Missions and values

Global problems without cooperative solutions lead to conflicts.
The challenges the world faces—climate change, terrorism, migration, cyber insecurity and the like—ignore borders. Addressing them requires international cooperation and collective action. However, collaboration is increasingly difficult as countries are turning inward. Today, the international community fails at producing the needed solutions.

Our world is not going in the right direction.
States are competing hard for advantage and populism is undermining the institutions and mechanisms for collective action. Democratic spaces are shrinking and inequalities are widening. Military expenditures are growing fast while the United Nations budget is cut. International norms, in particular, human rights, are disregarded. The Internet is becoming a jungle where data is hacked and fake news spread. International justice if being questioned. And we are losing the race against global warming.

This situation is not conducive to peace.
It leads to new conflicts on all continents. Peace is not just the suspension of war. Peace is made up of all the solutions that help reduce international tensions: cooperation to fight climate change and mitigate resource scarcity, institutions to channel power rivalries and better administer global public goods, regulation to address abuses of power and inequalities, intergenerational bridges and gender equality to create more peaceful societies. In other words, peace will only be sustainable if effective global governance underpins it.

We bring together all stakeholders to advance concrete solutions where none exist.

We support, improve, and complement multilateral institutions.
Multilateral organizations with universal membership have legitimate mandates for the creation of rules and mechanisms to solve transnational problems. We pick up the slack when these institutions cannot act or when the solutions proposed are insufficient.

We are multi-stakeholder.
We foster hybrid coalitions by gathering old and new actors of global governance: states and international organizations, but also NGOs, companies, foundations, philanthropic organizations, development agencies, religious groups, trade unions, think tanks, universities, and civil society at large.

We are project-oriented.
We showcase and support concrete projects that are either normative (instruments of law, standards, and good practices) or capacity-building (new institutions, mechanisms, and innovations).

We are an event that mobilizes stakeholders for collective action.
Every year from November 11 to 13, we put global governance on the agenda of leaders and civil society. We invite public and private organizations from around the world to present their governance projects. These projects are presented in the form of stands and take part in debates with leaders, elected officials, experts and other stakeholders.
Our annual Forum is also a platform for launching multi-actor initiatives, i.e. new normative or organizational instruments that have a direct impact on global governance. More broadly, it is a place for dialogue and cooperation on global governance solutions. It is also a space for networking, bilateral meetings and mediation.

The annual Forum is more than a conference: it is also a congress, an exhibition and a summit, structured around three complementary spaces:

• The Space for Solutions: any organization can present and advance a new governance project
• The Debate Agenda: where stakeholders in global governance can discuss projects, initiatives and ideas to address contemporary challenges
• The Space for Innovation: where specialists bring out the technological solutions of tomorrow’s world

We are also a platform for advancing the most promising governance projects. Each year, we support ten governance projects selected from those presented at the annual Forum. Throughout the year, we provide these projects with tailored support for their advocacy, communication and organizational development activities.