Riding out the multicrisis: AKDN at the Paris Peace Forum 2022

Paris, France, 11-12 November 2022 - How do we ride out the multicrisis that the world is experiencing right now? From worsening climate change, successive Covid-19 waves and deepening inequalities, to new and lasting geopolitical conflicts of global consequences, the stakes could not be higher. How do we prevent a destructive world polarisation that would jeopardise collective efforts on critical challenges for humanity?

The 2022 Paris Peace Forum convened world leaders and civil society to seek answers to these questions in Paris on 11-12 November.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a Founding Member of the Forum, alongside the French government and other selected organisations. AKDN was represented at the Forum by Prince Amyn, who is a member of the Forum’s Executive Committee, as well as Prince Rahim, who attended for the first time.

In addition to exploring new ways to manage the fallout of the multicrisis – which agencies of the AKDN are responding to across Central and South Asia, Eastern Africa and the Middle East – AKDN leaders discussed with partners new ways to cooperate through conflicts; catalyse climate and environmental solutions; and foster more inclusive and just societies.

Matt Reed, the CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation UK, spoke about how AKDN’s work is continuing in Afghanistan. He pointed out the progress in Afghanistan over the past two decades, with substantial improvement in maternal and infant mortality, youth literacy and education levels. He also referenced the strengthening of local community structures during this period. These are still active and allow development programmes to continue.

The discussions were as varied as the difficulties facing the world. Topics ranged from the geopolitical (How to better protect civilians in 21st century conflicts; Reinventing international health cooperation through regionalization; Feminist foreign policy in action) to emerging issues such as Leveraging the potential of genomic sequencing, South-South cooperation in cyber capacity building, and Managing AI risk.

A distinctive feature of the Forum is support for concrete projects that function as instruments of law, standards, and good practices, or build new institutions, mechanisms, and innovations. Over 60 projects were selected for exhibition at the Forum. The Climate Pathways Project by MIT, for example, is expanding the reach of a climate solutions simulator that is used by decisionmakers to see the impacts of global climate policy decisions on societal factors.

Ten projects were chosen by an expert jury to receive a year of support from the Forum’s Scale Up programme to raise funds, increase their visibility and implement their plans. The projects are based in different continents and vary in their aims and methods. One uses millions of data points to automatically assess the non-financial impact of businesses, directing finance to companies that make both a profit and a difference. Another provides a platform to strengthen the resilience of youth in Central Asia to online disinformation and hate speech.

President Macron of France led a panel discussion on universalism in the face of war. He said: “Behind the word universalism are three things. The fact that our problems are universal…inequality, climate change, biodiversity, peace, food security… There is a universalism that is linked to human dignity… and thirdly, there is geopolitical universalism… the right to autonomy, sovereignty, territorial integrity.”

David Beasley, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, spoke about how the lack of food exports from Ukraine and fertiliser from Russia have compounded COVID’s destructive economic effects, which, combined with widespread droughts, have resulted in a disastrous impact on food security, particularly for the poorest countries. “We’re facing a food pricing problem right now. Next year, we’ll be facing a food availability problem.”

A session on embedding culture at the core of policies and cooperation explored the opportunities of digitalisation, the importance of youth, the insights brought by different languages and the challenges of enabling cultural expression for all.

Representatives of international organisations, national and local governments, thinktanks, civil society and academia met to discuss climate change, from assessing whether COP27 can change the trajectory of global warming to considering what happens if the goal to keep warming at or below 1.5 degrees is missed. Stewart Patrick of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace pointed out that emissions would need to decline by 45 percent by 2030, whereas they are on track for a reduction of only three percent. Ian Borg, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, Republic of Malta, emphasised that while other crises over the past year have overtaken the climate agenda for many countries, this generation needs to take responsibility for the future. Giuseppe Sala, the Mayor of Milan, brought a note of hope, giving examples from Milan on reducing food waste, generating energy through burning waste, retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency and creating new jobs in sustainable mass transport.

NOTES

What is the Paris Peace Forum?

Founded by President Emmanuel Macron of France in 2018, the Forum is a platform seeking to develop coordination, rules, and capacities that answer global problems.

The Forum posits that global problems without cooperative solutions will lead to conflicts. The Forum aims to contribute to bridging the governance gap by bringing together all stakeholders to advance concrete solutions where none exist.

AKDN – A Founding Member

Alongside the French Government and other selected organisations, AKDN is a Founding Member of the Paris Peace Forum. This partnership is based on a shared mission to strengthen global governance and address the most pressing global development issues of our time.

Partners of the Paris Peace Forum include foundations, businesses, development agencies, states, or philanthropic foundations that share the Forum’s objectives and help promote solutions to global governance challenges in their respective areas of expertise.

They include: the European Commission; Microsoft; The Rockefeller Foundation; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Bloomberg; AFD Groupe; Ford Foundation and the World Bank, amongst others.

AKDN’s relationship with France

AKDN has for decades partnered with the French government and numerous French organisations on social, cultural and economic development. Projects include the Heart and Cancer Centre of the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi; the French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children in Afghanistan; an $80 million programme to improve health facilities in Tanzania; cultural restoration work in Pakistan; the Bujagali Dam in Uganda; and Roshan, the first mobile telephony provider in Afghanistan. Artefacts from the Aga Khan Museum collection have been displayed at the Louvre in Paris, and the two museums continue to collaborate on a number of projects. The Aga Khan Music Programme has also brought world-class musicians to Paris to perform.

His Highness the Aga Khan founded the Fondation pour la sauvegarde et le développement du Domaine de Chantilly. He was made a Commander of the Legion of Honour (1990), a Member of Academie des Beaux Arts (2008), one of France's oldest Academies, and a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2010).