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At the Paris Peace Forum, grassroots activists highlight urgent issues
Global gatherings like the UN General Assembly, Munich Security Conference, and the World Economic Forum have no shortage of power players engaged in very high-level discussion and debate about the state of the world. The Paris Peace Forum, which wrapped this weekend in the City of Lights, is no exception. The host country’s President Emmanuel Macron was on deck to chat about climate change with Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky joined via video to remind everyone at the Peace Forum that a war still rages 1200 miles away, and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned of the dangers of extremist content online.
But the gathering in Paris also put grassroots activists front and center, literally. As you entered the Palais Brongniart, the stunning 19th-century structure that has served as home to the PPF since its inception in 2018, the first sight was a sea of kiosks, each staffed by representatives from more than 50 organizations from around the world who are working at local levels to combat the most pressing problems of our time.
One Qatar-based organization funds projects that promote female leadership—from farms to small business ownership. Another group based in Helsinki is training people in Ukraine to process evidence and testimony of Russian war crimes. From climate change to responsible AI, many of the conversations in the foyer of the palace were as captivating as the ones happening on the main stage a flight below.
Each year, the PPF accepts applications for its “Space for Solutions,” giving physical space inside the venue for these organizations to network with some of the most influential players on the planet.
Aurélie Villaespesa, Projects Officer at the Paris Peace Forum, explained to GZERO’s Tony Maciulis that more than 4000 organizations applied this year. Roughly 50 of the very best were invited to join the forum and share their work, message, and mission.
PPF gave GZERO a chance to roam through the space and meet some of the grassroots gamechangers proving that solutions don’t just come from inside the palace—they often rise from the people.
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China is open for business: Chinese Vice Premier at Davos
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60 from an undisclosed room at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
What was China Vice Premier Liu He's message at Davos?
The message was that China is open for business, supports entrepreneurship, wants to engage in the global economy. Open, open, open. If you were just listening to the translation, you'd think it was a Western leader. Didn't mention COVID once. Sounds great. Kind of extraordinary given the reality of what China's been through over the last couple of years, but certainly tailored message to the audience that he was seeing.
Is Ukraine dominating Davos again?
Well, you don't see the same level of money being spent on Ukraine here at Davos. There isn't a Russian war crimes House like there was last year. But let's be clear, there are no Russians in attendance, not one. They're not allowed. They're not invited. Beyond that, Ukraine, and particularly the impact of the Russian war on the global economy, on the Europeans, on global security, given that we are in the middle of Europe, that is a very big deal here at Davos. I would say it is by far the single most important issue being discussed, especially if you include the direct knock-on issues as they affect the economies here in Europe.
Is Ursula von der Leyen the new face of Europe?
I would argue yes. Of course, Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, believes that he should be the new face of Europe, and what a face it is. But after Merkel stepped down, and for years and years was considered really the leader of Europe, I think that the fact that the EU, the European Union has become so much stronger in its governance when I talk about fiscal policy or defense policy or health policy or energy policy, and the fact that it does have a leader and that leader is von der Leyen. She may not be as well known as Macron internationally, but for anyone that is actually doing business with Europe, either in public policy, direct government to government relations, or in their economy and investment, I would say von der Leyen has actually become the more important figure. Sorry about that, Emmanuel, but you can work on it.
Putin’s war crimes solidify West’s military support for Ukraine
For former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, there is no such thing as a partial victory for the Ukrainians. “Ukraine needs to push as far as it possibly can,” Stubb tells Ian Bremmer on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
And at a time when some might be feeling "war fatigue," it seems that Putin's lack of regard for human rights never fails to rally the cause against him. "As long as he continues this, I think the support of the West and the rest of the world is going to be steadfast," Stubb says.
It’s not just about Ukrainian sovereignty, Stubb argues, it’s about putting an unhinged dictator with the nuclear codes in check. “If Putin gets away with the nuclear threats or whatever he's doing, he's just going to continue to do more of the same.”
Look for the entire interview with Stubb, and more voices from Davos, in an upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television.
Russian war crimes exhibit at Davos reveals civilian toll in Ukraine
As the 2022 World Economic Forum begins in the tiny ski village of Davos, Switzerland, the war in Ukraine is not only top of mind but also on display in the heart of this Alpine town.
Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist Victor Pinchuk is funding the installation of thousands of images captured during the bloodiest days of Russia’s invasion and war. Called “Russian War Crimes House,” the exhibit is located in the same building previously known as “Russia House,” a place where oligarchs once entertained forum attendees.
The Russian delegation was not invited to this year’s gathering because of the ongoing war, so the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and PinchukArtCentre seized the opportunity to convert the space into an awareness campaign about civilian deaths in Ukraine.
The exhibit includes more than 4,600 images collected over the past several weeks, according to Artistic Director Björn Geldhof.
“We are battling also against misinformation, and one of the things we need to share is what really goes on. And this is what this exhibition is about,” Geldhof told GZERO Media.
Organizers hope the estimated 2,000 public and private sector leaders gathered in Davos this week will stop by to see the photos and take their message home.
This is “not only about survival of Ukraine. Ukraine is defending those values that we stand for,” Geldhof said. “And if we want these values to survive Ukraine, needs to be victorious.”
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Russians committing "massive war crimes" in Ukraine
Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Santa Monica, California:
Has Russia committed genocide in Ukraine?
Well, that's for the legal experts to sort out. There's a somewhat more liberal use of that particular term in American political debate than in Europe. In Europe, we are somewhat more careful with the use of that particular word for obvious historical reasons. But there's no question whatsoever that massive war crimes have been committed, and that primarily Putin has committed the number one crime on the international law, and that is aggression against another country. No question whatsoever.
Are there any prospects for peace?
Not at the moment. Putin made clear the other day that he doesn't see any reason to continue the talks that were somewhat limited in Istanbul a couple of weeks ago. And he's clearly now aiming for a major military offensive in the east where he is amassing lots of forces in order to do what he hoped would be a decisive defeat for Ukrainians. That will decide a lot of the outcome of the rest of this particular conflict.
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Russian war crimes push West to escalate sanctions and Ukraine support
With evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine mounting, how will the West respond? Is Imran Khan done in Pakistan? Is Elon Musk joining the Twitter board good or bad news for free speech? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.
With evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine mounting, how will the West respond?
With further escalation. We're a month and a half into this war and every week, the most consistent thing we're seeing is further economic sanctions from the West, further diplomatic isolation from the West with all these Russian diplomats being thrown out of countries, and of course, further military support for Ukraine. I think that continues to accelerate and step up from the Europeans. We are moving towards oil and coal being cut off from Russia, though not gas, which is still the critical issue and the big money spinner but that's where we're heading right now. And of course, that also means that negotiations are very far from what we're talking about.
Is Imran Khan done in Pakistan?
Well, not yet, not yet. We will see where the Supreme Court decides to rule. On balance, I still think that they're going to just reject it and then he's out on the basis of the confidence vote, which will go against him in parliament. But if that doesn't happen, then you're going to have new elections. And if he's taking a scorched earth policy saying that this is all about Americans with foreign intervention to take them out, which is fake news, but very, very provocative in Pakistan, anything could happen. So it is a gambit. I understand it, and it's all about him, right? We see a lot of those politicians these days and it never goes well for the country. By the way, Pakistan's economy is in free fall right now and there ain't no way they're where IMF support in this environment. That's really unfortunate, especially at a time we have all this inflation.
Is Elon Musk joining the Twitter board good or bad news for free speech?
I'm actually going to say it's good news for free speech, narrowly defined. I'm not sure it's good news for civil society. I mean, for example, free speech is one piece of the anyone should be able to say anything they want and you don't want people to be thrown off of a platform for having political opinions. On the other hand, there's an immense amount of disinformation, which is ill intended, which comes from by bots and trolls, which don't come from real people. I don't think Elon Musk is going to be good for that at all. I mean, for example, I have no problem with free speech for actual human beings, but I'd love to see everyone on Twitter verified. So if you aren't a real person, you don't have free speech. There's no free speech for bots. I suspect that Elon Musk is very uninterested in addressing that. So we have different problems. On balance, I think this is problematic for Twitter, but hey, he gets to spend his money. We'll see where it goes.
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