| Paris Peace Forum | |
| Abbreviation: | PPF |
| Formation: | 9 March 2018 |
| Status: | Non-profit organization (Association Loi 1901) |
| Location: | Paris, France |
| Language: | English / French |
| Sec Gen: | Fabienne Hara |
| Leader Title: | Director General |
| Leader Name: | Justin Vaïsse |
| Leader Title2: | President |
| Leader Name2: | José Ángel Gurría |
The Paris Peace Forum is a French non-profit organisation created in March 2018. The organisation hosts an annual gathering of world leaders and heads of international organisations, as well as leaders from civil society and private sectors and thousands of individuals from around the globe, on creating forms of collective action. The Paris Peace Forum completes the existing world agenda of multilateral gatherings by creating a specific event for global governance issues, as economic and financial issues are dealt at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and security issues at the Munich Security Conference.
The forum's DNA is to be inclusive and solution-oriented. With this in mind, the forum showcases projects each year, coming from all around the world, which display concrete and efficient solutions to governance challenges.[1] Focused on concrete initiatives, the annual event has been used as a platform for the launch of important, multi-actor initiatives, such as the B4IG coalition[2] or the Paris Call for Trust and Security in the Cyberspace.[3]
In a world requiring more collective action, the Paris Peace Forum is a platform open to all seeking to develop coordination, rules, and capacities that answer global problems. Its three primary pillars of activity include year-round policy initiatives and project support activities coupled by an annual event in November:
The Paris Peace Forum was founded in 2018 by Justin Vaïsse, as he was director for Policy Planning at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, to tackle global problems and strengthen multilateral cooperation.[4] Soon after the first edition, Pascal Lamy was appointed President of the Paris Peace Forum, and Justin Vaïsse became its director general.[5] The first edition was hosted in November 2018 at the Grande halle de la Villette.
The sixth and most recent edition of the Paris Peace Forum was held on 10–11 November 2023 at the Palais Brongniart.
The Paris Peace Forum was born out of the principle that "a badly governed world would quickly become a world at war",[6] as explained by Justin Vaïsse, then president of the forum. At the Meeting of Ambassadors on 29 August 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of the fact that peace is not something to be taken for granted, mentioning the Syrian crisis and the Ukrainian crisis as examples.[7] In light of such developments, he called for the need to take concrete steps to strengthen multilateralism and preserve peace.[7] Macron then announced the creation of the Paris Peace Forum on 4 January 2018.[8]
The purpose of the forum is to commemorate Armistice Day, as well as to "reflect together, propose concrete initiatives, reinvent multilateralism and all forms of contemporary cooperation". President Macron and then-president Justin Vaïsse aimed at bringing together global governance actors, in an international and open space, in order to interact, discuss and generate concrete solutions. An important aspect of the forum is the showcasing of projects from around the world. Each of these projects proposes an innovative solution to a specific issue.
During the forum, ten projects are selected as Scale-up projects to receive mentorship and support from the Paris Peace Forum for a one-year period.[6]
Although initiated by the French president, the forum remains independent in its scope and funding. The event is financed by non-governmental partners, each of which cannot cover more than 10% of the costs.
The Paris Peace Forum is made up of three distinct governance bodies:
In June 2022, it was announced that José Ángel Gurría, former Secretary-General of the OECD, will succeed Pascal Lamy as President of the Paris Peace Forum, starting March 2023.[10]
The activities of the forum are also carried out by:
The first edition of the Paris Peace Forum took place from 11 to 13 November 2018 as part of the Armistice Day centenary commemorations.[13] It showcased 120 global governance projects and welcomed around 6,000 individuals over the 3-day period. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and President Emmanuel Macron gave speeches at the opening of the forum. UN Secretary-General Guterres drew parallels between the political atmosphere then and the pre-World War I period and the ‘30s Interwar period.[14] Merkel made similar remarks, noting that nationalism and populism were threatening European peace.
The commemoration of the 1918 Armistice was a recurring theme throughout the forum. President Macron aimed for the forum to bring about concrete proposals for multilateralism so that an outcome akin to WWI would not reoccur again.[15] It was noted multiple times that the importance of remembering the Armistice stood in the comparisons that could be drawn between the 1930s and today. Similarly to statements made by UN Secretary General Guterres, Justin Vaïsse also highlighted the similarities, including: an economic crisis, closing of borders, commercial wars, migration and refugees, and a resurgence of populist and nationalist movements.[16]
The three day event presented a variety of formats, including debates, panels, round tables, masterclasses, workshops, project pitches, as well as a hackathon during which developers worked on financial data transparency programs.[17] BrainDates from C2 Montreal was also present at the forum to provide peer-to-peer learning sessions and small discussion groups for the attendees and the project leaders.[18] At the center of the Grande Halle de la Villette was the Peace Library, a tree-shaped shelf structure on which heads of state and government each placed a book from their country that for them symbolized peace and international cooperation.[19]
The overarching theme of the event was multilateralism: its importance as well as its shortcomings.[20] The President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, denounced the double standards of multilateralism, pointing out that African leaders do not have as strong a voice in the international scene despite multilateral decisions concerning Africa occupying a significant space in the agendas of international institutions.[21] Among the other themes that were tackled were social inequality, with speakers such as Guy Rider, Lise Kingo and Jeffrey Sachs; the role of cities in the fight against climate change, with experts like Laurence Tubiana and Ariel Toh Shu Xian, who mentioned the critical role of science education, and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim who spoke of its effects in the Sahel and more.[22] The forum also hosted the Declaration on Information and Democracy by Reporters Without Borders,[23] with the presence of the representatives of Burkina Faso, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Senegal, Switzerland and Tunisia.[24]
51 countries, 130 companies and 90 universities and non-governmental groups signed the "Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace", a non-binding declaration initiated by President Macron, calling for protection from cyberattacks.[25] It aims to protect civilians, to keep external actors from interfering with elections, and to preserve intellectual property, and has been likened to a digital version of the Geneva Convention.[26] Brad Smith, president of Microsoft noted for the New York Times, "Most of the world's democracies are rallying around the need to protect all democracies from cyberattacks." The United States was one of the few Western nations that refused to sign the declaration.
120 projects advancing concrete solutions were presented during the three-day event in one of the following categories: environment, peace and security, development, new technologies and inclusive economy.[27] Out of them, ten were selected by the jury to receive support for a one-year period.[28]
117 foreign guests attended the forum, including 54 heads of state and government, 16 diplomats accredited to France, and 15 representatives of international and supranational organisations.[29] What was also noted was US President Donald Trump's absence at the forum,[30] despite having attended a commemoration ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe on the morning of 11 November.[31] Other attendants included French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, Nobel Peace Prize laureates Nadia Murad and Shirin Ebadi, and Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire.[32]
The second edition of the Paris Peace Forum took place on 11–13 November at la Grande Halle de La Villette, under the presidency of Pascal Lamy, who was previously President of the Steering Committee, and with Justin Vaïsse as the forum's Director General. The Paris Peace Forum 2019 was attended by 7,000 participants, representing 164 nationalities. 33 heads of state and government were present, with official delegations from 140 countries. 318 project leaders representing 114 governance solutions from around the world gathered in the forum's Space for Solutions.
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the President of the Paris Peace Forum, Pascal Lamy, spoke during the event's soft opening on 11 November. Guterres referred to the main global challenges of our times, by distinguishing five global risks: an economic and geostrategic polarization, a crack of the social contract caused by rising inequalities and protests, the loss of solidarity between communities and the rise of hate as a political tool, environmental degradation and the climate crisis, and finally, the risk of unchecked technology. The official opening ceremony took place on 12 November. Opening remarks were made by the French President Emmanuel Macron, the President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, and the vice-president of the People's Republic of China, Wang Qishan.[35]
The second edition of the Paris Peace Forum saw a number of new activities and formats, such as the Peace Game, organized by Foreign Policy and Körber Stiftung.[36] A Peace Game brings together participants with the purpose of working out a crisis scenario through concrete solutions.[37] Among the other formats participants were invited to attend, the '20 Questions to the World',[38] and Braindates by e180,[39] were particularly successful. For this second edition, last year's Peace Library, which gathered books gifted by high-level participants, took the form of a Peace Globe, where world leaders were given the opportunity to leave objects symbolizing peace.
Nine initiatives were launched and developed at the second edition of the Paris Peace Forum. These included B4IG,[40] which started out at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Biarritz, and which is driven by Emmanuel Macron, the OECD and Danone in order to unite companies for inclusive growth. The "Alliance for Multilateralism", launched in April 2019 by the French and German foreign ministers, held a session on the governance of the digital sphere,[41] which was moderated by the French Minister of Europe & Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Other initiatives included the inauguration of the Reporters Without Borders Forum on Information and Democracy, and the launch of the Indian Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, driven by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The third edition, hosted virtually from 11 to 13 November 2020, was chiefly devoted to the multi-actor response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the conviction that all relevant actors can collectively overcome the enormous challenges faced by the international community and use the crisis as an opportunity to rebuild a more sustainable world.[42] Macron hosted Senegalese President Macky Sall, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and European Council President Charles Michel at the Élysée Palace, while over 50 world leaders and heads of international organizations contributed video messages during the event, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Chinese President Xi Jinping.[43]
In 2020 on a specially developed digital event platform, the virtual edition of the Paris Peace Forum counted 12,000 online participants representing 151 countries, over 50 heads of state and government, 117 hours of live broadcasting, 178 debate sessions and project pitches, and 100 concrete projects from around the globe.
The third edition included three major achievements:
The fourth edition of the Paris Peace Forum was dedicated to bridging global governance gaps. The second consecutive edition devoted to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hosted in a hybrid format from 11 to 13 November 2021, promoting global coordination in times of COVID-19. The official ceremony on 11 November convened heads of state and government as well as NGO leaders and CEOs of global companies, headed by French President Emmanuel Macron, and including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[44] The United States was also represented at the forum for the first time, via Vice President Kamala Harris.[45]
In 2021, the fourth edition counted 15,000 online participants and a thousand present in Paris, whereas 45 heads of state and government and leaders of international organizations were among experts taking part in 74 debate sessions, and the Space for Solutions counted 80 projects from around the world.
On the occasion of the 2021 forum, actors from all over the world concerned by the long-term sustainability of outer space launched the "Net Zero Space" initiative. This new initiative calls for achieving sustainable use of outer space for the benefit of all humankind by 2030 by taking concrete actions to tackle the pressing challenge of reducing debris orbiting Earth.
The Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, launched on 12 November 2018 at the Paris Peace Forum, is a call to come together to face the new threats endangering citizens and infrastructure. It is based on nine common principles to secure cyberspace, which provide areas for discussion and action. The Paris Call invites all cyberspace actors to work together and encourage states to cooperate with private sector partners, academia, and civil society. The 1,200 supporters of the Paris Call (80 states, more than 700 companies, 350 civil society organizations) commit to working together to adopt responsible behavior and implement within cyberspace the fundamental principles which apply in the physical world. As part of their participation in the 2021 edition, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Ursula von der Leyen announced the United States and the European Union's decision to support the Paris Call.
The forum hosted the launch of an international call to stand up for children's rights in the digital environment. French President Emmanuel Macron and UNICEF, along with seven other states, a dozen non-governmental organizations, and most of the major digital platforms (including Amazon, Google, YouTube, Meta, Microsoft, Dailymotion, Qwant, Snap, and Twitter) signed this call and committed to enabling children to use digital tools safely and benefit from their full potential without being exposed to abuse through a series of actions.
The International Fund for Public Interest Media was launched as an initiative to create the step change needed to enable the development, sustainability, and independence of public interest media, especially in resource-poor and fragile settings. The fund is co-chaired by Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and former New York Times President and CEO Mark Thompson.
The forum brought together 22 defense ministers to discuss the "Climate Change and the Armed Forces" initiative. This roadmap, the foundation for a growing coalition, aims to reduce emissions from armed forces, mitigate damage, and strengthen cooperation between states in the process of adapting armed forces to the impact of climate change.
The fifth edition of the Paris Peace Forum was held through 11–12 November 2022, with its agenda mainly overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Attendants included President of Argentina Alberto Fernández, President of Colombia Gustavo Petro, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.[46] [47]
The sixth edition of the Paris Peace Forum was held 10–11 November 2023 at the Palais Brongniart. The aim of the 2023 Forum was to "Seek Common Ground in a World of Rivalry".[48] Solving the Gaza humanitarian crisis was a late addition to the agenda.[49]
The Paris Peace Forum faced criticism in 2018 for having extended an invitation to Saudi Arabia, in light of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the continuing war in Yemen.[50] Due to similar contradictions, such as France's involvement in weapons sales, and nuclear armament, questions were raised as to the extent to which the peace summit was truly substantial or just an instrument of communication.[51] [52]
Criticism was also drawn to the event's funding, with contributions made, among others, by tech giants such as Google and Microsoft.[53]
Some also argued that the forum was homogeneous in its discussion, reserved for the elites who agreed with each other rather than including those who disagreed with multilateralism.[54]