The Third Paris Peace Forum: building a better world after the pandemic

Highlights of the 2020 Forum

11 November 2020

• 2 p.m.: Opening ceremony

12 November 2020

• 9 - 10 a.m.: Strengthening the multilateral health architecture: launch of the “One-Health” High-Level Expert Council with Jean-Yves Le Drian (Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs), Heiko Maas (German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs), Monique Eloit (Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)) and Christophe Deloire (Reporters Without Borders )
• 9:15 - 10 a.m.: Aligning finance with the SDGs and Paris Agreement with Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State for Tourism, French Nationals Abroad and Francophonie
• 10:15 - 11:15 a.m.: “The Paris Charter and European security architecture, thirty years on: What remains of the Helsinki spirit?” with Jean-Yves Le Drian.
• 2 - 3:30 p.m.: Official ceremony in the presence of the President of the French Republic, Ms Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission) and Ms Kristalina Georgieva (IMF)
• 5 - 6 p.m.: COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator: COVID-19 vaccines, tests and therapies, the global public good solution with the President of the French Republic, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus (World Health Organization), Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission), Erna Solberg (Prime Minister of Norway) and Melinda Gates (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).

13 November 2020

• 9:30-10:30 a.m.: The Christchurch Call - Defining the next steps collectively with Jacinda Ardern (Prime Minister of New Zealand) and Henri Verdier (French Ambassador for Digital Technology)

• 1 - 2 p.m.: Rethinking value chains in a post-COVID-19 world with Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness
• 3 - 4 p.m.: A path towards trust and security in cyberspace: building further upon the Paris Call and the achievements of the United Nations with Jean-Yves Le Drian
• 3 - 3:45 p.m.: Like a phoenix from the ashes? Multilateralism in a (post-)COVID world with Clément Beaune, Minister of State for European Affairs

The aims of the 2020 Forum

The Paris Peace Forum contributes to the momentum launched by French President, Emmanuel Macron, to reaffirm the importance of multilateralism and collective action.

In 2020, it is primarily focusing on the joint response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main issues discussed throughout the Forum are the solutions to recover from the pandemic: improving global health governance, rethinking our economic models and making them more environmentally friendly, and ensuring that data and social media are solutions and not threats.

In 2020, the Forum is therefore focusing on projects and initiatives from around the world aimed at addressing the public health, economic and social crisis linked to COVID-19, and improving our collective resilience.

At the Forum, the “Finance in Common” summit on 12 November 2020 will highlight the role of public development banks in reconciling the essential short-term responses to the crisis and the long-term recovery measures that will affect the planet and our societies.

100 projects selected for the 2020 edition

All key global governance actors, including public development banks, States, international organizations, NGOs, companies, foundations, philanthropic organizations, religious groups, trade unions, think tanks and universities were invited to submit innovative solutions in response to the 2020 Call for Projects.

The Call for Projects was opened in March 2020 and received an unprecedented number of proposals: 850, from all types of stakeholders including NGOs, companies, international organizations, States and local governments. This is a sign of a great reservoir of international cooperation and determination to address the crisis collectively, despite the pandemic.

Of the 100 selected projects, 46 concern immediate responses to the public health, social and economic crisis, particularly focusing on the three priorities of this year’s Forum:

• Improving global health governance;
• Using and regulating the digital tools and platforms developed to respond to the crisis;
• Supporting civil society and economic activity during a pandemic.

Other selected initiatives provide responses to many challenges that did not go away when COVID-19 struck or which have even become more acute: development finance, climate efforts, ocean and biodiversity protection, access to drinking water, regulation and security of outer space, regulation of data and artificial intelligence, cyber security, education governance, and gender equality.

Click here to find out more about the selected projects.

More information on the Paris Peace Forum

The Paris Peace Forum contributes to the momentum launched by French President, Emmanuel Macron, to reaffirm the importance of multilateralism and collective action. It is built around three pillars:

• Objectives: encouraging international cooperation and collective action for a peaceful world;
• Approaches: presentations, discussions and progress on innovative, real-world solutions;
• Ambitions: enhancing, rethinking or creating new rules, standards and best practices.

A new digital experience

This third Paris Peace Forum is taking place online, given the COVID-19 epidemic. To allow the 10,000 expected participants to enjoy a physical experience similar to that of a complete event, the organizers have designed an innovative and interactive platform. “Although the initial event strictly complied with health rules and limits to the number of people present, we have chosen to take a zero-risk approach to avoid any possible contamination,” says Justin Vaïsse, the Forum’s Director-General.