate action is beneficial for economies, “tapping the potential of the digital revolution, creating new strategies to combat tax evasion, fighting terrorism, increasing economic resiliency, “sharing responsibility for refugees and migrants,” and creating partnerships with Africa to spur economic growth. They will issue a statement prior to the G20 Summit in Argentina, and it is likely to include such goals, especially regarding the importance of an open economy, in light of Trump’s tariffs and their effect on Europe. ■
European Union President Jean-Claude Juncker
ONE SHOULDN’T PURSUE THE WRONG POLICIES JUST BECAUSE ONE IS AFRAID OF NOT BEING REELECTED. THOSE WHO INTEND TO GOVERN HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR COUNTRIES AND FOR EUROPE AS A WHOLE.
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