The Global Market Square – The Future Design of the Global Economy

The Financial Crisis has reshuffled the global economy and shown the complexity of financial markets worldwide. Increasing volatility in fast-paced markets adds to a growing complex financial system that seems impossible to control. As a result of a decreasing economy, central banks brought down the main interest rates to support troubled economy with an access to cheap money. Banks used these chances to increase cash by raising their own investment activities and keep the economy afloat. However banks did not grant cheap credits to companies and money stayed hard up. The politics of low interest rates might have been the accurate way but it did not go far enough to secure the recovery of the world economy. After the Crisis and the fail of the Yale Model; investors focus on short commodities to retain them from free trade. Consequently these goods become scarce, their prices increase and at the end of the day investors sell their goods when profits reach their maximums. The price for iron ore and coal for example doubled in just one year. This leads to a stagnancy of the industry and the economy. Experts say that these prices will be the limitation for a better industrial performance. They even believe that production will only take place where resources exist. What are the results of the increase in commodity trade? How are countries, companies and people influenced by a huge raise of prices? Companies suffering from this problem demand for far-reaching regulations. In times of free market economy any kinds of regulations seem hard to enforce. In addition the will for regulation may be questionable due to the dependence of the economy on investments. Is there a chance for adequate regulations that support our economy and do not constrict it? What was the result of Basel III & Co?

From Dialogue Platform - WBD 2011

Success Stories - Made by Concord

Fighting inequalities & injustice: the NGOs' perspective

The eradication of poverty is the main objective of EU development cooperation and policies. These are more than mere noble ambitions; the Lisbon Treaty provisions on development are binding and enforceable.

Achievement of an objective as vast as the eradication of poverty requires an unerring commitment to policy coherence, the coordinated and consistent use of all tools, policies and resources toward the objective at hand. Development policy alone will not bring success in this area; EU and Member States' policies in related areas, such as trade, environment, agriculture and foreign policy, must support—or, at minimum, not harm—national, local and regional efforts to eradicate poverty in Southern partner countries.

Like effective treatment of any disease, successful strategies to eradicate poverty must address the causes of the malady, not just the symptoms. The symptoms of poverty include exclusion, hunger, lack of access to education, violence, lack of economic opportunities for people, lack of access to health and so forth. A strong EU development policy must address the causes of poverty as a means to achieving the objective of eradicating it, and thereby alleviating the symptoms. Inequality and discrimination are core amongst these causes, contributed to by poor governance and corruption. A sustainable European Union international development framework should support people, by addressing these causes and building an environment that is conducive to the realization of human rights. This commitment to the basic rights of equality and non-discrimination lays the foundation for true, enduring empowerment of the citizens of the Global South.

Success Stories - Made by Mozambique

Center of Bio Fuel Cabo Delgado in Mozambique

ADPP Mozambique has established a Farmers' Club in Cabo Delgado where, in addition to mobilizing farmers, it has built a center called 'BBC Bilibiza Bio fuel Center' to process jatropha seeds for the production of bio-fuel.

ADPP Mozambique in cooperation with FACT and the Ministry of Agriculture.

ADPP Mozambique has established a Farmers' Club in Cabo Delgado where, in addition to mobilizing farmers, it has built a center called 'BBC Bilibiza Bio fuel Center' to process jatropha seeds for the production of bio-fuel.

The processing centre consists of a generator, two oil presses, different types of filters and a vehicle. The generator and the vehicle have been modified and can now run on the jatropha bio fuel. In addition to being a production centre of bio-fuels, the Centre is also used for investigation of jatropha plants in Mozambique originating from other countries.

Until now, the seeds produced in Cabo Delgado have produced more oil than the seeds used in other projects. This observation serves as evidence that the province of Cabo Delgado offers climate and land favorable for the cultivation of jatropha. The percentage of oil extracted varies between 20 and 25 % of the seed weight. The project evidence also indicates that planting of jatropha has reduced considerably the amount of weeds in the trees' vicinity.

The products we expect to have:

The oil of jatropha, in addition to being used as fuel for motors, will also be used for soap and bio pesticides and the press cake will be used as manure to maintain the fertile ground.

The bio-fuel center will buy the jatropha seeds from the farmers and will produce the vegetable oil that is presently used for soap production.

The Future of the Project

The Centre of Bio-fuel will be the base for this project and it will:

- Produce jatropha oil and gain experiences for commercial production;

- Instruct the farmers in the cultivation and in the harvest of the jatropha plants;

- Give courses on jatropha production, oil pressing, modification of diesel engines, soap production, bio-fuel and oil production for lamps;

- Conduct research on how to produce oil of good quality that is free of particles and that has the necessary PH value and can therefore be used for bio-fuel in diesel engines. A laboratory will be added to the factory And will fulfill a very important role in the implementation of the entire process, as it will be where the level of acidity of the oil and different formulas for the production of soap will be tested;

- Produce oil and soap to sell to the local communities so that community members do not need to travel long distances to purchase these items.

Success Stories- Made by US

AudienceScapes Research Drives Effective Health Communication in Africa

The AudienceScapes Africa survey research was used by the U.S. President's Malaria Intiative and its local partners in Ghana and Kenya to determine the best conduits ford delivering behavior-change communications on malaria to citizens of those countries.

InterMedia's AudienceScapes project (www.audiencescapes.org) provides evidence-based guidance on how people in Africa gather, share and use critical information. It measures acces and use of media, ICTs and word-of-mouth information sources. Research has beenn conducted in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

The U.S. President's Malaria Initiative uses targeted communications programs to promote use of anti-malarial medications and bednets in several African countries. But the program suffered from a lack of knowledge about what sources of information people in these countries had access to.

The AudienceScapes research project filled this knowledge gap.

Kelly McCorkendale, a USAID official working on the initiative, said, 'we used the [AudienceScapes] data to show that robust behavoir change communications for malaria in Africa should hone in on two major channels - namely radio and personal communication via health workers - instead of spreading it too thinly amongs too many communication channels.'

She continued: 'Overall, we want to encourage a more streamlined, cost-effective approach to BCC delivery, and AudienceScapes is a valuable tool in this respect.'

AudienceScapes is a project of InterMedia, the global research-based consulting company catering to the needs of development organizatins worldwide. AudienceScapes research has been conducted and applied so far in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

Beyond health, the research also provides a rich base of knowledge in use of mass media, mobile devices and the internet; access to information about personal finance and mobile money services; and access to information about agricultural issues.

Focus Development Dialogue on Poverty Alleviation

Investments in priority sectors like agriculture and health would be futile without a profound, honest and open political and policy dialogue with governments and communities benefiting from EU cooperation. It is important to foresee that, on the EU side, the core of political/policy interaction with developing countries like Rwanda or Malawi is about "poverty alleviation" and the root causes of poverty are regarded as being inequality, discrimination, exclusion and vulnerability in the partner country. All sectoral policy should take place within this framework. EU representatives claim the fact that there is ample room for the EU to respect Southern partner nations' ownership of global development issues while maintaining their own convictions and values regarding these issues. By providing the opportunity for the EU to work with the least developed countries and developing new policies that can reinstate a sustainable view on prosperity for both partners, there is consensus on the need for North-South cooperation.

Development is a process that requires long-term strategies and sustained implementation. The determined pursuit of these programs and strategies will make a difference in reducing poverty and inequality, strengthening the development cooperation's profile ahead of the negotiations for the next multi-annual financial framework for 2015.

Whatever shape future financing instruments might take, the Lisbon Treaty's commitment to poverty eradication makes a continued commitment to the efficient and coordinated use of ODA (Official Development Assistance)imperative. The EU can and should seize the opportunity of these budget negotiations taking place until January 2011 to push for a more involved approach to international development - an approach that truly focuses on countries and populations where needs are the greatest and on activities that guarantee that EU policies can make a positive change.

Do YOU support EU's financial aid and involvement in the least developed countries ?

The Post-Lisbon Landscape: Development at a Crossroads

The EU Lisbon Treaty, which came into effect in December 2009 marked the end of a difficult period of EU internal reform by providing a legal framework and new institutions that should enable the EU to underpin its political role on the world stage. In a context of economic and financial crisis, with emerging new global players as China and India, it is increasingly important for the EU to become a more coherent, credible, effective and visible actor in the world.

The EU has been promoting a long-term vision on integration, cooperation and sustainable development for decades. A major donor worldwide, a trading partner with the developing world and a renowned supporter of strategic partnerships with other regions, the 27 member states prove a major interest in providing stakeholders with the means of encouraging economic growth.

It is increasingly recognised that the Treaty of Lisbon presents opportunities but also harbours risks to development therefore we must carefully assess the potential offered by it and utilise it in EU's interests and its partners. The main goal is to develop more consistent EU external actions, ranging from diplomacy to defence, from trade to development, supporting sustainable economic, social and environmental development.

The key European actors are:

Herman Van Rompuy - President of the European Council

Catherine Ashton - High Representative for Foreign affairs and Security Policy

Andris Piebalgs - EU Commissioner for Development

Stefan Fule - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy

Karel De Gucht - EU Commissioner for Trade

Kristalina Georgieva - EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response

EU objectives regarding development policy and cooperation

• increased EU coherence towards developing countries
• safeguarding development objectives and funds
• closer cooperation in global fora
• a more influential European Parliament
• better coordinated delivery of EU development cooperation

Are they feasible goals or not? What do YOU think?

WBD Topics

The 14th World Business Dialogue aims at analysing complexity and complex systems and elaborating on future prospects. Key topics for a profound discussion about complexity are:

European Union

Between Integration and Confrontation

The European Union is, on the one hand, the world?s most successful project of regional integration and has gained enormous power in international politics and economics. On the other hand, the decision about Greece?s future demonstrates how complex and intransparent interdependencies are within the union. It is not evident, who is responsible for which decision. How can interests and different standpoints of political and business actors be united and accommodated in the end?

Creating Tomorrow's Business

How can we deal with complex systems?

Which requirements for managers and leaders are imposed by the "global village" and the challenges of our time? How can interconnections in the globalized world be organized and managed? Entrepreneurs and managers are central actors within the complex economic system. Modern value added chains generate networks of companies that are crucial competitors in contrast to former singular companies in rivalry.

Operating globally

An increasing degree of globalization implies a more and more complex corporate value creation. Research, production and sales take place in every part of the word. Value chains encompass the entire globe and contain a variety of challenges. Different stages of production take place at different production sites, products are then distributed globally. Therefore supply chains play a major role. However, due to our highly dynamic economy, they are affected by enormous volatility and the risk of a system failure cannot be ignored regarding the sensitive interdependencies.

As requirements towards the operations of companies highly diverge from region to region, companies with a multinational presence face an increasing complexity within and outside of their corporate perimeters. Dealing with employees and consumers, companies have to build bridges between different social values and their own philosophy. If a company manages to do this successfully, new markets and opportunities emerge, especially for the industrial sector.