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PANEL: Education — Cognitive and Digital Tools for the Minds of the Next Generation

Master of Ceremonies: Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard University psychologist

Keynote: Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha

Panelists:
Johann Koss, CEO of Right to Play
Dr. Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, NYU globalization and education professor
Jorge Pardo, sculptor
Dr. Stephen Kosslyn, Harvard University psychology professor
Dr. Fred Mednick, Founder, Teachers Without Borders
Allan E. Goodman, President, The Institute of International Education
Mark Inglis, Founder, Limbs4All
Dr. Larry Stone, teacher and sommelier

Panel summary by Josh Sanburn, World Policy Journal

The topic of education and how it relates to new technologies brought a diverse group of people together—a former Olympic speed skater, a sculptor, a sommelier, a mountaineer, and (to top it off) the prime minister of Albania.

Sali Berisha addressed technology in Albanian schools in his keynote address, saying he began working toward Internet access in every school in the mid-90s. “Now, my country’s totally different,” he said.
“There is Internet and a computer lab in every school. But in the digital age, you never run with the speed of time. Time is faster than you.”

Prime Minister Berisha said he eventually wants the Internet in every Albanian household. He believes it will empower his country and that it is the “best tool for the global march of people.” While online access was a running theme, Dr. Stephen Kosslyn suggested there was too much emphasis on technology itself. “It’s like an emphasis on canvas and wooden frames,” he said. “There should be more of an emphasis on what you do with technology.”

PANEL: Socio-Biological Perspectives of Neuroscience

Master of Ceremonies:
Dr. Eric R. Kandel, Professor of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Physiology at Columbia University

Panelists:
Dr. Cori Bargmann, Torsten N. Wiesel Professor, The Rockefeller University
Dr. Stephen Kosslyn, John Linsley Professor of Psychology and Dean of Social Science at Harvard
Dr. Antonio Damasio, David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, University of Southern California
Dr. Gerald Fischbach, Scientific Director, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative

Panel summary by Mary Kate Nevin, World Policy Journal

How does the human mind function, and what are the implications for human behavior? Dr. Kandel, who won the Nobel Prize in 2000 for his research on memory storage in neurons, began by introducing neuroscience as the “common language” between the humanities and the sciences. The study of the functioning of the human brain can offer insight into decision-making processes, peer bonding, aesthetics, and aggression patterns. As we address global issues, he said, it is critical to understand the biological processes driving the human beings involved.

He turned to Dr. Cori Bargmann of the Rockefeller University, who studies the relationship between specific neuro-circuits and specific behaviors. “Humans are a social species,” she said, but “humans are also animals” and certain factors underlying human behavior are “built into our genes” by biology. Take mammalian childbirth, for example, when chemicals are released during labor that “profoundly changes the brain of the female to induce maternal behavior,” Bargmann explained. When it comes to aggression, biology is also an impetus. The unequal distribution of resources can trigger primal conflicts between creatures, noted Bargmann, but the environment in which a creature is raised—in a group or in isolation, for example—also plays a role.

Dr. Stephen Kosslyn began by asking what seemed a simple question: “what shape are a German Shepherd’s ears?”

PANEL: Digital Technology — Tools for Social Change

Master of Ceremonies: Frank Moss, Director of the MIT Media Lab

Panelists:
Joshua Schachter, Google engineer
Jeffrey Friedberg, Chief Trust Architect, Microsoft
Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard University psychologist
Dr. John Henry Clippinger, Co-director of the Law Lab, Harvard University
Martin Varsavsky, Argentinian entrepreneur

Panel summary by Josh Sanburn, World Policy Journal

Today, it is commonly accepted that the Internet has created the foundations for the possibility of possessing collective human knowledge. The question the panel of professors, entrepreneurs, and computer and software engineers addressed was how to turn that wisdom into collective action.

Joshua Schachter, a Google software engineer, said there’s an increasing opportunity to organize people to solve common problems together, like access to health care, lack of education, and poverty. “People acting in their own interest is great,” Schachter said. “But can we get everybody to chime in and do something that’s useful?”

A couple panelists referred to “wiki government,” a concept first brought forth in a book by Beth Simone Novack, that argues for a better government through collaborative democracy. “Can we find issues that are important, where there’s a lot of expertise, and then mobilize it in such a way that the expertise can be used without a group or person dominating the ultimate outcome?” asked Dr. Howard Gardner.

PANEL: Global Financial Crisis—Risk, Regulation, Remuneration

Master of Ceremonies:
Matthew Bishop, American Business Editor and NY Bureau Chief, The Economist

Keynote Speakers:
His Excellency Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
President Michelle Bachelet of Chile

Panelists:
Paul Wilmott, Founder, Wilmott Magazine and Wilmott.com
Lex Fenwick, Chief Executive Officer, Bloomberg Ventures
Dr. Benoit Mandelbrot, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Sciences, Yale University
Juan-Felipe Muñoz, Managing Director, The Otun Group
John Authers, Investment Editor, Financial Times

Panel summary by Mary Kate Nevin, World Policy Journal

“The world today faces innumerable challenges,” began Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz, like climate change, nuclear proliferation, security challenges, and—of course—the global financial crisis. Aziz first explored several factors that precipitated the crisis; for one, risk management systems in most institutions were driven by greed and arrogance and a lack of proper checks and balances. Capability was lacking in the financial system, as well; “regulators, in my view, had big gaps in capacity,” said Aziz. Looking forward, he called for a “massive exercise in raising capital.” In the throes of the crisis, governments provided what the markets couldn’t with their massive capital injections, but in his view “governments should remain regulators and only regulators.” He also advocated reforms to executive compensation as well as consolidation and coordination or regulatory activity. But the most important reform to be made is that of leadership. “I would sacrifice everything to get good, strong, hands-on management and leadership” that has wisdom as well as street smarts, he said. “With a little humility, we have to make sure we don’t repeat what happened.”

World-renowned mathematician Dr. Benoit Mandelbrot, the inventor of fractal geometry and chaos theory, spoke next, analyzing the theoretical flaws that drove financial decision-making leading up to the crisis. Traditional theories of pricing, he explained, were outdated and simplistic, “grossly fail[ing] to fit reality.” The real risks were much greater than what traditional theory would imply, and since the risks were oversimplified, brokers were overconfident, prompting market decisions that eventually proved disastrous. He called for more serious research on pricing and expenditures, and pointed to his book, The Misbehavior of Markets: A Fractal View of Risk, Ruin and Reward for a model of market behavior that more accurately reflects reality.

The people ultimately responsible for risk management “simply didn’t understand the risks and the instruments,” emphasized Lex Fenwick, the CEO of Bloomberg LP. And he is not optimistic about the future.

Introduction: Amir Dossal, Executive Director, United Nations Office for Partnerships

Featuring: Ted Turner, Chairman, United Nations Foundation; Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Managing Editor, Financial Times

Panel summary by Mary Kate Nevin, World Policy Journal

Lunch began with a message from Ban Ki-Moon. Amir Dossal, executive director for the UN Office for Partnerships, spoke of behalf of the UN secretary-general, who reached out to the GCLS to forge “a new multilateralism that delivers.” He urged continued action on the Millennium Development Goals as their target date of 2015 looms ever closer, and warned that “a new crisis” involving the near-poor is spreading. He also introduced the UN’s Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System (GIVAS) as a networked, twenty-first-century system to monitor the global impacts of the financial crisis in real time. Finally, he called for cooperation at December’s summit in Copenhagen on climate change. “These and other problems transcend national borders; so too must solutions,” Ban said. “I will look to you to press your leaders for action.”

After delivering Ban’s message, Dossal turned to the man of the hour—esteemed media mogul, innovator, and philanthropist Ted Turner. He told of his first interactions with Turner, recounting how he once came to the UN with a billion dollar offer. Turner’s net worth had gone up by $1b in the past year, and since the United States had been stingy in its international obligations, he had offered to pay on its behalf (intending, by the way, to later sue the U.S. government).

PANEL: Spotlight on Africa — Trade, Security, Economy, Development

Keynote: Sierra Leone Information Minister Hon. Alhaji Ibrahim Kargbo

Master of Ceremonies: Johann Koss, CEO of Right to Play

Panelists:
Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Dr. Paul Sullivan, Georgetown University economics professor
Dr. Joanna Rubinstein, UN Millennium Project Director for Global Health and Science Initiatives
Michael Landau, Chairman of MAP International
Dr. Phoebe Asiyo, UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador
Noella Coursaris Musunka, Founder of the Georges Malaika Foundation
Johnny Copelyn, CEO of Hosken Consolidated Investments
Nuhu Ribadu, former Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

Panel summary by Josh Sanburn, World Policy Journal

The problems surrounding Africa cover a vast range of issues: lack of efficient governance, health crises, misguided leadership, the history of colonization, and resource exploitation by the West are just a few.
But panelists threw caution to the wind and, in a wide-ranging discussion, attempted to address them all and provide solutions to some of the continent’s most frustrating and seemingly insolvable issues.

The discussion at times centered around what Dr. Paul Sullivan of Georgetown University called the “great scramble for resources.” In this scramble, Africa has long been at the receiving end, as major powers have combed the continent for timber, rubber, oil, copper, and other raw materials. Sullivan also recalled how Africa was often used as a strategic tool during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, the director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, said history showed a “plundering of Africa,” but also criticized the way many outside countries have now attempted to aid the continent.

“We’re still dealing with Africa piecemeal,” he said. “Everyone’s doing microfinance. Microfinance is good, but we need to look at wealth creation.” He described a new revolution taking place involving eco-friendly technology. “It is green. It is clean. Can Africa be part of this?”

Much of the discussion focused on how the continent can move forward. While outside countries can do a lot to help, the panelists talked widely about the need for Africans to learn to help themselves.

By Ruthie Ackerman for World Policy Journal

Moderator:  Diane Sawyer, anchor ABC’s Good Morning America

Panelists:
Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs
Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International
Rex W. Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil
Melanne Verveer, first-ever ambassador-at-large for women’s issues in the U.S. State Department
Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank

The Nike Foundation calls it the “Girl Effect”: give a girl the opportunity to change her world and she will change the world of those around her as well. (Watch the video on YouTube and you can see for yourself.)

This not only works in business, but in preventing the spread of terrorism as well, explained Melanne Verveer, at the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative’s (CGI) morning session, moderated by Diane Sawyer. The morning panel was the CGI model at its best, a mix of public- and private-sector organizations, which seems to work best in tackling the world’s problems. “The most dangerous places in the world are those places where women are put down in the greatest way,” Verveer said. “Women are on the frontlines of moderation.”

Not only are women important to maintain national security, said Zainab Salbi, but that involving women in peace processes helps to keep conflict at bay for longer. But why suddenly does there seem to be a flood of interest in what has been traditionally thought of as “women’s issues”?

PANEL: Corporate Culture and Entrepreneurship After the Credit Crunch

Keynote: Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Master of Ceremonies: Ali Velshi, CNN Chief Business Correspondent

Panelists:
Lex Fenwick, CEO of Bloomberg
Stanley Bergman, Chairman and CEO of Henry Schein
Johnny Copelyn, CEO of Hosken Consolidated Investments
Mark Angelson, Chairman and CEO of World Color Press

Panel summary by Josh Sanburn, World Policy Journal

While the downfall of Lehman Brothers occurred just over a year ago, a number of prominent CEOs, as well as the prime minister of the Netherlands, agreed that the collapse that precipitated the global financial crisis will be a catalyst for change. What that change will be exactly is yet to be determined.

The Dutch prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende (who arrived directly from the United Nations General Assembly and praised President Barack Obama’s speech), said a change in culture is needed to solve the current global financial problems. “Business as usual is not an option,” he said, insisting that companies across the world curb reckless behavior. “Taking excessive risks has caused real misery. But the current situation allows us to change corporate culture.”

A number of the experts participating in the panel, “Prospects: Corporate Culture and Entrepreneurship After the Credit Crunch,” seemed to be in agreement, though Bloomberg CEO Lex Fenwick, added that employees today are too scared about losing their jobs to offer risky ideas.

PANEL: Global Health—Development Needs, Research Developments

Master of Ceremonies: Dr. Barry Bloom, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor and Joan L. And Julius H. Jacobson Professor of Public Health

Panelists:
Dr. Seth Berkley, President and CEO, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; Dr. Majid Fotuhi, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Hospital; Aart de Geus, Deputy Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Dr. Matthew Spitzer, President of the U.S. board, Doctors Without Borders; Ellis Rubenstein, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences; Admiral R. Timothy Ziemer, United States Malaria Coordinator, President’s Malaria Inititative

Panel summary by Mary Kate Nevin, World Policy Journal

Considerable progress has been made in the science of health around the world, though vast resource gaps remain before breakthroughs should be expected, concluded the seven contributors to the “Global Health: Development Needs, Research Developments” panel of the Global Creative Leadership Summit. The first, Dr. Seth Berkley of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, spoke highly of scientific progress in drug and treatment-related breakthroughs, but highlighted the need for “better prevention tools.” This kind of progress will require increased partnerships to ensure that various “sectors can work together seamlessly [to] work on solving these problems.”

In the field of dementia, Dr. Majid Fotuhi suggested that this disease, often attributed to developed countries, actually affects the entire world. Cognitive dementia, Fotuhi explained, is not necessarily caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Instead, lifestyle elements like hypertension, obesity, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle have a much greater impact on the brain. As a result, he championed interventions to reduce obesity, including economic incentives to encourage healthier choices. “We need to take the same approach to obesity that we have taken to smoking cessation,” he said, and “we need to take action now.”

By Ruthie Ackerman, World Policy Journal

Star Spotter: Goldie Hawn, Demi Moore, Jesse Jackson, Julia Ormond, Ben Stiller.

When President Bill Clinton asked President Barack Obama to pass the Parmesan recently at a restaurant, Obama did not know his next question would be, “Will you come speak at my meeting?”

Not only did Obama agree to kick off Clinton’s star-studded annual meeting, the Clinton Global Initiative, but he did so after giving a speech on climate policy at the United Nations on the same stage as Chinese president Hu Jintao. Obama is facing increasing pressure to pass mandatory curbs on greenhouse gases and to get healthcare reform legislation passed, two issues that threaten to overshadow his first year in office.

In fact, talk of the health care reform debacle in Congress took center stage over other issues at the Clinton Global Initiative and put a damper on the mood compared to past years. Clinton looked wounded, tired—not his usual charming self. After Obama got stuck in traffic, Clinton was left with an extra three-minutes of stage time, which he used to bash Congress for their views on health care reform. Obama, on the other hand, didn’t let out a peep about healthcare, instead bounding on stage for his first public appearance with Clinton, with an important message: “You don’t have to hold a public office to be a public servant.” He then added, “That’s the beauty of service—anyone can do it and everyone should try.”