President of UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad Bande to headline 18th edition of the DOC Rhodes Forum

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Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute

02 Sep, 2020, 09:18 GMT

BERLIN, Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute has the honour to announce that the President of the General Assembly of the UN, H.E. Tijjani Muhammad Bande, will be the headline speaker at the Opening Session of the Rhodes Forum, which takes place online on 1-2 October. Just a few days after the declaration adopted by all member states on the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly will address the Rhodes Forum, which will take place online this year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Titled 'The world at the crossroads again: Reinventing international cooperation', this year's Rhodes Forum will bring together leaders and influencers from around the world to discuss and come up with recommendations for an international architecture that works effectively for all.

Registration for the Forum is free, and can be accessed online here.

Jean-Christophe Bas, CEO of the DOC, said:

"International cooperation and multilateralism have contributed to guaranteeing peace and development since the end of World War Two. Today, this model is profoundly challenged and questioned, and consequently so is global stability and progress. More than ever, in this time of pandemic, there is a need for a global platform for dialogue and exchange truly bringing all perspectives around the table to foster the emergence of shared worldviews. That is actually the purpose of the Rhodes Forum.

The confirmation that President of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad Bande, will speak at the Forum shows the high level of recognition that the DOC Research Institute has achieved to date in bringing people together and exchanging ideas on how we all want to live together on this planet. We warmly welcome everybody who is interested in attending this year's Rhodes Forum to join us at the beginning of October in our new format – from wherever you happen to be in the world."

Other confirmed high-level speakers include:

  • Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister; President, Leaders for Peace;
  • Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation;
  • Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, United Nations Under-Secretary General, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on the Commemoration of the United Nations 75th Anniversary;
  • Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian Minister of Education and former vice president of the World Bank;
  • Kishore Mahbubani, Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; former President of the UN Security Council;
  • Chen Dongxiao, President of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies;
  • Jacques Attali, former President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
  • Djoomart Otorbaev, Former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan
  • Kate Coyer, Director of the Civil Society and Technology Project for the Center for Media, Data and Society at Central European University (CEU), Hungary

Since 2003, the Rhodes Forum has brought together leaders from the business, academic, diplomatic and political communities, including current and former heads of state and government, to discuss crucial issues facing the world today and to facilitate a better understanding of the deep changes our societies are undergoing. 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.

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