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Event Report Global (dis)order: Towards dialogue-based worldviews Rhodes Forum 2019 Copyright © 2019 by Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute The right of Vladimir Yakunin, Jean-Christophe Bas, Berthold Kuhn, Cristina Stanca-Mustea, Heather Brown, Vladimir Popov, Maya Janik, Ekaterina Jarkov, Nikita Konopaltsev, Carl Drexler, Klemens Witte, Behrooz Gharleghi, Richard Higgott, Maxim Mikheev, and Jürgen Grote to be identified as the authors of this publication is hereby asserted. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute, its co-founders, or its staff members. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please write to the publisher: Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute gGmbH Französische Straße 23 10117 Berlin Germany +49 30 209677900 [email protected] 1 Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute Global (dis)order: Towards dialogue-based worldviews Rhodes Forum 2019 Table of contents Foreword……………………………………………………………………………….2 Executive summary…………………………………………………………………...5 Opening panel discussion – ‘30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall: In search of a roadmap and a compass’…………………………………………..12 Special session with President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger…………………16 Civilisation state: Multilaterism and globalisation…………………………………20 Creating shared economic views……………………………………………………23 The future of knowledge, education, and learning………………………………..26 Sustainable finance for culture……………………………………………………...29 Twiplomacy: Diplomacy and governance in the age of social media…………..34 Civil society and the state…………………………………………………………...39 Civil society and protest in the digital age…………………………………………44 Chasing the tiger: Economic models of the global south………………………..48 The role of philanthropy in the new world order…………………………………..51 Examining geopolitical worldviews: Towards a battle of giants?.......................55 Religion as a political factor and ideology..........................................................59 Towards a new partnership for Africa……………………………………………...62 Our smartphone lives: Of humans and robots…………………………………....66 World (dis)order and civilisations in dialogue: European (in)security in an age of civilisational states…………………………………..…………………...70 World order seen from a business perspective…………………………………..75 Culture and the return to civility…………………………………………………….79 Tunis Process: ‘Overcoming differences, sharing paths: Building concrete initiatives and policies’………………………………………………………….……84 Thank to our partners………………………………………………………………102 2 Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute Forward Ever since the first meeting in 2003, discussions at the annual Rhodes Forum have reflected the most important items dominating the global affairs agenda of the day. Debates at the Forum have produced ideas capable of shaping the future development of the world. The concepts, strategies, and solutions that have been debated always share the same human- centric aspiration – that cultural diversity and the common good of all people should be cherished and nurtured. The life of every individual is not only the top priority – it is essential for the progress and wellbeing of all of humanity. The theme of this year’s Rhodes Forum ventured into dialogue-based worldviews. The basis of dialogue should be ethical and constructive. Aristotle, in an ethical work addressed to his pupil Eudemus (who himself came from the island of Rhodes), wrote: “it is impossible to be truly virtuous without reason, nor reasonable without moral virtue” (translated from Russian, Eudemian Ethics, 1144a line 30). Rhodes Forum co-founder, Professor Fred Dallmayr, called the Dialogue of Civilizations initiative an ethical and moral commitment, and one that requires us to stand up and speak out if brute force threatens to undermine social justice and peace. Aristotle wrote his work more than two thousand years ago; Professor Dallmayr’s statement was made at the Rhodes Forum a little less than a decade ago. We can see that virtue, wisdom, and ethical norms are always central to humanity. And the Rhodes Forum remains a platform to find common solutions and answers to the most important issues affecting humanity. The Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute, which organises the Rhodes Forum, has emerged as a think tank that brings together ideas from different parts of the world. These ideas address multiple challenges related to the peaceful coexistence of diverse cultures and communities in a globalised world. 3 Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute Given the fact that a growing number of political leaders have disengaged from multilateral cooperation, and that nationalism and right-wing populism are on the rise across the world, many people are doubtful that their governments are able to address the problems that humanity faces today. Many societies are torn between those who embrace diversity and multilateral cooperation, and those who see them as a potential threat to cultural identity and the nation-state. The gap between these two groups is growing. How can it be reconciled? Keeping the peace among nations depends on the efficiency and precision of mechanisms that establish mutual understanding, as well as promote an atmosphere of trust among the parties involved – be they governments, NGOs, multinational corporations or individuals. The Rhodes Forum provides just this sort of mechanism – a specifically designed and historically proven space for dialogue where all voices can be heard and all peaceful aspirations can be met. The Rhodes Forum has consistently brought attention to the demand for a new world order, but also the threat of certain processes in the reconfiguration of the world order that could plunge all of us into a state of chaos. Over the past 18 years, experts from the Dialogue of Civilizations network have consistently testified to the fact that a world order based on technocracy and material consumerism is inherently unstable. Such a world could emerge due to the economic failure of existing models of global financial management, as well as the political flaws of global governance systems. Humanity is already facing the consequences of environmental degradation – a problem that will only intensify in future. The 17th Rhodes Forum facilitated a better understanding of the deep changes our societies are currently undergoing. It shed light on initiatives that contribute substantially to sustainable economic development; proposed concepts for new international governance models in the context of shifting power within the global economy; and examined the restoration of civility and the promotion of ethical standards in the digital age. 4 Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute In 2019, the Forum raised the tough question of how to stimulate a new narrative based on the shared values of people from different worldviews, religions, and cultures. Forum participants examined the most pressing global challenges and potential solutions. Our partners joined us in promoting the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute’s principles of openness, reciprocity, and mutual trust. Most importantly, the Forum offered new and workable ideas and policy recommendations, the essence of which are presented in the following chapters. Vladimir Yakunin 5 Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute Executive summary The 2019 Rhodes Forum ventured into great debates on diverse challenges that the world faces today. Forum participants from more than 60 countries were driven by their passion for dialogue across cultures. The Forum achieved its objective in demonstrating that the methodology of dialogue of civilisations matters and that it is able to make a difference by producing convincing proposals on issues that trouble policymakers, experts, and the public. In his opening address, Dr. Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of DOC Research Institute, stressed that the quest for a new multilateral world order should be based on equality, openness, trust, dialogue, and inclusion. He pointed out that experts from the Dialogue of Civilizations, over the past 18 years, have consistently testified to the fact that a world order based on the principles of technocracy and material consumerism would be inherently unstable. The agenda of the 17th session of the Rhodes Forum was based on a civilisational approach aimed at resolving issues of economic sustainability, the progress of civilisational states, digitalisation, interreligious dialogue, and cross-cultural interactions. This year, it had a particular focus on Africa. The Forum was proud to welcome His Excellency, the President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou. In his opening remarks, Dr. Yakunin specifically referred to the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation. He quoted Israeli historian Yuval Harari, who recently told Mark Zuckerberg “connectivity doesn't necessarily mean harmony”. Harari asked quite a substantial question: “How to make sense of this world, which is more connected than ever, but at the same time is building more walls than ever before”? We need