🌍 New #SolutionSpaces article: "When Rules Are Global, Opportunities Are Global: The Business Imperative for Multilateralism." In an increasingly fragmented world, one truth remains: global business needs global rules. From climate change to digital transformation, companies are navigating a landscape shaped by geopolitical tension and regulatory uncertainty. Yet the call from the private sector is clear: Multilateralism is not a nice-to-have — it is essential infrastructure for long-term competitiveness, investment security, and inclusive growth. In our latest article, Agnes Eschment, Managing Director (GSI), and Dr. Sebastian Schwark, Senior Advisor (GSI), explore why a rules-based international order is a business imperative — and how forward-looking firms are already recognizing their stake in strengthening multilateral cooperation. 📌 Featuring examples from the WTO, the EU Single Market, and the Montreal Protocol, the piece outlines: ☑️ Why fragmented regulation undermines innovation ☑️ How global agreements unlock sustainable growth ☑️ What’s at stake if we let multilateralism erode 👉 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dtmhyYAS 💬 We welcome your thoughts and reactions in the comments — because shaping solutions starts with dialogue. Christian Kastrop Vidisha Mishra Mateo Rodriguez Rémy Alexandre Weber World Trade Organization United Nations International Chamber of Commerce International Labour Organization WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development UNDP UN Climate Change European Commission The Brookings Institution #Multilateralism #BusinessLeadership #GlobalGovernance #SustainableGrowth #DigitalEconomy #ClimateAction #WTO #UNGA80 #GSIatUNGA
Global Solutions Initiative
Think Tanks
Berlin, Berlin 13,666 followers
Research-based policies to the G20, the G7, and beyond
About us
The Global Solutions Initiative is a global, non-profit and non-partisan platform for ideas. It advances global economic, environmental, and social prosperity by connecting thought leaders and decision makers, visionaries and pragmatists. Headquartered in Berlin, the Initiative proposes research-based policies to the G20, the G7, and beyond. Imprint/Legal Notice: https://www.global-solutions-initiative.org/imprint/
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- Berlin, Berlin
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- 2017
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🌍 Strengthening Africa–Europe Cooperation: GSI at the High-Level Dinner-Dialogue in New York As part of our broader engagement during #UNGeneralAssembly week, the Global Solutions Initiative is honored and excited ✨ to co-organize and take part in the Africa–Europe High-Level Dinner-Dialogue — a strategic and intimate exchange among 20 high-level participants dedicated to rethinking cross-continental collaboration. 🗓️ Taking place just weeks ahead of two pivotal meetings — the G20 Summit in South Africa and the 7th African Union–European Union Summit of Heads of State and Government in Luanda, Angola — the dinner offers a timely opportunity to explore how Africa and Europe can work more closely together to address shared priorities — from climate action and health resilience to sustainable economic development. As the multilateral system faces growing fragmentation, we believe the Africa–Europe partnership holds powerful potential to serve as a 🌐stabilizing and forward-looking force, offering leadership on global challenges through joint solutions. We value our deepening collaboration with the Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) and see this exchange as an important step on the #RoadToLuanda25 — and beyond. 🚀 #GSI #GlobalSolutions #AfricaEurope #Multilateralism #PolicyThatWorks #ClimateAction #HealthResilience #SustainableDevelopment #UNGeneralAssembly #GSIatUNGA Christian Kastrop Agnes Eschment Susanne Staufer Vidisha Mishra Stefanie Lassak G20 South Africa T20 South Africa
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Global Solutions Initiative reposted this
✨ Announcing the T20 South Africa Summit! This flagship event of the T20 will take place on 13-14 November in Johannesburg. Hosted by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD), and the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), this gathering will bring together government leaders, national and international think tanks, academics, and representatives from various sectors as we unpack the policy recommendations presented to the G20 this year and chart a path forward. ➡️ To register your interest in attending, please visit https://lnkd.in/dW72DEmU #T20Summit #G20SouthAfrica
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🌐 Who truly benefits from the data economy, and what would it take to make it more inclusive, just, and sustainable? At #UNGA80, these questions could not be more timely. 📢 In a new article for Tech Policy Press, Vidisha Mishra, Director of Policy & Outreach at the Global Solutions Initiative, Sarah Nicole (Project Liberty), and Samuel Vance-Law (Decentralization Research Center) explore how UNGA80 could shift power in the data economy. Building on the insights from our recent UNDP-ITU Digital@UNGA event, the authors examine how emerging frameworks such as data cooperatives and citizen-focused digital infrastructure can provide genuine alternatives to current extractive data systems by placing people at the center of how their data is used. Real-world examples, such as Estonia’s interoperable X-Road and agricultural data cooperatives in India, demonstrate what’s achievable. However, without clear policy frameworks, modernized cooperative laws, and public funding, these initiatives remain isolated, while concentrated power persists. During the UN's International Year of Cooperatives (2025) and as AI development heightens the stakes around high-quality data, we believe this is a moment to act not just reflect. 📌 The GSI is committed to advancing fair, forward-looking digital governance across the G7, G20 and multilateral forums. 🗝 The tools exist. The lessons are clear. The opportunity is now. Read now: https://lnkd.in/dkshe3ZF Christian Kastrop Agnes Eschment Mateo Rodriguez Susanne Staufer Rémy Alexandre Weber Sarah Nicole Nicole Manger Ole Spies Stefanie Lassak Project Liberty 1014 - space for ideas Data2X Aapti Institute, Data2X, Data Privacy Brasil, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data International Telecommunication Union UNDP United Nations United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies UN 2.0 | United Nations Observer Research Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Asian Development Bank Institute Foreign Policy Global Health Hub Germany #GSI #UNGA80 #DigitalGovernance #DataEconomy #DataCooperatives #TechPolicy #AI #DigitalJustice #PolicyThatWorks #GlobalSolutions #InternationalYearOfCooperatives #Multilateralism
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Global Solutions Initiative reposted this
Managing Director, Global Solutions Initiative & Member of the Extended Board, Kiezbezogener Netzwerkaufbau e.V.
🌍 Woke up this morning in #NYC, switched on the local TV news (yes, that still exists folks!) and right there: #UNGA80. We are heading into a packed week of discussions, with UNGA80 and #ClimateWeekNYC running in full speed. I’m excited to be on the ground together with Christian Kastrop and Vidisha Mishra from the Global Solutions Initiative . We’re here to engage in conversations that speak directly to the core mission at GSI: ➡️ Rethinking global governance for a fairer, more sustainable, and future-oriented world. Over the next few days, we’ll be participating in a range of events that reflect the urgency and the opportunity of this moment: 🌱 Generation Innovation – an interactive evening on holistic capital for a planet-positive future. Where are the untapped opportunities for financing eco-innovation? How can we unlock solutions across generations and regions? Brought together byThe DOO,Africa Climate Venturess,GIIN,Impact Europe, and TED Countdown. 🤝 Tackling Future Threats in a Multipolar World – a high-level side event on collaborative leadership for security, health, climate, and finance. Hosted by The Elders Foundation, theAfrica-Europe Foundation, RANA, and others. 🇩🇪🇺🇸 A New Era for the German-American Partnership? – where we’ll join a timely discussion with Metin Hakverdi on the evolving transatlantic relationship. 🌍 Africa–Europe High-Level Dinner Dialogue – which we’re proud to co-host with the Africa-Europe Foundation , continuing our deep engagement in shaping just and balanced cooperation. 🔍 New frameworks for justice and multilateral renewal – at the Open Society Foundations and Foreign Policy breakfast, where leaders from philanthropy, civil society, and policy will reflect on the future of democratic participation and the rules-based global order. Event hopping is a given at #UNGA80. Everyone here will most definitely break their personal step records. Amidst all the noise, what a little action hero reminded me of: We are connecting the dots and build networks to solve shared problems. And with great power comes great responsibility. I hope we will see a lot of that during this High Level Week. #UNGA80 #ClimateWeekNYC #GlobalSolutions #GovernanceInnovation #FutureOfMultilateralism #JustTransitions #GlobalPartnerships
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Global Solutions Initiative reposted this
🌍This is the moment for Africa-Europe – the resounding takeaway from our Women Leaders convening this morning in New York, kicking off the high-level week of #UNGA80. 🎙In a context of global transformation, the Africa-Europe Partnership has the potential to act as a multiplier of progress for our shared development. Together Women Leaders provided a guiding voice and blueprint for action to shape the next chapter of cross-continental relations on the #RoadtoLuanda25. ▶️Listen to our leaders address the centrality of multilateralism, global trade system reform, women in peacebuilding, sustainable investment and much more 🔗 bit.ly/3VqPmoi Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Rebeca Grynspan, Bineta Diop, Hafsat Abiola, Fatima Denton, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Musimbi Kanyoro, Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Dymphna van der Lans, Bitania Lulu Berhanu, Trish Malloch-Brown, Wanjira Mathai, Sabine Mauderer, Pat Mitchell, Chanda Mwale, Lillian Kidane, Leah Seligmann, Vera Songwe, Laurence Tubiana, Richard Amor, Sandrine BOUTTIER STREF, Katrin Harvey, Serah Makka, Binaifer Nowrojee, Eloise Todd, Vidisha Mishra, Piera Tortora, Andrea Konstantinidi, The Elders Foundation, Tariye Gbadegesin, Holy Ranaivozanany, Paul Walton, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations, New York
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🌐 Digital@UNGA: Exploring Scalable, People-Centered Models for a Fair Data Economy This week in New York, the Global Solutions Initiative contributed to one of the first affiliate sessions of Digital@UNGA, held on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly. As part of our ongoing engagement in advancing inclusive and sustainable digital governance, Vidisha Mishra and Mateo Rodriguez from the GSI team co-led the session: “Scalable Alternatives: Governance and Business Models for a Fair Data Economy.” The session brought together global policymakers, civil society leaders, academics, funders, and technology builders to explore how people-centered governance models can transform the digital economy. GSI’s Vidisha Mishra (Director for Policy and Outreach) moderated one session that explored a key question: even though alternatives like data cooperatives and citizen-centered digital infrastructure exist, what hurdles — regulatory, cultural, and financial — must be overcome to scale these models globally? The event underscored a simple truth: the economy runs on data, but value remains concentrated in a few hands. With AI demanding higher-quality data, the window for systemic change is now. We were proud to co-host this dialogue with our friends at Aapti Institute, Data2X, Data Privacy Brasil, the Decentralization Research Center, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, Project Liberty and 1014 - space for ideas Grateful to our distinguished speakers, including Ambassador Philip Thigo, MBS (Office of the Special Envoy on Technology, Kenya), Francesco S. (United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies), Gayan Peiris (UNDP), Li Z. (United Nations Human Rights UN B Tech), Doug O'Brien (National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA)), Astha Kapoor (Aapti Institute), and Stefaan Verhulst, PhD (The GovLab). This work feeds directly into GSI’s agenda on Digital Infrastructure Solutions, developed with Project Liberty, to advance a more just and inclusive digital future. Together, we are working to ensure individuals and communities have not just a voice, but also a choice and a stake in shaping their digital lives. 💡 Photo credit: Matthew Gilbertson Christian Kastrop Agnes Eschment Susanne Staufer Ole Spies Stefanie Lassak Rémy Alexandre Weber Sarah Nicole Nicole Manger Leslie Nii Lantey M. #DigitalUNGA #UNGA80 #FairDataEconomy #DigitalInfrastructure #DataAgency #GlobalSolutions #GSIatUNGA
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Global Solutions Initiative reposted this
Head of Youth-Led Change // Young Global Changers // Director: Young Social Entrepreneurship & Civil Society Programs
For superior returns, greener economies, and community resilience ... Invest in Women! A few days ago I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Lelemba Phiri—a South Africa–based gender lens investor who has backed more than 30 women-led businesses and is a leading voice on inclusive finance. She also delivered an inspiring presentation during our climate finance workshop, taking place during South Africa's G20 presidency. Lelemba reminded us of a stark reality: - Female-led businesses receive only 4% of all investments, often facing tougher terms and higher costs of capital. - Yet, they consistently outperform: for every $1 invested, women-led startups generate $0.78 in revenue, compared to just $0.31 for male-led startups. - That’s nearly 2.5x more revenue per dollar invested—and historically, women-led companies also show lower default rates and stronger stakeholder relationships. Importantly, women reinvest up to 90% of their income into their families and communities, fostering inclusive supply chains, building local capacity, and mentoring the next generation. When it comes to climate innovation in Africa, women are at the forefront of sustainable practices. Yet they remain the most underfunded demographic. An excellent example is the work of another workshop contributor, Helena Kandjumbwa at Mukuru Clean Stoves - a women-led Kenyan social enterprise tackling household air pollution and malaria. As Lelemba put it best: 👉 “Investing in women is not philanthropy. It is the most direct path to superior returns and genuine community resilience.” At the Global Solutions Initiative, we’re committed to advancing climate finance and spotlighting solutions like these. Follow our work at: https://lnkd.in/dJFrgT8U Thanks to Dr Lelemba Phiri for the wonderful inputs! Thanks to Eva Vander Giessen for connecting us. Thanks to Rémy Alexandre Weber, Juliette Maresté Laura Herde and everyone at Global Solutions Initiative for the excellent support around our South Africa engagement. And to all the great female contributors to our workshop, among them Pamla Gopaul, Sandra Paulsen, Kirsten Pearson, Elisabeth Hege, Shuva Raha, Dr. Miriam W. Oiro Omolo. Thank you to Stiftung Mercator GmbH Mercator for supporting our work around Global Sustainability Agendas and Identifying and Overcoming Financing Gaps and Obstacles.
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Global Solutions Initiative reposted this
Leading Innovation and Global AI Governance 🇩🇪🌍 German Federal Foreign Office // Fellow @Global Solutions Initiative (G20) & @Technical University of Munich // Contributing Member of Women4EthicalAI @UNESCO
📢 Just out in Tech Policy Press: Excited to share that Vidisha Mishra and I published a new Policy Brief to help kickstart AI discussions at #UNGeneralAssembly next week. In our analysis, we explore the state of AI Governance at the UN with the adoption of the #AIModalitiesResolution. We also outline concrete action steps towards an inclusive and impactful #IndependentScientificPanelonAI and #GlobalDialogueonAIGovernance. ‼️Read the full article in the comments below.👇 Feedback is very welcome! 🤝 Having been actively involved in the dynamic negotiations over the past eight months, the adoption of this UN Resolution is a significant joint success! It gives me hope that cross-regional agreement and unified action is still possible, even with such a heatedly debated topic like AI amidst the global race for technology and policy dominance. It will now be critical to: 1️⃣ Adequately resource UN entities amidst ongoing budgetary debates and #UN80Initiative. 2️⃣ Create meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement opportunities to strengthen public trust and credibility, and account for all diverse perspectives. 3️⃣ Strengthen transparency and accountability around the Global Dialogue, the Scientific Panel, and voluntary finacial and in-kind contributions for AI capacity building. Creating meaningful synergies with existing forums in the OECD - OCDE, #G20, the AI Safety Institutes Network and the AI Summit Series will also be essential. ⏩ What's Next?: 🗽 Next week on September 25, member states and the multi-stakeholder community will convene in New York by the invitation of the President of the UN General Assembly to launch joint efforts towards the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. The first Global Dialogue will then take place at ITU's AI for Good Summit in Geneva in 2026. 🇿🇦 In November, South Africa will host the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, with a significant focus on digital inclusion, Digital Public Infrastructure, and how technology can be leveraged for sustainable development. 🇮🇳 In February, India will host the #AIImpactSummit, continuing the impactful series of global AI Summits that was started by the UK on AI Safety and lastly hosted by France with a focus on public-interest AI. 🌍 The Global Dialogue has the potential to streamline insights from these processes, and be the first truly global and inclusive forum by giving voice to all the states and stakeholders currently not represented in any of the existing AI governance initiatives. 🇺🇳 Despite its need for structural reform: the #UN remains the unique platform to facilitate this momentum and convene all stakeholders across regions and sectors at one table. Let's go #UNGA80 ! Amandeep Gill, Tomas Lamanauskas, Kersten Jauer, Robert Opp, Alena K., Amb.Prof.Muhammadou M.O. Kah, Ph.D., Christian Kastrop, Fadi Daou, Paola Gálvez Callirgos🌐, Mehdi Snene, Ph.D., Moritz Carl Fromageot, Judith Peterka, Urs Gasser, Joanna Bryson, Markus B. Siewert.
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🇿🇦 💯 Advancing Climate Finance and Sustainable Development in Africa The Global Solutions Initiative just concluded a successful workshop in Mossel Bay, South Africa on Climate Finance, Green Growth, and Economic Development in Africa, bringing together leading think tankers, experts and practitioners. Part of our project on Global Sustainability Agendas: Identifying and Overcoming Financing Gaps and Obstacles supported by Stiftung Mercator GmbH, the workshop took place on the sidelines of the fourth Meeting of the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group. Over two days of rich exchange, participants examined financing gaps, the high cost of capital, and the structural barriers facing Africa’s green transition while also exploring opportunities such as South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and the continent’s role in the upcoming G20 presidency. Key outcomes included: ✅ Shared alignment on the most urgent challenges and opportunities for Africa’s green development. Putting the needs of individual countries first. ✅ Concrete proposals for outputs from joint publications to advocacy briefs to joint output sessions ✅ Initial steps toward a shared roadmap for collective action, linking African perspectives to global sustainability agendas. We also met with participants of our Solutions Lab (a GSI/GIZ collaboration), which explores how efforts toward sustainable transformation can also deliver on reducing inequality sparking some truly fascinating ideas for action. We are proud to have brought together such a diverse and committed community of practice. Thank you to to all experts and contributors: Helge Sigurd Næss-Schmidt, Nicolas J.A. Buchoud, Dr Lelemba Phiri, Pamla Gopaul, Elisabeth Hege, Nithi Nesadurai, Helena Kandjumbwa, Dr. Miriam W. Oiro Omolo, Sandra Paulsen, Shuva Raha, Mikatekiso Kubayi, Kirsten Pearson. Many thanks and congrats to our project team Rémy Alexandre Weber and Ole Spies. This is only the beginning; we look forward to continuing the collaboration as we work toward systemic solutions for financing sustainable development. Christian Kastrop Agnes Eschment Susanne Staufer Vidisha Mishra Stefanie Lassak Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), T20 South Africa, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Institute for Global Dialogue, IDDRI, Climate Action Network Southeast Asia (CANSEA), The African Policy Research Institute, Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) G20 South Africa
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