Rhodes Forum

XV Anniversary Rhodes Forum

WHERE
Sheraton Rhodes Resort
Ialyssos Avenue, Ixia, Rhodes 851 00, Greece

WHEN
Friday to Saturday
October 6 to 7, 2017

ABOUT RHODES FORUM 2017

It is our pleasure to announce the 15th Anniversary Rhodes Forum, which will take place from 6-7 October 2017 in Rhodes, Greece

For 15 years Dialogue of Civilizations has been at the forefront of research into dialogue-based solutions to the problems we face. Today, momentum is building around dialogue as a way of effecting real change in how we view economic growth and societal development. Be part of this dynamic debate – join us at the 15th Rhodes Forum.

The Rhodes Forum has convened each year since 2002, gathering between 300 and 600 participants annually from over 70 countries. Throughout its history, its hallmark has been the pioneering spirit, inclusiveness, and moral resilience of its participants in their work to tackle the problems we face.

The Rhodes Forum provides a platform for prominent business people, policy-makers, and scholars to engage in wide-ranging debate on the most pressing issues on the international agenda

This year’s Rhodes Forum will comprise overarching themes through which participants will explore social, economic, and political issues. In addition, two focal events will be the Summit on Globalisation and the Future of Democracy, and the Summit on Global Infrastructure Development Scenarios: Where the Interests of Banks, Industries, Governments, and Societies Meet, in which thought leaders from civil society, politics, and the business community will come together to discuss concepts, problems, and solutions to key questions.

Reserve your seat now and get the DOC Research Institute 2018 membership for free!!

SPEAKERS

Senior officials, members of the international academic community and business elite, representatives of international non-governmental organisations, diplomats, experts from various fields from all over the world.

Valdas Adamkus (TBC)

President of Lithuania (1998 - 2003, 2004 - 2009)

Dominique de Villepin (TBC)

Prime Minister of France (2005 - 2007), Founder of Villepin International

Vladimir Yakunin

Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute, Head of the State Governance Department, Faculty of Political Sciences, Moscow State Lomonosov University

Yuyan Zhang

Professor, Senior research fellow and Director, Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

Vaclav Klaus

Founder of the Václav Klaus Institute, President of Czech Republic (2003-2013)

Nancy Kacungira

News Anchor and Journalist, BBC Africa

Hubert Védrine (TBC)

Minister of foreign affairs of France (1997-2002), Founding Partner of Hubert Védrine Conseil

Keping Yu

Director of the Center for Chinese Government Innovations at Beijing University

Walter Schwimmer

Secretary General of the Council of Europe (2004-2009), Co-Founder of the DOC Research Institute

Rob van Kranenburg

Co-Founder of Bricolabs and the Founder of Council, largest independent #IoT Thinktank

Eva Kaili

Member of the European Parliament for Greece, Chair of the Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

David Gorodyansky

CEO & Co-Founder of AnchorFree, Inc.

Igor Ashmanov

Managing Partner, "Ashmanov and partners"

Wolfgang Pinegger

Owner and CEO of GloBra FZ - LLC

Spiros Margaris

Venture Capitalist and Founder of Margaris Advisory

Jens Wendland

Professor, University of Arts, Berlin

Brunson Mckinley

Former Director General, International Organization for Migration

Anne-Marie Buschman-Petit

Co-Chair, Association for International Mobility (Switzerland)

Demetrios Papademetriou

Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Catherine Walsh

Senior Professor; Director of the Doctoral Program, Latin American Cultural Studies

Franck Billé

Institute of East Asian Studies University of California, Berkeley

Hans Köchler

President of the International Progress Organization

Sergey Markedonov

Associate Professor at Russian State University for the Humanities Russian International Affairs Council

Piotr Dutkiewicz

Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Center for Governance and Public Policy at Carleton University

Alfred Gusenbauer

Federal Chancellor of Austria (2007-2008)

Kumiko Haba

Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, Vice President of the International Studies Association

Georgios Chatzimarkos

Governor of the South Aegean Region

H.E. Cyril Kogerakis

Metropolitan of Rhodes

Fotios Chatzidiakos

Mayor of Rhodes

Fred Harrison

Executive Director, Land Research Trust, London

Manuel Montes

Senior Advisor on Finance and Development at the South Centre in Geneva

Vladimir Popov

Research Director in Economics & Political sciences, DOC Research Institute

Jayshree Sengupta

Senior Research Fellow, Observer Research Foundation (India)

Holger Heims

Managing Partner, Falcon Group (Switzerland)

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Former UN Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development

Daisuke Kotegawa

Former Director to IMF from Japan

Natalia Yakunina

Chairman, Board of Trustees, “Sanctity of Motherhood” All-Russian Program (Russia)

Natalya Kasperskaya

President of the 'InfoWatch' Group of companies

Fred Dallmayr

Packey J. Dee Professor, Departments of Philosophy and Political Science, University of Notre Dame

Raffaele Marchetti

Senior Assistant Professor, Joint Appointment at the Dept. of Political Science and the School of Government, LUISS University

Peter W. Schulze

Co-founder of the Dialogue of Civilisations Research Institute, Professor, Political Science Department, Georg-August University of Gőttingen

Richard Sakwa

Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent

Adrian Pabst

Reader in Politics and Director of the Centre for Federal Studies, School of Politics and IR, University of Kent, UK

Alexander Dubowy

Coordinator, Research Centre for Eurasian Studies; Fellow, Center of Polemology and Legal Ethics at Faculty of Law, University of Vienna

Djoomart Otorbaev

Senior Advisor, EBRD; Deputy Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic (2002 - 2005)

PROGRAMME & SCHEDULE

Our Forum is evolving. The upcoming Rhodes Forum will have a packed agenda and a tighter schedule.

Download Full Programme…

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Day 1
Oct 6, 2017
09:00
WELCOME ADDRESSES
Speakers: Georgios Chatzimarkos Governor of the South Aegean Region

09:00 - 09:30
09:30
OPENING PANEL :“MULTIPOLARITY AND DIALOGUE IN REGIONAL AND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS: IMAGINING POSSIBLE FUTURES”
Speakers: Vladimir Yakunin Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute, Head of the State Governance Department, Faculty of Political Sciences, Moscow State Lomonosov University , Yuyan Zhang Professor, Senior research fellow and Director, Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) , Dominique de Villepin (TBC) Prime Minister of France (2005 - 2007), Founder of Villepin International , Valdas Adamkus (TBC) President of Lithuania (1998 - 2003, 2004 - 2009)

09:30 - 11:00
The 15th Anniversary Rhodes Forum provides time and space for reflections on the achievements and challenges of the Dialogue of Civilisations Paradigm in the current global environment. The panel’s work is aimed at discussing the possible scenarios that humanity should work towards in order to achieve a sustainable, peaceful, and balanced state of world affairs in future. The Rhodes Forum has proved to be an unbiased platform that enables people around the world to work together through the fundamental principles of dialogue, to develop applicable analyses and practical solutions for national and international policy-makers and institutions. The Rhodes Forum stands firmly by the idea that open, mutually respectful, and equitable dialogue will be the fundamental prerequisite for effective cooperation and partnership between civilisations for years to come.
11:00
SUMMIT 1: GLOBALIZATION AND THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY
Speakers: Walter Schwimmer Secretary General of the Council of Europe (2004-2009), Co-Founder of the DOC Research Institute , Keping Yu Director of the Center for Chinese Government Innovations at Beijing University , Hubert Védrine (TBC) Minister of foreign affairs of France (1997-2002), Founding Partner of Hubert Védrine Conseil , Nancy Kacungira News Anchor and Journalist, BBC Africa , Vaclav Klaus Founder of the Václav Klaus Institute, President of Czech Republic (2003-2013)

11:00 - 12:30
Concept Note: The global financial crisis of 2008 has clearly shown that existing economic models fall short of expectations, while slow, non-inclusive economic growth and the decline of global trade demonstrate that self-regulated open markets haven’t become the growth engine for economies that were expected. At the same time, existing models of global governance fail to provide vision for an inclusive future. In connection with the lack of inclusive internal policies, populist parties increasingly gain political influence. The summit engages prominent thought leaders, representing society, politics, and business community, in developing mechanisms and approaches that could lay foundations for a new model of solidarity based on dialogue, which would offer paths toward inclusive economic development and profoundly new forms of global governance worldwide. In this way, popular unrest and dissatisfaction could be diminished and the future of democratic systems could be sustained.
Political
14:30
ECONOMIC PANEL #1 CHALLENGES: IMPACT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND DIGITALIZATION ON SOCIETY
Speakers: Spiros Margaris Venture Capitalist and Founder of Margaris Advisory , Jens Wendland Professor, University of Arts, Berlin , Wolfgang Pinegger Owner and CEO of GloBra FZ - LLC , Igor Ashmanov Managing Partner, "Ashmanov and partners" , David Gorodyansky CEO & Co-Founder of AnchorFree, Inc. , Eva Kaili Member of the European Parliament for Greece, Chair of the Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly , Rob van Kranenburg Co-Founder of Bricolabs and the Founder of Council, largest independent #IoT Thinktank

14:30 - 16:30
Concept Note: New technologies and the digital economy are able to foster the economic development of both developing and developed countries, by increasing productivity and removing barriers to entry. Nevertheless, without global collaboration and government involvement, the digital economy could aggravate existing social problems and increase the gap between developing and developed regions, and urban and suburban areas. The benefits of new communication technologies and the digital economy are not equally shared (the so-called digital divide) and are mostly enjoyed by those living in tech-friendly urban areas. In the coming years, this divide could be sharpened, and opportunities to move up the income ladder and improve productivity will be strongly connected with the access and the ability to make good use of digital infrastructure. This panel will make steps forward with discussions of the digital economy and new technologies, with a focus on particular sectors of society. The panelists will debate the role and value of the digital economy in providing strong foundations for dialogue, governance, and commerce, as well as its possible impacts on society.
Economic
14:30
POLITICS PANEL #1 CHALLENGES: NEVER AGAIN: PEOPLE’S DEMAND FOR A NEW GLOBAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
Speakers: Alfred Gusenbauer Federal Chancellor of Austria (2007-2008) , Kumiko Haba Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, Vice President of the International Studies Association , Piotr Dutkiewicz Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Center for Governance and Public Policy at Carleton University , Sergey Markedonov Associate Professor at Russian State University for the Humanities Russian International Affairs Council , Hans Köchler President of the International Progress Organization , Walter Schwimmer Secretary General of the Council of Europe (2004-2009), Co-Founder of the DOC Research Institute , Vladimir Yakunin Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute, Head of the State Governance Department, Faculty of Political Sciences, Moscow State Lomonosov University

14:30 - 16:30
Concept Note: As conflicts between major powers pose an increasing risk to political stability and global security, concepts involving geopolitical pluralism and global governance are becoming an ever more vital cornerstone of the global security architecture. The world is being pushed to the brink of new armed confrontations, and the memory of World War Two, as well as other major twentieth century conflicts, leads the world community to raise its voice against the mere possibility of a new global war. Possible concepts enabling better cooperation between major powers and other crucial stakeholders in common global and regional security shall be highlighted during this panel. Its participants will focus on ongoing and potential conflicts, and will particularly deal with strategies and approaches for overcoming tensions, for example, in the Middle East, and mitigating the risks of possible confrontation, for example, in Eastern Europe, as well as identifying possible terrorist threats worldwide and developing new peacemaking solutions.
Political
14:30
SOCIETY PANEL #1 CHALLENGES: SOCIAL MOBILITY AND MIGRATION: THROUGH THE PRISM OF VALUES AND CULTURES
Speakers: Catherine Walsh Senior Professor; Director of the Doctoral Program, Latin American Cultural Studies , Demetrios Papademetriou Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) , Anne-Marie Buschman-Petit Co-Chair, Association for International Mobility (Switzerland) , Brunson Mckinley Former Director General, International Organization for Migration , Vaclav Klaus Founder of the Václav Klaus Institute, President of Czech Republic (2003-2013)

14:30 - 16:30
Society
19:30
SPECIAL ADDRESSES AT OPENING CEREMONY: RHODES OFFICIALS
Speakers: H.E. Cyril Kogerakis Metropolitan of Rhodes , Fotios Chatzidiakos Mayor of Rhodes

19:30 - 20:30

Day 2
Oct 7, 2017
10:00
SOCIETY PANEL #2 SOLUTIONS: CHALLENGES TO HUMANITY: TRADITIONALISM VS. POSTMODERNITY
Speakers: Fred Dallmayr Packey J. Dee Professor, Departments of Philosophy and Political Science, University of Notre Dame , Natalya Kasperskaya President of the 'InfoWatch' Group of companies , Natalia Yakunina Chairman, Board of Trustees, “Sanctity of Motherhood” All-Russian Program (Russia)

10:00 - 12:00
Concept Note: The human society seems to be lost in titanic changes of contemporary world. The process of globalisation without dialogue may increase the probability of a uniformity and degradation of core civilisational values. The reaction to this alarming trend is identified by public requests to reassert the importance of national cultures, traditions, and value systems. There is a need to formulate a new set of universal values, based on principles of dialogue, that include traditional family values, compassion, social unity, individual rights along with individual responsibilities. This new approach could fix problems of mutual enmity, which often occur due to a severe lack of knowledge about other cultures and nations. Dialogue should become the alternative universal platform to avoid clash of civilizations, and should be applied to all spheres of human activity. The panel will discuss the definition of contemporary human identity crisis at the period of transaction from modern to postmodern era, degradation of Humanity and rise of new barbarism and awareness of the danger for social manipulations with usage of highly sophisticated IT instruments.
Society
10:00
ECONOMIC PANEL #2, SOLUTIONS: ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC MODELS – CURBING INEQUALITY
Speakers: Daisuke Kotegawa Former Director to IMF from Japan , Jomo Kwame Sundaram Former UN Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development , Holger Heims Managing Partner, Falcon Group (Switzerland) , Jayshree Sengupta Senior Research Fellow, Observer Research Foundation (India) , Manuel Montes Senior Advisor on Finance and Development at the South Centre in Geneva , Fred Harrison Executive Director, Land Research Trust, London

10:00 - 12:00
Concept Note: The issues of poverty, social injustice and economic imbalance between the developing countries and the rest of the world, the frustrations of wide sections of the world’s population will continue to fuel destructive political and social emotions, unless a viable and lucid alternative economic model, capable of curbing inequalities, will be negotiated, designed and introduced. The standard metrics, such as GDP and overall economic growth, don’t fully reflect the quality of living; a broader range of indicators including the quality of education and infrastructural development should be taken into account to get the full picture of the economic development, as in fact these indicators have greater impact on the quality of living. Domestic inequalities are on the rise both in countries of the Global South and North; it could be taken as a reason for the rise of populistic parties in recent years and could be regarded as hampering economic growth. The panel aims to address non-mainstream economic models and approaches that are able to foster an inclusive and sustainable development.
Economic
10:00
POLITICS PANEL #2 SOLUTIONS: BEYOND THE WORLD OF CLASHES: TOWARDS A MULTIPOLAR ORDER
Speakers: Alexander Dubowy Coordinator, Research Centre for Eurasian Studies; Fellow, Center of Polemology and Legal Ethics at Faculty of Law, University of Vienna , Adrian Pabst Reader in Politics and Director of the Centre for Federal Studies, School of Politics and IR, University of Kent, UK , Richard Sakwa Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent , Peter W. Schulze Co-founder of the Dialogue of Civilisations Research Institute, Professor, Political Science Department, Georg-August University of Gőttingen , Raffaele Marchetti Senior Assistant Professor, Joint Appointment at the Dept. of Political Science and the School of Government, LUISS University

10:00 - 12:00
Concept Note: The unipolar world order is gradually evolving into a multipolar world order. As many globalised conflicts may be traced back to internal conflicts, it is crucial to address questions of political and economic discrimination, and other forms of exclusion, and to find a suitable solution that prevents conflicts emerging in the first place. Building a multipolar world order has the potential to prevent conflicts without the domination of one single hegemonic power, and has the potential to bring about sustainable peace. This panel is devoted to the question how this multipolar world order may look and how it can be achieved. In addition, in a globalised world, sustainable development and security go hand in hand, as the effects of environmental destruction have the potential to cause conflicts over scarce resources. Moreover, these conflicts could lead to forced migration, which in turn could destabilise regions or countries of destination. Another way to address the security challenges the world is facing today is to focus on internal policies and security.
Political
12:10
SUMMIT 2: GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS: WHERE THE INTERESTS OF BANKS, INDUSTRIES, GOVERNMENTS AND SOCIETIES MEET
Speakers: Vicky Kefala Member, Investment Committee, European Investment Bank , Ruben Vardanyan Social entrepreneur and impact investor, President of LLC VARDANYAN, BROITMAN AND PARTNERS, Co-Founder of RVVZ Foundation , Djoomart Otorbaev Senior Advisor, EBRD; Deputy Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic (2002 - 2005) , Vladimir Yakunin Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute, Head of the State Governance Department, Faculty of Political Sciences, Moscow State Lomonosov University

12:10 - 13:10
Concept Note: This panel will explore the most ambitious current projects for reaching regional cooperation agreements on economic, political, and governance issues. Its participants will take advantage of the economic cooperation projects between the United States, European Union, Russia, China, and Asia, like the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the One Belt – One Road (OBOR) initiative. The focus of this panel should also be to explore possibilities for how Public Private Partnerships (PPP) can contribute to the infrastructure development goals of the aforementioned countries, as well as bringing together the interests of banks, industries, governments, and societies.
Economic
Political
Society
15:15
CONCLUDING PANEL & DOC RI PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS: SPECIAL REPORTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND REWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT OF DOC RI TWO INITIATIVES ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MODELS
Speakers: Peter W. Schulze Co-founder of the Dialogue of Civilisations Research Institute, Professor, Political Science Department, Georg-August University of Gőttingen , Vladimir Popov Research Director in Economics & Political sciences, DOC Research Institute , Vladimir Yakunin Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute, Head of the State Governance Department, Faculty of Political Sciences, Moscow State Lomonosov University

15:15 - 17:15
20:00
CLOSING CEREMONY

FORUM'S REGISTRATION FEES

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VENUE LOCATION

Sheraton Rhodes Resort
Ialyssos Avenue, Ixia, Rhodes 851 00, Greece

Sheraton Rhodes Resort is within a few minutes’ drive of the island’s most famous sights and attractions. The Old Town, Palace of the Knights and the Acropolis are only 4 kilometers from the resort and 18 minutes by car from the airport.