Reviewing the third edition and announcing the Scale-up projects | Press Release

Press Release - 13 November 2020

Wrapping up the third edition of the Paris Peace Forum and announcing the 10 Scale-up projects

In 2020, the world is facing a health crisis with dramatic consequences that knows no borders and calls for collective solutions. Yet international coordination is at a loss, while short-term national calculations and lack of solidarity, especially with developing countries, take precedence. The Paris Peace Forum was created to respond to this crisis of multilateralism, which is not new but has sharply increased in 2020. Given the scale of the challenges before us, the Forum devoted its third edition to projects and initiatives from around the world aimed at providing immediate responses to the Coronavirus crisis.

Our role is to invent new forms of global governance, as driving the needle forward is no longer the sole concern of states and international organizations, but includes civil society (foundations, think tanks, NGOs, activists, religious groups) and the private sector. This new method works, and we are proud to announce three major advancements of this year’s edition:

1. The Finance in Common Summit, gathering 450 public development banks, whose funds represent over 10% of global investment. This first-of-its-kind summit led to a signed declaration to align their investments with the SDGs and climate objectives.
2. A coalition of states, international organizations and foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, France, Spain, the EU commission, and other actors) announced a contribution of $500M for ACT-A, the accelerator for Covid-19 vaccines, tests and therapies.
3. Leaders of the UN, IMF, Germany, France, Senegal and the European Union started a global conversation on the principles which shall guide the world recovery after the Covid-19 crisis. This political discussion has set up the stage for a new international consensus towards a fairer and more resilient paradigm to define the principles of the post-Covid19 world: the “Paris Consensus”. The Forum is not only about these large deliverables, but it also takes a bottom-up approach to accelerate concrete initiatives.

Announcing the 10 Scale-up projects
The Call for Projects launched in March 2020 received more than 850 applications - a record since the creation of the Forum - from all types of actors: NGOs, companies, international organizations, states, local authorities... This is a sign that, despite the pandemic, there remains an astounding reservoir of international cooperation and a willingness to respond to the crisis collectively. Within the dedicated Space for Solutions, these projects exchanged with public and private stakeholders and presented their concrete answers to international challenges.

At the end of the Forum, ten projects were chosen by a jury to benefit from dedicated and customized support for a full year. This support covers the areas most likely to help these projects grow and become sustainable, from introducing them to international partners, sourcing funding, raising their visibility, contributing to their advocacy efforts and supporting the implementation of the respective projects.

“Our objective is to incubate local solutions to enable them to scale up. Each in their own field, the ten projects we are going to support [see box below] contribute to shaping new solutions to the major challenges of our time.”
- Trisha Shetty, President of the Paris Peace Forum’s Steering Committee

AI FOR CLIMATE

This project led by the organization C Minds is a global initiative that works for the conservations and regeneration of ecosystems by harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and multi-stakeholder collaborations.

EUROPEAN RESPONSE TO ELECTORAL CYCLE SUPPORT IN ETHIOPIA (EURECS-ETHIOPIA)
This project led by the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) aims to support the National Electoral Board
of Ethiopia and the local network of CSOs to reinforce one another's goals targeting an effective electoral management
together with the prevention and mitigation of electoral conflicts.

WEAVING THE RECOVERY – INDIGENOUS WOMEN IN TOURISM
This project led by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is driven by the conviction that empowering Indigenous women from Guatemala, Peru, and Mexico through tourism and culture, with a particular focus on textiles, will considerably support their recovery after Covid-19.

PEOPLE FOR NATURE

This project implemented by WWF-Russia and supported by the EU Delegation to Russia aims to enable independent local
NGOs and activists to contribute to environmental protection by providing free online tools, training and grant programs for
local NGOs.

JUSTICE FOR ALL AMID COVID

This project led by the Perfector of Sentiments (POS) Foundation aims to provide access to justice for Pre-trial
Detainees/Remand Prisoners in efforts to de-congest the overcrowded prison facilities and to prevent the spread of the
pandemic in Ghana's prisons.

SWOOP AERO

This project led by Swoop Aero operates a multi-drone aeromedical logistics network to assist and support the Malawian Ministry of Health achieve national health targets for the residing 750,000 citizens in the Southern district of Chikwawa and Nsanje.

SAFE TRADE FACILITY

This project led by TradeMark East Africa focuses on the postCovid recovery phase, aiming to expand to the African Continent by mainstreaming safe trade across the continent to bouncing back better post Covid-19.

INCLUSION DES TALIBES AU MALI ET AU SENEGAL
This project led by Secours Islamique France aims to address a deficit in educational governance and respond to a societal inclusion issue by producing a replicable strategy for the Sahel.

BAROMETRE DU PLURALISME CULTUREL ET RELIGIEUX
This project led by Observatoire Pharos aims to measure the intensity of identity tensions within a society, and its ability to
absorb shocks between different sets of values to preserve the common good.

#CORONAVIRUSFACTS ALLIANCE
This project led by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) is an alliance which unites 99 fact-checking organizations from all over the world in publishing, sharing and translating facts surrounding the novel coronavirus.

The third edition in numbers

• 117 hours of live broadcasting (close to 5 days chronologically)
• 178 debate sessions and project pitches
• 12,000 participants
• 151 countries represented
• More than 50 heads of state and government
• 12 international organisations
• 100 projets presented
• 10 selected projets supported in 2021