Connecting voices and ideas for influence & projects
BY HAKIMA EL HAITE & JOËL RUET
While we are giving in to the emergency, nature and its ecosystems are already preparing the next tornadoes, freezes, fires and floods, the next viruses to resolve the matter, in one way or another.
We have this choice, all together, today, to remove our blinders.
https://www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/let-us-take-off-our-blinders-and-build-a-new-world
Hakima el Haite, President of Liberal International, Joël Ruet and Iman Zbib wrote together and article for La Tribune entitled “African solutions for the African lockdown” on the 4th of April 2020. They highlighted the importance of African initiatives to help population go through lockdown, so that the important solidarity funds internationally gathered are used as efficiently as possible. Among the suggested solutions are prevention campaigns, an increased Internet connectivity, financial support distributed through mobile telephony, the installation of water tanks in city districts, the establishment of mobile health units and the blocking of roads by the state and the army to enforce a lockdown without any travel between.
By Irina Bojova, Hakima El Haite, George Papandreou, Joël Ruet.
Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO, Hakima El Haite, President of Liberal International, George Papandreou, former Prime Minister of Greece and President of Socialist International, and Joël Ruet co-published an article in Diplomatic Courier and La Tribune. It was entitled “Healthcare needs global governance” and published on the 12th March 2020 in French and 19th March in English. They argued that a health global governance had to benefit from a permanent, collective and ambitious handling, especially ahead of crisis.
The four authors called for a permanent connection to be established between research centres, as well as a global network of medicines and medical supplies and a “WHO Academy”. This academy would bring together a permanent panel of pandemic crisis experts, bid data scientists, socio-economic experts, and philanthropy and emergency organisations, as well as a fund dedicated to financing any crisis acceleration. A future stock of vaccines dedicated to the less fortunate, in the South as well as in the North, must also be prepared.
Joël Ruet participates in a roundtable on French television channel France24 to discuss the issues and solutions regarding the economic crisis provoked by the restrictive Covid-19 measures.
Watch the debate here.
Joël Ruet analyses European coordination and Chinese response to the Covid-19 pandemic on French television channel France24.
Watch his intervention here.
The Bridge Tank organized on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos an international workshop on the theme: “Accelerating the smart city – financing solutions and project governance for emerging markets. “
The bridge tank organised an industry conversation on « accelerating the smart city – financing solutions & project governance for emerging markets », convened by Joel Ruet & our Board Member Pranjal Sharma. The event was the opportunity to exchange on how to Kick-start the Smart cities: How to go from ideas to projects, from projects to returns, from returns to smart cities that work. How can entrepreneurs, companies, investors gear into initiatives that are left free to succeed by the city authorities, for smart cities to no longer mean blueprints but develop and operate as a true industry?
Our starting point was that « smart cities » have been on the air for long ; had they picked the magnitude we talked them about, we’d see them everywhere by now. We discussed the evolving funding criteria for smart cities; their ever evolving challenges and meeting them for smart cities funding.
First of all, contributors reminded the definition issue, ranging from mere energy, food or water conservation to smart and widespread use of data, through new cities, real estate with an ecosystem community including schools for talents, etc.
The second issue was on governance: how to decide, how to fund them? Which strategies between new cities and modifying existing ones? And how not to forget the smart villages? The Indian rural experience was discussed, on strategies to move from thermal diesel to solar, generalise wifis and digital bank accounts, digital crop data management for fertilizers.
Some participants from emerging countries were on the position that smartness should be tested in villages and then extended to smart cities; the example of Punjab was mentioned, which started from the district level, then with 3 smart cities in Punjab. IFC’s experience in digitalisation in “Invest in Africa” program was also mentioned as a successful pilot. However, cheap internet through mobile systems isn’t per se making a smart city. The issue of space was mentioned: smartness is not just about digitalization but requires space: in already congested cities this raises serious concerns.
The issue of public governance and private profitability were mentioned, but we dedicated a large space of our conversation to the issue of enabling citizens: as they become smart, so does the city they live in. “Innovation clusters”, with the Ukrainian example this time, were mentioned in such a spirit of rather looking at what brings people together, not necessarily having to involve the government.
Last, economic practice were mentioned: not just about introducing technology but also co-living, sharing economy, etc., and, at the end, a more segmented approach for circular economy, between premium / mass segments.
As each year, Davos is too hectic to come into a post. Here are, beyond our own organized “Innovation Lunch”, some highlights.
We started with a TV interview on this year’s theme on sustainable environment at the 50th World Economic Forum – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwk5r9PJcPE . The Davos forum of course lags behind on the environment but, despite “We will not save the planet only with companies, but we will not save the planet without companies”.
As last year, The Bridge Tank participated in the 4th Davos Forum on the Silk Roads, / Belt and Road Initiative. A discussion on how to move “from the old globalization that benefits some, to a new globalization focused on the belt and the road that benefits everyone and is of high quality”. Who said Davos is not political ?
On more economic found, the idea was to debate “More international public goods (open to all) than private goods (for shareholders)”.
Last but not least glimpse of this year, we enjoyed the Davos “Open” Forum through an amazing keynote speaker and player: Yo Yo MA.
At G20 / T20, Saudi Deputy Minister of Finance said multilateral organizations have succeeded in ensuring efficiency but have failed in distribution – they “have focused on creating growth rather than sharing the fruits “
He planned pledges for multilateral stimulation to promote the national and common interests of the population – illustrating demographic transitions and employment in the South.
This is in this spirit ou Policy Brief wants to give ways for financial actors of the South directly accessing the Green Climate Fund.
At this meeting we presented our ideas and plans for a policy brief to G20 leaders on increasing the financial envelope of the Green Climate Fund. The Brief will be directed by The Bridge Tank and involves contributors from Tunisia, China, India, Indonesia, Germany, Italy and France.
Over the past 5 years, we have contributed to the Task Force on “Climate change and finance” of the T20, and seen the exercise progress and deepen. When G20 leaders decide to unite, solutions are ready through engagement groups like the T20.
We received a warm welcome from the Saudi Arabian G20 presidency and the global T20 teams.
In the Plenary, HRH Prince Turki al Faycal bin Saud, long time head of Saudi intelligence, gave a keynote to Think20/G20 experts, encouraging us for innovative funding solutions, in line with our policy proposals on Green Climate Fund: fast direct access to southern countries, funds and NGOs.
In early December 2019, The Bridge Tank travelled to Beijing, China on the occasion of the launch of CGTN Think Tank. Represented by its president Joël Ruet, The Bridge Tank’s presence in China proved a valuable opportunity to exchange with various foundations and think tank headquartered in Beijing.
As a founding partner of the organisation, The Bridge Tank attended the launch of CGTN Think Tank on December 4, 2019. This opening session, hosted by CGTN’s star presenter of World Insight, Zhang Hue, was broadcast live on national television.
The inauguration ceremony included speeches by Ban Ki-Moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations, Yves Leterme, former Belgian Prime Minister, and Martin Jacques, Senior Fellow at the Department of Politics and International of the University of Cambridge and Visiting Professor at the Fudan University of China.
On this occasion, Joël Ruet had the pleasure of meeting once again with Luan Jianzhang, Director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, who had visited The Bridge Tank’s team in Paris, in June 2019. He also exchanged with representants of the China International Publishing Group, as well as with Yu Yunquan, President of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.
Following the launch, the CGTN Think Tank held its first event the very same day on the theme “Globalisation in transition: Adapting to a Changing World”. There, Joël Ruet took part in the opening session of this event, alongside Erlan Karin, political advisor to the President of Kazakhstan, Fraser Cameron, Director of the EU-Asia Centre in Brussels, and Zhai Yongping, Chief of Energy Sector Group of the Asian Development Bank.
The session was followed by a ceremony celebrating the 20 years of broadcasting of one of China’s most prominent talkshows: CGTN’s Dialogue with Yang Rui, its star presenter. As recurring guests of the show, Joël Ruet and Martin Jacques gave an interview testifying of their personal friendship with Yang Rui.
Two days prior to the CGTN Think Tank launch, Joël Ruet met with the Chairman of the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, Wang Jiarui. This meeting on December 2, 2019 came a few months after the visit to Paris of a delegation representing this foundation. The Soong Ching Ling Foundation was created in 1986 by the China Welfare Institute, which had itself been founded by Rosamond Soong Ching-ling, former Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China. During their discussion, Joël Ruet highlighted the necessity for philanthropies to be opened to the people and not only to millionaires. He added that it was the mission of institutions such as the Foundation to promote this idea.
A day later, on December 3, Joël Ruet met with Yi Peng, Chairman of the Pangoal Institution in Beijing. This public policy think tank, working closely with Chinese companies, studies global governance and civil diplomacy in the countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative.
