Events
BE INVOLVED AND KNOW WHAT'S ON HERE AND ABROAD
Summit of the Future 2024
The Summit of the Future is intended to be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives. An action-oriented Pact for the Future will be endorsed by Heads of State/Government at the Summit, showcasing global solidarity for current and future generations. It will take place on 22-23 September 2024. It will comprise a high-level event bringing world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.
Model Global Parliament (MGP) 2024, Monday 1st July
Location: Unity Grammar Astrolab, 70 Forth Ave Austral
Click HERE to access the MGP 2024 Manual
Copenhagen Democracy Summit, May 14-15th 2024
The seventh Copenhagen Democracy Summit took place on May 14-15th at the Royal Danish Playhouse. Chris Hamer attended the Summit, and prepared a report which you can find here. It was an extremely impressive event, with Ursula Von der Leyen attending in person for instance, and if you would like to view the proceedings you can find them at the Alliance of Democracies Foundation website here. Another summary of the proceedings by the Global Democracy Coalition can be found here.
LAW not War Campaign: Choosing Courtrooms over Battlefields
LAW not War, one of WFM’s key programs, is a new global campaign to enhance the jurisdiction and use of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in order to assist countries resolve international disputes peacefully rather than through recourse to the threat or use of force.
To kickstart the work of the campaign LAW not War have created a crowdfunding fundraiser. Find out more and support this important work HERE.
CALL FOR PAPERS: Supranational Democracy Dialogue VI Edition
By Supranational Democracy
Deadline: 07 March 2024
"A Dialogue among Scholars, Civil Society, and Creative Thinkers about Global Democratic Solutions to Global Challenges.
VI Edition “Shared Values and Global Governance for Peace and Development”
Brindisi, May 2-3, 2024"
Click HERE for more information.
EVENTS | World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy (WFM/IGP)
The World Citizens Association of Australia is a Associate Member Organization of WFM/IGP
Stay up to date with all the events organized by WFM/IGP with its Member Organizations.
UPCOMING EVENT:
The European Green and the Global Green Deal | 21st February 2024, 16:00 (UTC)
Click HERE for more information and registration.
UPCOMING EVENT: 2023 WFM-IGP Congress
The World Citizens Association of Australia (WCAA) is an Associated Organization of WFM-IGP (the global umbrella organization)
Date and Time: 11-12 November, 11:00-16:00 UTC
Click HERE for more information and to register as an observer. Click HERE to read the WCAA report submitted to Congress.
OBSERVERS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND.
A Discussion on Ukraine and a Federalist Perspective
Organised by WFM/IGP
Click HERE for more information and to watch the recording.
2023 Model Global Parliament | Unity Grammar, 25th May 2023
The organization of this important event has been taken over by Zeny Edwards and the IGPSG, as reported previously. After a hiatus of several years, a schools-based MGP was organized by Rayaan Nabi and friends at Unity Grammar. Overall, the MGP was a huge success judging from the feedback from the attendees, teachers and school executives, who were all eager to participate in the next MGP. Mayor Ned Mannoun has indicated further engagement with IGPSG regarding future events in partnership with his local government. Guest speaker James Arvanitakis also responded with continued engagement and participation with IGPSG and its educational programmes.
Schools represented were: Unity Grammar (Russia, India): Malek Fahd Islamic School, Hoxton Park (UNASUR); Amity College (Australia); Hurlestone Agricultural High School (Pacific Islands Forum); Malek Fahd Islamic School, Greenacre (China); Malek Fahd Islamic School, Beaumont Hills (ASEAN); Birrong Boys High School (USA).
Speaker David Delos Reyes received acclamation from all the students. David announced that he is willing to train students to be speakers of the house for the next MGP. The format will be changed to appoint a different speaker for each of the sessions.
Copenhagen Democracy Summit, May 15-16th 2023
Members may recall that the CWSC is a transnational working group advocating the formation of a global alliance, or better a security community, of democracies as the best way of halting the slide to autocracy worldwide, and as first step towards a brighter future in the form of an eventual democratic world federation. The most likely starting point would seem to be an extension of the G7 into a ‘D10’ grouping, including Australia and South Korea, and possibly India, as a deterrent against any Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Several of us have undertaken another letter-writing campaign to national leaders, trying to get this idea on the agenda for the next G7 Summit meeting, which took place in Italy in mid-June. Signatories on the letters include myself (Australia), Didier Jacobs (Belgium), Antonio Roque and Titus Alexander (UK), Nico Heller and Andreas Bummel (Germany), and John Davenport (US). I have received acknowledgements from the offices of Justin Trudeau in Canada, and Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. Has anyone else had a response?
In the event, there was no sign that our proposal appeared on the agenda. There was much discussion of aid for Ukraine, but Australia and South Korea were not even present at the Summit. Instead, Italy invited a number of countries from the
Global South to attend the Summit, to discuss increasing aid for them to help prevent the hordes of refugees attempting to reach Europe.
From a Summit of Democracy to a League of Democracies - by the Coalition for a World Security Community of Democratic Nations (CWSC)
This webinar explored the idea of building on President Biden’s Summit for Democracy to create a permanent forum among the world’s democracies to tackle global challenges.
Our panel consists of advocates of several versions of this idea: a D10, a concert of democracies, alliance of democracies or community of democracies. They will discuss the following questions: What would be the purposes of such a community of democracies? What would be its value-added compared to existing intergovernmental organizations? Which countries would qualify as democracies? Wouldn’t such a community worsen the tensions between democracies and China and Russia?
This event is sponsored by the Coalition for a World Security Community, a global organization advocating for a community of the world’s democracies to promote peace and security and tackle other global challenges.
Speakers
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John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
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Ash Jain, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
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Mariam Chikhladze, Fellow, Alliance of Democracies Foundation
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Tiziana Stella, Executive Director, Streit Council
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Didier Jacobs, Vice-President, Coalition for a World Security Community
Moderator
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Richard Ponzio, Director, Global Governance, Justice & Security Program and Senior Fellow, The Stimson Center
RECORDING AVAILABLE. Click HERE
How to deter Russia now - by the Atlantic Council
Led by President Biden, the West has laid down clear markers that a major, new Russian invasion will prompt devastating sanctions, further military shipments to Ukraine, and a strengthening of NATO’s force posture near Russia’s border. Is this enough to stay Putin’s hand?
RECORDING AVAILABLE. Click HERE
CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS | UNITING THE DEMOCRACIES
By Chris Hamer
The Citizens for Global Solutions group in the US held their Annual Conference from 11-13 November 2021 via Zoom. This year’s conference theme was, Paths to a World Federation: Initial Inspirations & Current Strategies.They invited leaders of 5 ‘paths’ that appear prominently in the historical literature of the World Federalist Movement and continue until today (one of them being yours truly!). These are:
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UN Charter Review - Shahr-yar Sharei
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The United Nations Parliamentary Assembly - Andreas Bummel
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Integrating the Regions - Fernando Iglesias
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Uniting the Democracies - Chris Hamer
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Creating a World Constitution - Glen T. Martin
The event, led by Bob Flax and Donna Park, forms an important part of the renewal process underway for the whole world federalist movement, and I enjoyed it very much, talking ‘face-to-face’ with other members of the movement.
RECORDING AVAILABLE: click HERE
How to Unite the World’s Democratic Forces
President Biden has promised to convene a Summit for Democracy and to renew the spirit and shared purpose of the nations of the free world. The hope is that this Summit will not be merely a one-off event, but set an agenda for democratic renewal.
UK Prime Minister Johnson has during his chairmanship of the Group of Seven (G7) included democratic allies such as Australia, India, South Africa and South Korea. This could lead to the formation of a Democracies 10/11, which would strengthen cooperation among the world’s major democracies.
The Alliance of Democracies Foundation was founded to unite the world’s democratic forces to counter rising authoritarianism and at the 2021 Copenhagen Democracy Summit, launched the Copenhagen Charter which proposes three specific areas for returning democratic multilateralism to its ascendancy.
And the Coalition for a World Security Community of Democracies (CWSC)
proposes a permanent forum open to leaders of all countries committed to democracy, human rights and international law. The OECD could be its implementing arm on economic issues, and NATO, which should become a global military alliance, on security issues. It could evolve into a global community on the European model and become an island of freedom, peace and prosperity in a turbulent world, attracting an ever growing membership.
Join the Alliance of Democracies Foundation in partnership with the Coalition for a World Security Community (CWSC) for an exciting discussion about making these approaches to an alliance of democracies work in practice from the G7 Summit to the Summit for Democracy. Join us on Wednesday, June 9th from 2:00 - 3:00 pm CET/1:00-2:00pm BST/ 8:00 – 9:00am ET.
Please register below, all details on how to access the event will be sent prior to the session.
Speakers:
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Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Chairman, Alliance of Democracies Foundation and former NATO Secretary General and Prime Minister of Denmark
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Lord Mark Sedwill, G7 Envoy for Economic Resilience and former Cabinet Secretary and National Security Advisor to Boris Johnson
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Ash Jain, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
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Didier Jacobs, Vice-President of the Coalition for a World Security Community of democratic nations
Moderation:
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Vivian Salama, National Security Reporter, Wall Street Journal
MARK WORLD REFUGEE DAY WITH PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The World Citizens Association of Australia marks World Refugee Day on 21 June in the midst of dramatic social change. A pandemic has tested our strength and highlighted systematic inequalities. It has also connected us in new ways and renewed our motivation to act for equality. In the time of COVID, we celebrate refugees who are on the frontlines fighting this pandemic, their hosts and the aid workers supporting them. We have seen everyday heroes from all walks of life step up to join the front lines.
No matter who you are or where you come from, pandemic or not; every one of us can make a difference. Every action counts.
GLOBAL
World Federalist Movement (WFM) Online Conference, October 24-25
How Democracy Survives: Crises of the Nation State’, an online Symposium hosted by the Pardee Center, Boston University, October 28th-30th, 2020, free and open to the public
Copenhagen Democracy Summit, June 19-20, 2020, Copenhagen
A meeting convened by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation
World Federalist Movement Congress, June 3-7, 2020, Brussels
This is the gathering of the worldwide movement, now taking place every two years.
(now postponed till next year due to the COVID19 crisis)
Supranational Democracy Dialogue, April 16-17, 2020, Brindisi
The topics will be democratic governance and democratic policies beyond the state.
Symposium 'Beyond the Nation State', October 28-30, 2019, Boston University
Global Week of Action for a World Parliament, October 19-27, 2019
A program of events around the world
The New Shape Forum, May 27-30, 2018, Stockholm Sweden
https://globalchallenges.org/en/our-work/new-shape-forum
This event is hosted by the Global Challenges Foundation. The New Shape Forum will be a starting point of our mission to reshape global cooperation in order to better tackle global catastrophic risks based on the proposals put forward in the New Shape Prize
World Conference on Global Institutions in 2020
Proposed by the UN Commission on Global Security, Justice and Governance.
The Commission’s co-chairs: former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Nigerian Foreign Minister Ibrahim Gambari in The Hague
The Commission proposes that Civil Society organizations and UN member-nations collaborate to organize a World Conference on Global Institutions in 2020, the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, to provide a target date to enact the urgent global governance reforms necessary for a secure and just future. We must do what we can to push forward this initiative.
The Commission is strongly influenced by world federalists. One of the Commissioners is in fact Lloyd Axworthy, a former Foreign Minister of Canada, who is also President of the World Federalist Movement.
LOCAL
Wednesday 28 October 2020
11:00 am-12.00 pm
Australia/Sydney
Free
For more information and registration please go to
Community Engagement page
In conversation with Susan Glasser & Peter Baker on the US election
Friday, 6 November 2020, 1.00-2.00pm AEDT
For more information and registration please go to
Community Engagement page
Deadline 22 January 2021
Join ICAN'S virtual march by taking a photo solo or with a group, with a sign calling on Australia to join the treaty. Post it on social media and send it to icanw.org.au to hand over to the Prime Minister when the treaty enters into force.