Leadership

State of the World Forum    World Summit on Sustainability    Ibero-American Summit of Governments   
Association of Caribbean States Foreign Ministers Briefing   Panama Canal Conference

State of the World Forum
Mikhail Gorbachev described the State of the World Forum as a global brain trust with a mission to focus on the present and future of our civilization. Since its inaugural meeting in San Francisco in 1995, the forum has become a global network of leaders and institutions who meet to examine those principles, values, and actions that should guide humanity as it moves away from the Cold War into the next phase of human development.

Global Academy chairman, Walter Link, has been involved with the State of the World Forum since its founding. He addressed the first meeting of the State of the World Forum on corporate and social responsibility and in November 1996 he was a keynote speaker at a regional meeting in Mexico under the patronage of then governor of Guanajuato State, Vincente Fox.

In September 2000, the Global Academy participated in the State of the World Forum’s weeklong, history-making conference that took place in New York. Forum 2000, Shaping Globalization, Convening the Community of Stakeholders, was timed to coincide with the UN Millennium Summit of World Leaders, the largest gathering of heads of state in history. The State of the World conference took place a few blocks away from the UN.

More that 2,500 participants, including heads of state, representatives from the UN, World Bank, IMF, WTO, as well as leaders from business, the anti-globalization movement, many religions, the sciences, the arts, and youth, gathered to discuss strategies to lead the forces of globalization in a more humanistic, sustainable, and just direction.

The Global Academy offered one of the core plenary sessions, "A Multi-stakeholder Discussion on Biotechnology." In addition, the academy convened the following panel discussions:

Sex, Power and Globalization
Restoring the Soul to Healing: The Future of Integral Medicine
Advances In Biotechnology
A three-day conversation on genetic technology issues which focused in depth on three distinct perspectives:
Technology, The Market & Responsible Citizenry
Medical and Social Issues
Ethical, Philosophical & Spiritual Issues

As a result of the multiplicity of discussion around issues relating to globalization, the participants realized the need for an ongoing organizational mechanism to address the challenges of globalization. This led to the formation of the Commission on Globalization which held its inaugural meeting in December 2001 in London.

For more information on the State of the World Forum visit www.worldforum.org and the Commission on Globalization visit www.commissiononglobalization.org.
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World Summit on Sustainability
Walter Link, chairman of the Global Academy and Hunter Lovins, CEO of RMI presented a paper entitled “Insurmountable Opportunities: Steps and Barriers to Implementing Sustainable Development” as part of the preparatory process for the Johannesburg Summit 2002, the United Nations’ World Summit on Sustainable Development which will take place between August 26 and September 4, 2002. (More…)

The Johannesburg Summit 2002 will bring together heads of state, national delegates, representatives of multi-lateral organizations, NGOs, business, and civil society to focus the world’s attention and direct action towards improving peoples lives and conserving natural resources. Summit 2002 is a follow up to the 1992 Earth Summit and seeks to identify measurable targets to better implement Agenda 21, which was adopted at the 1992 summit.
For more information on the Johannesburg Summit visit www.johannesburgsummit.org
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Ibero-American Summit of Governments
Health Ministers Briefing
Education Conference and Health Conference

The Global Academy was invited to develop educational programming for two public conferences to take place at the same time as meetings of the Ibero-Americann Summit of Governments meetings for 2000.

The education conference, The Road towards Social Equality, focused on issues that affect the future of education in Panama. The health conference, Health Today: Realities, Obstacles and Perspectives, addressed issues of integrative medicine, genetic technology and traditional medicine.
For more information on these two successful conferences please visit the relevant pages within this website:
Education Conference: "Education: The Road towards Social Equality"
Health Conference: "Health Today: Realities, Obstacles & Perspectives"

The one-day public conference on health was timed to take place at the same time as a meeting of the Health Ministers of Latin America, Portugal, and Spain. The Global Academy was invited to convene a panel of experts to brief the Health Ministers of the Ibero-American Summit of Governments on Genetic Technology and the Future of Healthcare at its 2000 meeting held in Panama. These educational presentations resulted in a resolution to promote international dialogue to develop policies on the research and application of human genome-related technologies. (More…)
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Association of Caribbean States, Foreign Ministers Briefing
The Association of Caribbean States invited the Global Academy to create an education program and dialogue forum for their foreign ministers meeting that took place in Panama at the time of the hand over of the Panama Canal. (More…)
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Panama Canal Conference Bridging the Millenium
The Panamanian government invited the Global Academy to participate in the weeklong series of events celebrating the hand back of the Panama Canal. The Academy and its co-sponsors organized a one-day conference, A Bridge to the 21st Century, to recognize Panama as a vital artery connecting countries, economies, societies, people, and ideas. (More…)
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