Paris Peace Forum

The first edition of the Paris Peace Forum took place on 11–13 November 2018, and was attended by 65 Heads of States and Governments.[11] It showcased 120 global governance projects and welcomed 6000 individuals over the 3 days. Among the attendees were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, joined President Emmanuel Macron in each making an opening remark at the beginning 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.[12] Merkel made similar remarks, noting that nationalism and populism were threatening European peace.[13] What was noted was also US President's Donald Trump's absence at the Forum,[14] despite having been in Paris in the morning of 11 November for the commemoration ceremony on the Champs-Elysées.[15]

The commemoration of Armistice day 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 replicate again.[16] 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 the 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.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19] At the center of the Grande Halle de la Villette was the Peace Library, a tree-shaped shelf structure on which Heads of Governments and States each placed a book from their country that for them symbolised peace and international cooperation.[20]

The overarching theme of the event was multilateralism: its importance as well as its shortcomings.[21] President of the Republic 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.[22] 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, with experts like Laurence Tubiana and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim who spoke of its effects in the Sahel and more.[23] The Forum also hosted the Declaration on Information and Democracy by Reporters Without Borders,[24] with the presence of the heads of states of Burkina Faso, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Senegal, Switzerland and Tunisia.[25]

The Paris Call : 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 cyber attacks.[26] It aims to protect civilians, to keep external actors from interfering with elections, to preserve intellectual property etc. The US was one of the few Western nations who refused to sign the declaration.[27] The Paris Call has been likened to a digital version of the Geneva Convention and praised as an important step for democracy.[28] Brad Smith, president of Microsoft noted for the New York Times that “Most of the world’s democracies are rallying around the need to protect all democracies from cyberattacks”.[29]

Projects : 120 projects advancing concrete solutions were presented during the 3 day event in one of the following categories: environment, peace and security, development, new technologies and inclusive economy.[30] Out of them, 10 were selected by the jury to receive support for a one-year period.[31]

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.

Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and President of the Paris Peace Forum, Pascal Lamy, spoke during the event's soft opening on 11 November. UN Secretary general Guterres evoked 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 President of the French Republic, 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.[32]

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.[33] A Peace Game brings together participants with the purpose of working out a crisis scenario through concrete solutions.[34] Among the other formats participants were invited to attend, the '20 Questions to the World',[35] and Braindates by e180,[36] 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 in.

Nine initiatives were launched and developed at the second edition of the Paris Peace Forum. These included B4IG,[37] 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 French and German Foreign Ministers, held a session on the governance of the digital sphere,[38] which was moderated by the French Minister of 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.