theglobaljournal.net: Latest activities of group André Schneider

Papandreou Joins GLOBAL+5 Jury

2012-10-02T17:45:02Z

Former Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, and other renowned global actors join the Jury of GLOBAL+5 for the first ever festival of global governance.

The Global Journal is proud to announce the launching of GLOBAL+5, the first ever festival of global governance to be held from 9-10 October at the Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues, in Geneva. GLOBAL+5 is a unique and exciting opportunity to identify and award innovative and visionary projects, addressing some of the most pressing global challenges the world will be facing in the next five years. The platform is a powerful force for individuals, groups and organizations from the public, private and non-profit sectors to exchange their ideas and catalyze positive change.

Twenty projects out of 75 selected projects have made the final-cut for the competition. The Global Journal has asked the Jury to focus on the potential impact of each project over the next 5 years (+5), the ability to empower and engage citizens, and the innovation that will drive enthusiasm and support for stakeholders. Our next Press Release will be dedicated to the projects in more detail.

The Jury consists of leading global actors from a wide variety of backgrounds. The former Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, will be the keynote speaker at the awards ceremony.

The esteemed jurors are:

Mr. Jacques Attali, French economist, writer and senior civil servant
Mr. Thomas Biersteker, Director, Programme for International Governance, IHEID
Ms. Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Director of International Law and International Organization, UNIGE
Mr. Paul Clements-Hunt, Founder, The Blended Capital Group
Mr. Fred Dust, Partner, IDEO
Ms. Jo Guldi, Historian Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows
Ms. Karin Hagemann, Director, Public Sector, International Organizations and Civil Society, KPMG
Mr. David Held, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Durham University
Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director-General World Trade Organization
Mr. Peter Marsh, Manufacturing Editor, Financial Times
Ms. Eva-Maria Nag, Executive Editor, Global Policy Journal
Mr. George Papandreou, former Prime Minister of Greece
Ms. Angela De Wolff, Founder & CEO of Conser Invest

The specially selected Jury will convene to assess projects and discuss them with representatives in Geneva on 9 October, while the final results will be announced at a concluding press conference on 10 October.

First Global SNCF Mobility Index Launched in Berlin

2012-09-18T19:18:45Z

The transport industry’s leading trade fair, InnoTrans, was the site today of the launch of the inaugural Global SNCF Mobility Index. A unique collaboration between The Global Journal and French rail company SNCF, the data-driven index features in-depth analysis of mobility challenges facing over 60 governments around the world.

The Global SNCF Mobility Index is part of the GLOBAL+5 initiative, the first ever ‘festival of global governance’ that will take place in Geneva on 9-10 October 2012. GLOBAL+5 participants will discuss and vote on innovative projects and ideas that help to solve global challenges over the next 5 years.

“The Global SNCF Mobility Index is the first in-depth attempt to better understand the sustainability of mobility of goods and people on a country-level. This will hopefully be a tool for decision-makers to approach this topic in a more holistic manner,” said the Index’s author, André Schneider.

Published by The Global Journal, The Global SNCF Mobility Index demonstrates how transport systems can act as both drivers and barriers to sustainable development, linked closely to environmental, societal and economic factors. A per-country tool and set of rankings integrating global and regional perspectives, the index aims to drive discussion about the evolving mobility challenges that policy-makers will need to grapple with in the next five years. The publication has a deliberately wide scope, with a focus on 66 countries encompassing three important sub-groupings: the European Union, the G20 and the BRICs.

More specifically, The Global SNCF Mobility Index assesses: the impact of economic performance on mobility; the stresses generated by population growth, urbanization growth and demographic evolution on regional and urban mobility; the environmental impact of mobility systems and infrastructure; and the likely effect of future investment strategies on existing trends.

While the first edition of the index presents a broad range of mobility data and analysis – in the process raising a number of important questions about the wisdom of certain national-level policies – Schneider identifies two key emerging challenges that will require dedicated action in the years ahead. Firstly, transport volume and distance is growing faster than GDP, both globally, and for half of the G20 countries. This points to an important future bottleneck for the global exchange of goods. Secondly, CO2 emissions from transport grew for 58 of the 66 countries reviewed during the period 2000-2008, suggesting the sector represented a significant challenge to achieving the emissions reductions sought under the Kyoto Protocol.

To download the GLOBAL SNCF MOBILITY INDEX go to:

www.theglobaljournal.net

Tahrir Square Revolt and the “Beijing consensus” - A Second Look

2011-04-11T16:02:23Z

Before looking at the significance of the Tahrir Square events, let’s remind ourselves about what is commonly understood by the “Beijing consensus.” This term is used to describe an alternative plan for development in the emerging world and was first presented in a paper by Joshua Cooper Ramo in 2004. This alternative approach proposes a new way of addressing the challenges posed by the changing economic and social environment; specifically, a rejection of per capita GDP as the be-all and end-all of development priorities, and the need for self-determination–an emphasis on the importance for developing countries to actively seek independence from external pressure as imposed by “hegemonic powers”. It does not automatically refer to a system based on a marriage between an authoritarian one-party system and capitalism, as erroneously presented in the article in Le Monde.

If we now take a closer look at what happened at Tahrir Square, while the event is portrayed as an important ideological battle in Le Monde, and one which will determine the future, or more specifically the end, of the “Beijing consensus”, I do not agree with this interpretation. In my view, the revolt is a reminder for us, in the clearest terms, of a crucial principle for government leaders: when young people do not feel understood anymore, and do not believe in their government’s capacity to offer them a real prospect for their future, then they will rise up. This uprising will succeed when the general population shares a common lack of faith in a highly corrupt class of government leaders acting with impunity, with its ensuing social injustice and exclusion. Modern technology enables such movements to gain in size and momentum via today’s world of Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

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André Schneider has been World Economic Forum’s Chief Operating Officer for the last 8 years. He has traveled China thoroughly for the last 5 years. His consultancy, André Schneider Global Advisory, was created at the end of 2010.