Dubai Summit launches wide-ranging dialogue to improve and support international cooperation

Over 700 leaders from academia, business, government and civil society have gathered for the world's biggest multistakeholder dialogue addressing some of the most pressing issues on the global agenda.

"Let's seize the opportunity to rethink, redesign and rebuild to help improve the state of the world," said André Schneider, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Economic Forum, opening the Summit.

"This is the most powerful brainstorming session in the world," said Mohamed Alabbar, Co-Chair of the Summit on the Global Agenda and Chairman of Emaar Properties. He called for "good proposals ... for responsible politicians and business leaders to take forward."

Summit participants are part of the Forum's Network of Global Agenda Councils, which comprises over 70 Councils dedicated to issues that include climate change, food security, faith, trade and systemic financial risk. Over three days, they have the opportunity to brainstorm face-to-face on proposals to improve international cooperation.

The leaders present at the Summit include three Nobel Laureates, 240 academics and 180 public figures drawn from civil society, including NGOs, think tanks and international organizations.

Their collated proposals will form Council Reports that will be put before participants at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010 in Davos-Klosters.

These multistakeholder discussions and proposals contribute to a broader Forum undertaking to support the systems of international cooperation - the Global Redesign Initiative. The process benefits from the guidance of four governments, namely Qatar, Singapore, Switzerland and Tanzania.

"Now is the time to use the World Economic Forum platform to develop thinking on how we can address gaps and breakdowns in global cooperation,"

said Mark Malloch-Brown, Senior Adviser for the Global Redesign Initiative at the World Economic Forum.

"This moment in international relations presents an opportunity for informal networks of experts like these gathered here to put ideas out there, especially to decision-makers," echoed Richard Samans, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.

"The Global Agenda Councils are at the intellectual heart of the Global Redesign Initiative," explained Mark Malloch-Brown. "Forum Industry sectors, the Forum of Young Global Leaders and activities undertaken at Forum Regional Meetings" are also part of the initiative.

"The power of this idea is that some of these leaders will take some of the ideas and pick them up and run with them," concluded Malloch-Brown.