United by Water: Securing our Collective Water Future Amidst Rising Seas and Melting Glaciers
PFI, along with the Permanent Missions of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, France, Indonesia, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Tajikistan, and other stakeholders, including agencies such as UNDRR, UNESCO, UNOSSC and WMO, co-hosted a Ministerial level meeting on the margins on the UNGA. The meeting featured a presentation by Dr. Johan Röckstrom on the latest scientific data and focussed on the vital role that water plays in SIDS and glacier countries and their shared interests in advancing multilateral cooperation on the water agenda in the lead up to the 2025 UN Ocean Conference and the 2026 UN Water Conference.
Further details are available here.
Linking the Multilateral System with Action on the Ground
On Monday, July 15, 2024, the Present and Future Institute, the Permanent Mission of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Global Challenges Foundation, and the Global Environmental Governance Project at Northeastern University hosted a dialogue on Linking the Multilateral System with Action on the Ground. The dialogue included Ambassadors from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and the Middle East.
Taking Forward the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS)
On Friday, June 21, 2024, the Present Future Institute, the Global Environmental Governance Project at Northeastern University, and the Global Challengers Foundation hosted an Ambassadorial level dialogue to discuss the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), held in Antigua and Barbuda from 27-30 May 2024, and its outcome The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island developing States (ABAS).
A cross section of member state representatives from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Western Europe participated in the dialogue, including representatives from small island developing states, landlocked countries and developed countries.
Key points raised during the conversation focused on ensuring the effective mainstreaming of ABAS, implementation, the importance of partnerships, and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
Bellagio Dialogue: Reimagining Environmental Multilateralism
PFI, along with Northeastern University and Rwanda Environmental Management Authority, brought together global stakeholders on 6-10 February 2024, at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy, for an in-depth discourse on environmental multilateralism. The initial sessions were focused on understanding and addressing capacity constraints and leveraging collective energy for environmental advocacy. An important aspect of the discussions was the role of imagination in strategy development and the importance of considering various perspectives and challenges faced by different regions, particularly emphasizing the unique position of small states in the global context.
International Day of Women in Diplomacy Commemorative Event
On 19 June 2023, PFI President and CEO Keisha A. McGuire had the honor to participate in the International Day of Women in Diplomacy Commemorative Event at UN Headquarters in New York.
This event brought together women diplomats, representatives of organizations and networks, as well as world leaders. The event aimed to facilitate interactive discussions and exchanges on the contributions, challenges, potential, and opportunities for women in diplomacy to catalyze change and transformation in global affairs.
The event was co-organized by the Permanent Missions of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,El Salvador, Eritrea, Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Malta, Republic of Malawi,Republic of Maldives, Republic of Kenya, Republic of South Africa, Saint Lucia and the State of Qatar to the United Nations, in partnership with the Office of the President of the General Assembly and UN Women.
Bridging the Gap: Reform of the International Financial Architecture for Inclusive and Sustainable Development
Bridging the Gap: Reform of the International Financial Architecture for Inclusive and Sustainable Development
Informal Dialogue on the Report of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism
On 3 April 2023, PFI and the Global Challenges Foundation convened an Informal Dialogue on the report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB) at New York University School of Law.
In his report entitled “Our Common Agenda”, the Secretary-General called for strengthening international cooperation through effective multilateralism. He established a High-level Advisory Board (HLAB) that is tasked to provide independent advice that can assist UN Member States in preparing the 2024 Summit of the Future in New York. In support of this objective, HLAB has prepared an independent report, which is to be delivered to the UN Secretary-General on 18 April 2023.
At the Informal Dialogue, Permanent Representatives to the United Nations from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the African Group had a unique opportunity to hear a briefing and discuss the main findings of the report with HLAB members - Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter and Ms. Ilona Szabó de Carvalho, as well as members of the HLAB Secretariat, Dr. David Passarelli and Dr. Adam Day. The meeting facilitated an exploration of support for certain proposals of the High-Level Advisory Board relating to the six transformational shifts identified in the report, in advance of formal consultations at the United Nations.
Safe and Just Earth System Boundaries Lunch Series
The Present and Future Institute and the Global Challenges Foundation host an ongoing series of luncheons focused on important global sustainability issues. The series featured esteemed speakers and provided a unique opportunity for meaningful dialogue and exchange of ideas.
The first luncheon, held on November 1, 2022, was a brainstorming roundtable discussion on Planetary Boundaries, which was co-hosted by the Present and Future Institute and the Global Challenges Foundation. The event featured a presentation by Dr. David Obura, a renowned marine biologist and expert in ocean conservation. The discussion brought together Permanent Representatives and earth science leaders to explore gaps in the current science-policy interface regarding Earth System risks and to consider options to address these gaps within the UN system.
The second event was a closed roundtable luncheon on Safe and Just Earth System Boundaries, attended by Ministers and Ambassadors, held on March 23, 2023. The luncheon featured a presentation by Dr. Johan Rockström, an esteemed earth scientist and co-chair of the Earth Commission. This event provided a platform for in-depth dialogue and exchange of ideas on the Planetary Boundaries Framework and Tipping Elements in the Earth System.
Informal Dialogue on the Summit of the Future – Opportunities and Expectations
In the Declaration commemorating the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Member States recognized that our challenges are interconnected and can only be addressed through stronger international cooperation and reinvigorated multilateralism, with the United Nations at the centre of these efforts. The UN Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda represents a launching ground for a renewal of global cooperation and an opportunity to reinvigorate inclusive, networked, and effective multilateralism. One of the key proposals of Our Common Agenda is a Summit of the Future (the “Summit”) to be held on 22 and 23 September 2024, in New York, preceded by a preparatory ministerial meeting to be held on 18 September 2023, to forge a new global consensus on what actions are needed to ensure a better tomorrow, while simultaneously reinvigorating multilateralism and accelerating the implementation of existing commitments.
Recognizing the pressing need to address this situation and the significant linkages between the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and Our Common Agenda, as well as the critical opportunity presented by the Summit of the Future, the Permanent Missions of Australia, Barbados, Botswana, the Republic of Bulgaria, The Gambia, the Gabonese Republic, Iceland, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Maldives, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Republic of Palau and Saint Lucia to the United Nations, in collaboration with Present and Future Institute (PFI), convened the first in a series of informal dialogues amongst Member States, academia and key civil society stakeholders, to discuss expectations, identify common priorities, explore approaches to engaging in the Summit of the Future, ensuring an inclusive process where everyone has a voice and identify areas for further discussion and consensus building.