Agenda

La crise du Covid-19 a dévoilé les transformations à l’oeuvre sur la scène internationale et son « ordre établi ». Si certaines étaient latentes, la pandémie a également eu des conséquences géopolitiques et géostratégiques importantes. Le monde occidental (pays du Nord) a semblé pendant un temps avoir perdu son monopole de la puissance, tandis que les prévisions catastrophistes sur la situation des pays en développement (du Sud) se sont régulièrement révélées erronées. Cette session abordera la question de l’écart entre le Nord et le Sud, entre l’Occident et le reste du monde, dans la gestion de cette triple crise à la fois sanitaire, économique et sociale.

• La domination du modèle occidental est-elle révolue ? Faut-il s’attendre à une redéfinition des rapports Nord-Sud ?
• Comment la rivalité sino-américaine et la montée en puissance de la Chine modifieront-t-elles l’écart existant entre les pays développés et en développement ?
• Quel est l’avenir d’une mondialisation désormais contestée au Nord comme au Sud ?
• Face à cette menace commune, comment éviter la paralysie des institutions multilatérales ?

Opening remarks

Speaker: Karim El Aynaoui, President, Policy Center for the New South

Introductory conversation: A North and South Overview of the Pandemic

Moderator: Mvemba Dizolele, Lecturer in African Studies, John Hopkins University

Speakers:

• Aminata Toure, Former Prime Minister of Senegal
• Hubert Védrine, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, France

Persistent poverty, economic decay and lack of opportunities are at the root of considerable discontent in declining and lagging-behind areas the world over. Poor development prospects and an increasing belief that these places have “no future” have led many of these so-called “places that don’t matter” to revolt against the status quo. The revolt has come via an unexpected source: the ballot-box, in a wave of political populism with strong territorial, rather than social foundations.

• How does that process challenge the sources of existing well-being in both the less-dynamic and the more prosperous areas in the Global South?

Moderator : Uduak Amimo, Journalist and Consultant, Uduak Amimo Coaching and Consulting

Speakers :

• Hafsat Abiola, President, Women in Africa
• Nkosana Donald Moyo, Founder and Chairman, Mandela Institute for Development Studies
• Bernardo Sorj, Director, Edelstein Center for Social Research
• Daniela Varela, Member of the "Argentine Council for International Affairs (CARI); Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader (ADEL)

Asia has lifted millions of people from poverty. It has also led the rebuilding of the world order, with China playing a significant role. As the centre of the 21st Century, there are many lessons to learn from Asia: a commitment to education, poverty reduction and economic stability.

• How can Western countries, particularly developing ones, learn lessons from Asia in order to remain competitive?
• What major areas could be explored together in order to build effective synergies?
• How have Asian countries fought corruption? How have they improved the education levels?

Moderator : Marcus de Freitas, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers :

• Neelam Deo, Founder and Director, Gateway House Indian Council on Global Relations
• Amre Moussa, Former Secretary-General of the Arab League, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Egypt
• John Sawers, Executive Chairman of Newbridge Advisory, former Chief of Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)
• Mayecor Sar, Senior Manager, Government and Public Sector Practice, Deloitte; Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader (ADEL)

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated global vulnerabilities to diseases, thereby calling into question the extent to which health constitutes a pillar of homeland security. The increasing relevance of global health issues and their emergence as globalized security threats, have elevated the political status of health, and shed a new light on its perceived relationship to power.
Indeed, health capacities have emerged as critical structures for the fight against the pandemic, with medical and pharmaceutical supplies acquiring strategic value, alongside personal protective equipment (PPE). This has bolstered health diplomacy as a new means of exercising and projecting power, while further demonstrating the importance of resilient health systems to protecting national interests. This session will explore the extent to which health can be instrumentalized as a foreign policy tool to advance national interests, as well as provide ground to reflect on the heterodox nature of the power-health nexus.

• What are the ramifications of the COVID-19 disease outbreak on the distribution of power?
• Given the increased attention and funding health has garnered following the pandemic, how can the WHO mitigate power imbalances within the global health governance field?
• To what extent has COVID-19 shifted state priorities and encouraged the incorporation of health as a dimension of foreign policy?

Moderator : Richard Liu, Journalist and Anchor, MSNBC and NBC News

Speakers :

• Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Senior Economic Advisor, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative
• Anand Reddi, Manager Health Systems Strenghtening, Gilead Sciences Inc; Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader (ADEL)
• Kheston Walkins, CEO, Chief NeuroInnovation Officer, Allegori; Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader (ADEL)

The Coronavirus is no great equalizer. At best, it has exposed severe inequalities, and at worst, it has led to their exacerbation. The reignition of the #BlackLivesMatter movement during the pandemic led hundreds of thousands of people to hit the streets in all 50 states of the United States and in over 60 countries asking for racial justice. These protests not only spoke out against the murders of innocent African Americans, policy brutality and the impunity of the perpetrators, but also drew attention to the systemic racism that plagues the lives of minorities in the US and beyond, and that has led them to be more affected by the pandemic, the latter being more deadly for black and brown communities.

• How are structural and institutional racism contributing to the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on minorities? Why do Black people in the US, Brazil, the UK and beyond become infected and die from COVID-19 at higher rates than Whites?
• Should racism be declared a public health crisis?
• What policy responses should be considered to bridge the disparities and address systemic racism and its consequences during a pandemic?

Moderator : Omayra Issa, journalist, Radio-Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Emerging Leader)

Speakers :

• Tosin Durotoye, CEO and Primary Consultant, Conselia Advisory (Emerging Leader)
• Kassie Freeman, President & CEO, African Diaspora Consortium
• Alex T.Johnson, Chief of Staff, U.S. Helsinki Commission(Emerging Leader)
• Ana Barreto, Director of Programs, AfroResistance (Emerging Leader)

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown, more than any other contemporary crisis, the need for concerted and coordinated actions between countries all over the world. However, the reluctance of many countries to work within traditional multilateral frameworks has pushed military organizations and alliances to take on ‘new roles’ in order to help member states and partners overcome these coordination challenges. These new roles include the deployment of military medical services to support member states capabilities in battling the COVID-19 pandemic, setting new procedures for the protection of deployed personnel, and logistics support. This session will examine the extent to which military organizations and alliances can help complement multilateral global health forums’ efforts during public health crises. It will also address the ramifications on ongoing and future military operations, as well as the role of military alliances in enhancing member states’ preparedness for future public health crises.

• How can military organizations improve member states and partners’ capacity-building in the face of future pandemics and public health crises?
• To what degree can military organizations support coordination and solidarity among their member states?
• Do public health crises hamper allied armed forces’ ability to carry training exercises and joint operations?

Moderator : Kimberly Dozier, TIME Magazine Contributor & CNN Global Affairs Analyst

Speakers :

• Gabriele Cascone, Head of the Counter-Terrorism Section, NATO
• Barre Seguin, NATO Senior Mentor, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe SHAPE
• Juan Battaleme, Academic Director, CARI

As Asia rises, the world liberal order is slowly cracking. Democracy – a universal goal for humankind – has also been failing in delivering better welfare to the populations. Western values have influenced the world for the last three hundred years. However, steadily, the West is becoming less relevant, and its values seem to be criticised and inappropriate to catapult the West into a more prominent role.

• What to expect?
• Can the West recover lost ground?
• Will Western values be resilient?

Moderator : Mohammed Loulichki, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers :

• Bineta Diop, Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, African Union Commission
• Trisha Shetty, Founder & CEO, SheSays
• Ignacio Walker, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chile
• Thomas Richter, Director, Berlin & Brussels, Avisa Partners (Emerging Leader)

The interconnectedness and interdependence between countries around the world resulting from the rise of globalization has become a double-edged sword. On the positive side it has influenced socio-economic development, but it has also led to uncertainties that disrupt societies in terms of their social, political, and economic structures.

• How COVID-19 has disrupted the geopolitical landscape?
• Are existing institutions well equipped to steer the international response?
• How can global flows and value chains be protected from collapsing?

Moderator : Ian Lesser, Vice President & Executive Director, Brussels, German Marshal Fund of the United States

Speakers :

• Bronwyn Bruton, Director of Programs & Studies, Atlantic Council
• Paolo Magri, Executive Vice President and Director, Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
• Zhou Yuyuan, Senior Fellow, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies

L’État providence en tant que système voué à la satisfaction des besoins sociaux de ses citoyens a connu une forte popularité à partir du début du 20ème siècle jusqu’au milieu/fin des années 1970. Plusieurs définitions sont avancées dans la littérature et pour l’essentiel elles tournent autour des idées d’un État essentiellement tourné vers le bien être des ménages, d’un État qui se substitue au marché si celui-ci est défaillant ou encore un État providence qui adopte une approche plutôt universaliste du bien-être social. Le recul observé de la pensée économique keynésienne à partir du milieu des années 1970 ainsi que l’arrivée aux affaires des partisans du « laissez-faire » tels que Ronald Reagan et Margaret Thatcher, seront les moteurs d’un rétrécissement des missions dévolues aux États surtout ceux dans les économies en développement. Le fameux consensus de Washington et les plans d’ajustement d’alors dans les États dans les pays en développement vont cantonner leurs missions aux tâches régaliennes (de sécurité et défense) et surtout à la restauration et préservation des équilibres macroéconomiques. Les secteurs sociaux (éducation, santé, transferts monétaires vers les ménages les plus pauvres etc.) seront les parents pauvres de la politique publique pendant toutes ces décennies. Les relatives faibles performances enregistrées dans la lutte contre la pauvreté et pour un accès à une éducation et des structures sanitaires de qualité démontrent à suffisance le coût social de ces politiques.
Depuis une décennie (crise de 2008) et surtout en 2020 avec la crise sanitaire et économique les Etats (y compris ceux des économies en développement) rivalisent d’ingéniosité et d’audace dans la mise en place de politiques sociales d’envergure (ex. Tadamon au Maroc, Novissi au Togo) avec la mise en place d’un revenu quasi-universel.

• Ce retour de l’État providence notamment en Afrique est-il le signe d’une reconnaissance des erreurs du passé ? (‘Did we lose decades ?’ pour paraphraser l’économiste William Easterly)
• Ce retour des politiques sociales audacieuses et assumées s’inscrivent-il dans un horizon juste conjoncturel ou assiste-t-on a un réel changement de paradigme ?
• Pour une Afrique qui se montre résiliente face aux crises et ambitieuse dans son devenir quel arbitrage effectuer entre le dilemme d’un environnement macroéconomique saint et la jeunesse de sa population qui nécessite des politiques sociales fortes pour l’accompagner dans son épanouissement ? autrement dit de quels leviers dispose-t-on pour financer cet État providence ?

Moderator : Claude Grunitzky, Founder, Trace and True Africa

Speakers :

• Abdelhak Bassou, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South
• Sergio Suchodolski, President, Banco de Desenvolvimento de Minas Gerais
• Patricia Ahanda, Founder and CEO, LYDEXPERIENCE (Emerging Leader)
• Adil El Madani, Private Sector Development Expert, Enable (Emerging Leader)
• Abdoullah Coulibaly, President, Bamako Forum

COVID-19 showed how unprepared the health systems are to address major pandemics. Except for China, South Korea and Japan, countries have struggled to deal with the pandemic. Lockdowns and quarantines have been incentivised as a strategy. However, many countries have struggled economically and found out that a weak economy leads to a weaker healthcare system.

• What lessons can be learnt from COVID-19?
• Can cooperation increase in the future? How?

Moderator : John Yearwood, Deputy editor, Trade & Agriculture and Editor, China Watcher, POLITICO

Speakers :

• Paulo Portas, Former Deputy Prime Minister, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Portugal
• Andrés Rozental, President, Rozental & Asociados ; Founder, Mexican Council on Foreign Relation
• Nchimunya Hamukoma, Policy Strategist, African Futures (Emerging Leader)
• Jessica Gottsleben, Innovative Servant Leader, Young Leaders Council (Emerging Leader)

The 2020 US elections have taken place amidst a highly polarized context, compounded by a devastating global health crisis, a far-reaching economic recession, and the mounting threat of populism worldwide, calling into question the limits of multilateral cooperation. The Presidential Election has represented a critical juncture not only to American citizens anxious about the future of their nation, but also to US partners around the world. Affecting the nation’s foreign policy on topics of global common interest, ranging from climate change and global health to international security, the election has raised extensive questions about the future of the international system and of the wider trans-Atlantic relationship. Indeed, the multiple alliances and partnerships the United States has nurtured over the years throughout Europe, Africa, and South America, have come under great duress following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the rise of instability, threatening to crystalize a gradual shift toward isolationism. The extent to which the next administration will succeed in overcoming structural and domestic constraints in order to reconcile domestic interests with the foreign policy agenda, will be decisive in ushering a new era of strengthened trans-Atlantic relations.

• Is isolationism a temporary political orientation the current administration has embraced or will a gradual retreat from multilateralism irreversibly come to characterize American foreign policy in the following decades?
• What are the key pressing issues and security challenges requiring multilateral mobilization in the Wider Atlantic? What impact would a divided government have on the next administration’s foreign policy in the region?
• How can countries throughout the Wider Atlantic renegotiate an inclusive framework of cooperation reengaging the South Atlantic to build long-lasting partnerships aimed at tackling common challenges?

Moderator : Kidane Kiros, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers :

• Reta Jo Lewis, Senior Fellow & Director of Congessional Affairs, German Marshall Fund of the United States
• Len Ishmael, Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Policy Center for the New South

The purposeful dissemination of misleading or outright false information by news media and foreign state actors constitutes an increasingly important factor in both the growing erosion of trust in national institutions and political polarization in many countries around the world. The danger that disinformation represents has been clearly demonstrated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proliferation of conspiracies, misleading narratives and false information about miracle cures have compounded mistrust, uncertainty and even discrimination against nationals of certain countries during the first months of this unprecedented public health crisis. In addition to that, disinformation campaigns and false claims related to the disease and its cures have sparked tangible effects on health of individuals in targeted countries. While the motivations for disinformation campaigns are wide-ranging and include in some cases both the deception of public opinions and promotion of geopolitical goals, the recent events have shown the pressing need for urgent measures and enhanced international cooperation to tackle this issue. Indeed, the far-reaching consequences of the phenomenon have recently pushed states, continental bodies, regional organisations and military alliances to develop strategies to counteract these targeted influence operations.
This session will examine these strategies and disinformation’s long term implications on health, security, electoral processes and politics.

• Definition of disinformation and its present day manifestations: How can we define disinformation? What are the motives behind disinformation campaigns? In what ways does it impact public’s access to information?
• Strategies to counter disinformation: How can states, multilateral institutions and other stakeholders (journalists) effectively limit public exposure to falsehoods and fabricated information? What strategies can the relevant stakeholders deploy to address structural vulnerabilities in relation to disinformation?
• Disinformation long term repercussions: To what extent did disinformation contribute to the erosion of trust between citizens and institutions? What are the long term implications of disinformation on human security, electoral processes and politics?

Moderator : Blair Glencorse, Executive Director, Accountability Lab; Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader (ADEL)

Speakers :

• Pascal Boniface, Director, French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS)
• Bushra Ebadi Youth Ambassador for the Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL); Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader (ADEL)
• Andres Schipani, East and Central Africa Correspondent, Financial Times
• Richard Werly, European Affairs Correspondent, Le Temps

Covid-19 triggered the worst and most synchronized global recession in recorded history, albeit - on current evidence - a short-lived one. The global recession was reflected in a precipitous fall in world trade, which is now recovering. The backlash against trade and globalization long preceded the pandemic, but as a result of the economic hardship it causes, public opinion in many countries has soured even more against imports and outsourcing. Most evident is the drive towards reduced reliance on the importation of medicines and medical equipment, products which mainly originate in a small number of countries, led by China.

• How will trade policies evolve in the post-pandemic world?
• How should policy-makers balance the gains from trade and foreign investment with concerns about medical security and jobs?

Moderator : Uri Dadush, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers :

• Anabel Gonzalez, Former Minister of Foreign Trade, Costa Rica
• Laoye Jaiyeola, CEO, Nigerian Economic Summit Group
• Andrea Richter-Garry, Vice President for International Engagement, Indiana Economic Development Corporation (Emerging Leader)

In modern societies, technology plays an important role and thus creates new challenges. Information, of which ICT is the vector, has become a strategic resource. Today, ICTs are already playing a central role in the fight against global inequalities. They are now asserting themselves, in both developed and emerging countries, as tools to help formalize development and crisis management strategies. The changes brought about by the use of ICTs are visible everywhere. Indeed, crisis management cannot function effectively without the support of advanced ICTs.
Therefore, it becomes essential to take advantage of various technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence for the design of optimal and suitable models for crisis management. In this context, what is true for developed and emerging countries is equally true for poor countries and especially for Africa. This session will try to better understand whether and how the use of ICTs would have an impact on crisis management. It will also address the prospects for adapting ICTs to the crisis management process.

• What is the future for ICTs in crisis management? Do they seem promising? Would they be able to improve the effectiveness of crisis management?
• Would crisis management be realistic thanks to the evolution of ICTs?
• Would technological developments be able to bring stability in a world that is becoming increasingly uncertain?
• Will the measures taken today by Southern countries (Africa) be sufficient to prevent the direct effects of crises? Or will this further reinforce their dependence on the Northern countries?

Moderator: Eduardo Haddad, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South.

Speakers:

• Muhammadou M.O. Kah, Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost; Professor of Information Technologies & Computing, The American University of Nigeria
• Prince Boadu, CEO and Co-Founder, MapTech Logistics Limited (Emerging Leader)
• Jessica Berlin, Founder and Managing Director, CoStruct (Emerging Leader)
• Jana Nelson, Latin America Lead, Amazon Web Services Institute (Emerging Leader)

The COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into an unprecedented international crisis with serious consequences for human health and economic activity. It has also disrupted energy markets. The rapid decline in crude oil prices since January 2020 has raised concerns on both the demand and supply sides, making the outlook for oil and gas markets highly uncertain. Meanwhile, despite a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in some of the hardest-hit regions, this decline is unlikely to be sustainable since it is not the result of governments and companies adopting new policies and strategies, but rather the immediate result of an exogenous shock. Moreover, persistent low fossil-fuel prices could potentially stall significant progress in the development of new clean-energy technologies, thus hampering energy-transition efforts. This session will address the various impacts of COVID-19 on energy markets and its implications for energy transition.

• How can the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting economic recession, affect global oil markets in the medium and long term?
• Will the COVID-19 pandemic slow down energy transition efforts?

Moderator : Rim Berahab, Economist, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers :

• Valeria Aruffo, Director External Relations, Dii Desert Energy
• Sunjoy Joshi, Chairman, Observer Research Foundation
• Andreas Kraemer, Founder, Ecologic Institute
• Saïd Mouline, CEO, Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency AMEE

Besides its economic consequences, the fear from contamination, the psychological effects of lockdown and confinement have had and will continue to have significant impacts on the mental health of populations during this ongoing epidemic crisis of Covid-19.
The spread of Covid-19 globally has caused widespread fear and anxiety, primarily because of fears of infection and fear of death, then because of the lasting uncertainties surrounding the nature of the epidemic, its modes of transmission, its degree of ferocity and the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention protocols allowing to save affected communities.
It is therefore necessary to distinguish two situations which are often confused: the psychological effects caused by fear of the spread of the pandemic and its ferocity” and those generated by measures aimed to reduce the propagation of the virus.
The repercussions of the Covid-19 crisis and confinement have manifested at different degrees within four social and professional categories: (a)general communities, (b) health and security professionals, (c) providers of services during confinement (food, transportation, industries etc.), (d) vulnerable categories including children, old people, people suffering from chronic diseases.
Many people, will continue to feel deep anxieties, existential fear, worries about the future during the post-containment phase, while others will demonstrate pessimistic reactions during this phase due to the heightened uncertainty situation.
Economically, the restart of economic activities might also face a general state of burnout, that affects the wellbeing, reduce productivity, and refrain the hopes for recovery

• If all measures taken to limit the spread of Covid-19 aim to protect the public health of populations, then what is the share of mental health in the public policies of the southern countries?
• How can we ensure a mental health model assuring peoples’ well-being, coping with threats but also preserving productivity?
• What is the cost of non-mental health?

Moderator : Aziz Boucetta, Director of Publishing, Panorapost

Speakers :

• Parfait Akana, Executive Director, The Muntu Institute; Professor, University of Yaounde II-Soa
• Fatima Boutbibe, Neuropsychologist; Director, Center for Cognitive and Functional Exploration and Rehabilitation (C.E.R.C-f)
• El Mostafa Rezrazi, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South; Professor of Crisis Management and Forensic Clinical Psychologist
• Kholoud Wattar Kassem, Political Sociologist; Founder and President, Lebanese Women Towards Decision Making

Latin America is immersed in a new world reality: the daily coexistence with the COVID-19 pandemic, the latter inflicting on this region some of the highest death rates in the world. It is facing a humanitarian crisis borne out of several factors, mainly: political instability, social unrest, fragile health systems and perhaps most importantly, longstanding and pervasive inequality — in income, health care, and education—which has been woven into the social and economic fabric of the region.
Today, Latin America is struggling to find a balance between keeping strict sanitary controls and opening its economic activities to full capacity, while reducing the number of new daily cases and the mortality rates. Another (complementary) alternative would be to find a balance between quarantines, alternative treatments and vaccine campaigns in order to reduce the risk of contagion and to permanently control the pandemic.
This panel will try to answer the following questions:

• How will the governments react to protect their citizens and contain Covid-19’s spread while at the same time saving their economies?
• Is the return to normal pre-pandemic life possible despite the recent social unrest happening in some parts of the region?
• What would be the actions and solutions to mitigate the negative effects caused by the pandemic in the social, economic and geopolitical levels?

Moderator : Lourival Sant’Anna, International Affairs Reporter and Analyst, CNN Brazil; Columnist, O Estado de São Paulo

Speakers :

• Jamil Mahuad, Former President of Ecuador
• Federico Ramón Puerta, Former President of Argentina
• Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Former President of Costa Rica

Closing remarks

Speaker: Karim El Aynaoui, President of the Policy Center for the New South