Our Common Agenda Discussion Series – Bahá’í International Community and the Coalition for the UN We Need
Conference
After the successful and comprehensive series of dialogues hosted by the President of the General Assembly in February and March, it is clear that continued, focused discussion is necessary on the implications and opportunities presented in Secretary-General António Guterres’ report Our Common Agenda. It is with this in mind, and with…
5 May 2022@ 8:30 – 10:00 AM EDT
Location
Online
Host/Contributor
Baha’i International Community, Coalition for the UN We Need
Our Common Agenda Discussion Series
Bahá’í International Community & Coalition for the UN We Need
“Humanity’s welfare – and indeed, humanity’s very future – depend on solidarity and working together as a global family to achieve common goals.” – Our Common Agenda After the successful and comprehensive series of dialogues hosted by the President of the General Assembly in February and March, it is clear that continued, focused discussion is necessary on the implications and opportunities presented in Secretary-General António Guterres’ report Our Common Agenda. Representatives from Member States, the United Nations System, and Civil Society concurrently expressed hope and concern, encouragement and hesitation, and optimism and doubt regarding the next steps in the life of this report. It is with this in mind, and with an aim towards deepening the conversation, that over a dozen organizations have come together to host a monthly series. Set to begin in May of 2022, the series represents an opportunity for Member States, the United Nations, and Civil Society to consider the most salient points emerging from Our Common Agenda, exploring areas requiring further consultation, including implications at local and national levels. At the end of each off-the-record discussion, a two-page unattributed summary will be created as a substantive contribution to the process. We aim to create a final compilation report in advance of the proposed 2023 Summit of the Future. Background Our Common Agenda outlines a range of options that highlight the imperative of networked and inclusive multi-stakeholder action. Among the recommendations, the report emphasizes the need for a new social contract anchored in human rights, renewed solidarity between peoples and future generations, a new global deal to deliver public goods and address major risks, as well as proposals for a United Nations more suited to the needs of the 21st century. The five two-day sessions convened by the President of the General Assembly in February and March of 2022 allowed Member States to articulate views on many of these proposals in an open and inclusive forum. These fruitful discussions demonstrated that, on many topics, more discussion is necessary in order to build a strong consensus in advance of the proposed 2023 Summit of the Future. This series is meant as one contribution to the process. Modalities This discussion series will be offered in a hybrid format, online and in-person at the Bahá’í International Community’s offices in New York. Each 90 minute session will bring together key lead-off contributors to focus on different thematic areas or specific proposals either from the report directly, or as additional suggestions, followed by open discussion. The first meeting will serve to launch the series and explore options to enhance the contributions of civil society and other citizen representatives to strengthen multilateralism. Subsequent gatherings will focus on issues of specific interest to the various partners including, for example, solidarity between peoples and future generations, governance of the commons and public goods, the changing nature of risk and resilience, and others. The topics will be proposed by series-partners and selected by a small advisory group. The series will take place on a roughly monthly basis until the summer of 2023. Proposed Meeting 1: Widening the Horizon: Our Path to a Summit of the Future [5 May 2022, 8:30-10:00 EDT] Our Common Agenda, requested by Heads of State and Government in the Member States’ UN75 Political Declaration, highlights this moment as “an inflection point in history.” Among its proposals, it calls for a high-level, multi-stakeholder Summit of the Future “to advance ideas for governance arrangements in the areas of international concern” specifically where these arrangements “are nascent or require updating.” Present circumstances, from the impacts of a global pandemic, the effects of climate change, rising inequalities, and questions related to collective security, to name a few, are prompting greater awareness of humanity’s interdependence. They are also compelling the body politic to devise new arrangements and solutions that address the needs of the time through greater inclusivity, coherence, and collaboration. Against such a backdrop, the Summit of the Future will provide an important arena, both in its preparatory events and consultations as well as in the Summit itself to explore vital questions surrounding humanity’s vision for a prosperous future and the critical steps needed to bring about such a vision. The session will provide a platform for participants to express their expectations and aspirations surrounding the Summit, to consider the seven proposed high-level tracks that might inform the discussions during the Summit, as well as to identify other topics worthy of consideration. The discussion will identify those recommendations that could most readily serve as points of consensus and thereby a source of hope and movement in fulfilling the collective ambitions articulated within the United Nations system. It will also explore the concrete steps that will need to be taken in the lead up to the Summit as well as the role of various stakeholders, including Civil Society’s contributions, towards advancing its aims. This session will represent an opportunity for blue-sky thinking around the potential of the Summit of the Future, offering a vision towards which we can work in the coming months. Lead-Off Speakers (to be invited once the co-sponsors list is fleshed out)- María Fernanda Espinosa, Co-Chair of the Coalition for the UN We Need
- H.E. Mr. Agustín Santos Maraver, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Spain
- Dr. Azza Karam, Member of the High Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism
- What is our vision of the future to which we hope this Summit could contribute to?
- What would be the role of different stakeholders, including Member States and Civil Society incontributing to its preparation? How can we ensure a diversity of perspectives is reflected in the designof the Summit and in its actual proceedings?
- Among the seven high-level tracks outlined in Our Common Agenda that could form the basis of theSummit’s agenda, what topics provide the greatest potential for consensus in fulfilling the collectiveambitions articulated in the UN system?
- What ideas for governance arrangements in the areas of international concern require updating and couldform part of the Summit’s deliberations?
- What other topics not outlined in the report are also worthy of consideration?
Downloads
OCA Discussion Series Concept Note
OCA Series Program
OCA Series Flyer