Founder’s Note >

Welcome. The Global Creative Leadership Summit, now in its fourth year, is a three-day think tank and discussion forum aimed at addressing the challenges and the opportunities that confront us in our era of globalization. The Summit brings together a multidisciplinary cast of world leaders who provide insight into such international issues as the financial crisis and climate change while sharing the best practices of their respective fields and proposing practical solutions.

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Since 2005, the Louise Blouin Foundation, with the support of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, has organized the annual Global Creative Leadership Summit to identify and implement solutions based on international best practices to the challenges arising from globalization.

The Summit brings heads of state together with representatives of global agencies and 120 leaders in the areas of science, technology, culture, business and politics. Together the delegates address the interconnected threats and challenges of the 21st century through multidisciplinary exchanges that place cultural dialogue and understanding at the fore. The open, constructive discussion facilitates the creation of cross-cultural networks committed to change and transformative action.

The Summit encourages collaboration across disciplines in an effort to spark creative thinking and to ultimately develop innovative approaches to global problems. The Summit focuses on issues as diverse as emerging global security threats, climate change, foreign policy and education, with specific attention to development and foreign policy concerns in Africa, China, Russia and the Middle East.

Over the past three years, the Summit has been honored to feature President José Manuel Barroso, of the European Commission; Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, of the Netherlands; President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, of the Republic of Iceland; President Bharrat Jagdeo, of Guyana; President Stjepan Mesic of Croatia; President Bingu wa Mutharika, of Malawi; Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, of NATO; and President Manuel Zelaya, of Honduras. In addition, the Summit has hosted a variety of distinguished international leaders, such as Nobel laureate Eric Kandel; anthropologist Jane Goodall; business leaders Harold Burson, founder of Burson-Marsteller; Henry Silverman, CEO of Realogy Corp., Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel and Lex Fenwick, CEO of Bloomberg, along with Riz Khan of Al Jazeera; David Boies, chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner and UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman. A full listing of Summit participants from 2008 can be found at:

http://www.creativeleadershipsummit.org/speakers/speakers.php

The Summit has been covered by a wide-range of media, including CNN, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times, The Economist, the BBC, and the International Herald Tribune. Although this is an intimate event, with only 120 delegates, the Summit proceedings are Web cast live and, its conclusions shape thinking, create new projects and stimulate debate across the globe. The Summit proceedings and commitments are also written up in a white paper available for download from the Summit Website.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

The Louise Blouin Media group’s collaboration with the Foundation has established a 12-month program for potential sponsors and advertisers. Corporations have the opportunity to sponsor the 2009 Summit Gala and the panel discussion sessions.

Corporate sponsors are given the opportunity to engage in workshops and participate in proactive discussions with global stakeholders in both the private and public sectors at the Global Creative Leadership Summit. Further opportunities for exposure are available through live blogs and Webcasts of panel discussions, as well as through publicity on the Global Creative Leadership Summit and Louise Blouin Foundation Web sites.

For more information on the Global Creative Leadership Summit or on Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Alexandra Zafiriou.

For the fourth consecutive year the Louise Blouin Foundation will host the Global Creative Leadership Summit, bringing together an unparalleled group of participants from multi-disciplinary fields that includes heads of state, Nobel laureates, global CEOs, leading scholars, technologists, artists and diplomatic leaders. The Summit provides a unique platform to address the threats and opportunities presented by globalization focusing on topics such as: geo-economics, foreign policy, education, health, poverty and the environment. The Summit works with developed and developing nations alike on an ongoing basis in order to best address global issues.

The Summit has already attracted a wide range of press, including CNN, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times, the Economist, BBC, and the International Herald Tribune, and its proceedings are webcast to the world.

This invitation-only, multi-disciplinary event brings together the world’s greatest minds, with the goal of developing solutions to global issues based on best practices and creating new partnerships and collaborations.

For press accreditation or inquiries please contact apolier@artinfo.com.

The Doha Round trade talks were initiated by the United States shortly after September 11, 2001 in the belief that greater openness, sharing and trade will increase prosperity in developing and developed nations alike, persuading those in need to realize their potential rather than turn to violence and terrorism. Although difficult to realize in a trade agreement, as we have seen over the past several years, this ambition still speaks to the central role of trade and economic development in enabling individuals and communities to better themselves and work together to reach their goals. It is only through cooperation and mutual support and trust that we can truly turn such challenges as the financial crisis, climate change, terrorism and poverty in Africa into opportunities.

With a multidisciplinary approach emphasizing culture, science, policy and economics, the Global Creative Leadership Summit seeks to identify best practices and generate innovative solutions to the challenges of globalization. Our aim is to provide a forum for discussion and reflection
among leaders of global agencies, industry, science, technology and the arts as well as heads of state to better prepare countries, corporations
and individuals for our present and future challenges.

We simply cannot afford to maintain the status quo. Our primary obstacle is the difficulty of replacing or transforming methods we have become accustomed to over decades. How can we develop measures to avoid rather than create emergencies, of which the global financial crisis is only the latest instance?

Each of these examples is local in impact or origin, but all have global ramifications. Accordingly, national governments must craft policies that go beyond local constituencies to address the global political, economic or social situation. At the same time, individuals operating at the global level, in particular heads of international agencies, must provide leadership and guidance for promulgating sound policies that take into account worldwide concerns. This need to coordinate between local and global levels applies not only to economics and security, but also to trade, development, poverty alleviation and climate change. Since weather-related catastrophes are unpredictable and affect populations across borders, since weapons of mass destruction are becoming more accessible and transportable, since prolonged poverty can create unrest in Africa with the potential to spread outside the continent, national leaders and leaders of global agencies must make greater efforts to work together.

Building on the Summit’s findings, the Foundation is working with engineers from Google and Wikipedia on the LINK Project, an online search engine and data repository for international aid agencies, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. The goal is to facilitate information sharing and collaboration on the ground by allowing participants to identify similar development programs and areas of focus. LINK will also increase aid agencies’ accountability and strengthen their efforts by enabling Internet users to rank them and comment on their work.

As for the importance of culture to scientific research, during the 2007 and 2008 Summits, the Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse and Dr. Robert Ridley, of the World Health Organization, stated that to address African nations’ local medical needs and ensure the health of the continent, it is not sufficient to rely on the distribution of medicines developed in the West for Western populations. Rather, the only viable long-term approach is to develop local research capabilities to seek solutions to culturally specific problems.

With respect to foreign policy, it is evident that America’s lack of respect for Arab and Islamic culture has fueled radicalization and conflict in the Middle East. By instigating a war in Iraq and turning a blind eye to the Palestinians’ plight, the United States, the world’s leading nation and one that aspires to be a model for others, has lost allies and support within the region. What is required to bring peace to the Middle East and repair America’s reputation is a new foreign policy that shows fairness and evenhandedness to all the nations and political groups rather than privileging one—that is, a new policy based on cultural understanding and respect.

Ethical values are also crucial in addressing the challenges of globalization, since they provide a framework for determining what is a correct action. In retrospect, it is glaringly obvious that greed at all levels contributed to the global financial crisis. Banks were willing to lend to unqualified borrowers so they could repackage the mortgages as securities and sell them, using the proceeds to feed their bottom lines and make new investments. Borrowers, meanwhile, were glad to take on the debt, assuming their homes would continue to rise in value, and the regulatory agencies saw no harm in the practice as long as everyone was making money. None of the parties involved questioned the soundness of the foundations of the enterprise. We are now bitterly aware that those foundations were shaky, and individuals who did scrutinize the system have not only avoided losses, but actually benefited from the melt-down. Trust is necessary for the financial system to work and contribute to longterm economic well being, and trust requires transparency and accountability in all business, political, cultural and economic transactions.

The Summit is committed to presenting innovative and creative approaches to the world’s pressing problems. Issues such as climate change, poverty in Africa and conflict in the Middle East cannot be solved by political or economic means alone, but rather require an awareness of cultural values, as well as the participation of science and technology in bridging long-standing divides and bringing about sustainable economic and social development. For instance, how can climate change be addressed without creating new political covenants, green technologies and competitive industries? How can poverty in Africa be alleviated without a simultaneous emphasis on education, trade and industrial development leveraging science and technology? How can conflict in the Middle East can be mediated without taking into account the culture and traditions of the Arab and Islamic world and the great value it places on land and religion?

The Summit’s principal objective is to develop practicable solutions to these and other global issues that combine an understanding of cultural and ethical values with scientific and technological innovations, while acknowledging the global implication of local actions and the importance of trade and economic development in bringing hope and dignity to communities and helping them realize their aspirations.

If we do not halt climate change, not only will our ecosystem and economy suffer harm, but the brunt of that harm will be borne by those in the developing world. If we do not address African poverty, we risk exacerbating conflict and strife lasting generations. If we do not bring the Middle East conflict to a peaceful conclusion, there will be greater radicalization and terror. These are not someone else’s problems; they affect all of us—our well-being and our collective security. By working together at the local and global levels, we may steer through our current crises and develop sound policies, corporations, institutions and practices to carry us into the future.

I hope you can join us at the 2009 Global Creative Leadership Summit this September.

Sincerely,