2024 Future of Global Governance Series

Organizers: Marvin Cheung and Marguerite Van Cook, Ph.D.

Organizations: The Center for Global Agenda (CGA) at Unbuilt Labs and the Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR)

Date: TBD - This conference has been delayed until further notice

Tentative Venue: TBD

Format: 10 minutes presentation with 5 minutes Q&A

Publication: Open access PDF as well as a hardcover book published by Unbuilt Labs and distributed by Barnes & Noble

Description:

Building upon the 2022 and 2023 Future of Global Governance Series Conference, the Center for Global Agenda (CGA) at Unbuilt Labs and the Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR) are pleased to present the hybrid 2024 Future of Global Governance Conference at the Royal Society.

This year’s conference recognizes the urgency to end backsliding on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in the face of existential risks. It is critical for institutions to adapt to a rapidly changing global landscape, evolve, and deliver positive enduring change through inclusive decision-making. To whom are institutions talking to and listening to? What are the different theories, methods, and technologies that can help us co-create knowledge and actions between academic and non-academic stakeholders? How might institutions collaborate with communities at local, national, regional, and global levels — to engage 8 billion voices?

The 2024 conference will feature a presentation and a publication (open access PDF and hardcover paperback) published by Unbuilt Labs and distributed by Barnes & Noble. We will be accepting abstracts (1 paragraph, no more than 100 words) for (1) graphics and (2) written submissions in the format of 500-word statements or academic essays under 3,000 words (excluding bibliography and footnotes). Authors may indicate whether they would like to be considered for both presentation and publication, or publication only. We will do our best to accommodate author’s wishes.

Please note: We are not accepting abstracts at this time.

We are open to a wide variety of subject matters relevant to the conference, but the following topics are of particular interest:

• Global governance: effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions, global commons and global public goods

• Science: science diplomacy, science communication, transdisciplinary research, Health for All

• Systems: system-wide transformation, sustainable development, evolution of institutions, just transition, grand challenges

• Management: sustainable business model innovation, impact assessment, social enterprises

• Risks: derisk, fragility, global systemic risk, existential risks

• Engagement: listening, transference and bias, agency, empathy, stakeholder discovery, technologies, gender parity, public spaces

Center for Global Agenda (CGA) at Unbuilt Labs

Dedicated to the study of global governance and global agenda setting for non-state actors, CGA is currently hosting Closing the Compliance Gap: System-wide Transformation Methods to Advance the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, a publication at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). One of our signature events is the annual Future of Global Governance Series. We will be recommending on the methods non-state actors can employ to accelerate sustainable development, protect global commons, provide global public goods, offer checks and balances, and deliver Health for All.

Co-Directors: Marvin Cheung and Marguerite Van Cook, Ph.D.

Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR)

As part of GCSR’s 10th Anniversary Strategic Plan, GCSR announced a revised mandate at the UN General Assembly Science Summit (SSUNGA77) as part of its ongoing commitment to being a force for positive change through cutting-edge and pragmatic research: “We study, forecast, and guide systems change to solve grand challenges”. GCSR serves as a platform to convene experts in times of great uncertainty, and it was first convened following the 2013 symposium at The Royal Society, “Global Integrated Assessment: Making Sense of Complexity in an Interdependent World”.

Chair: Marvin Cheung

Marvin Cheung

Marvin Cheung is a business executive and global governance scholar. He co-directs the Center for Global Agenda (CGA) and directs the Venture Strategy Group (VSG) at Unbuilt Labs, where he serves as a special advisor to private sector individuals, organizations, and boards. He advises on the ideas, methods, and movements that have the potential to change global dynamics. He is a Global Diplomacy Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and a UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab Expert on SDGs and Strategic Planning. He has been a featured speaker at the UN General Assembly Science Summit. He also serves as the Chair of the Global Consortium for Systems Research (GCSR), and on the Advisory Board of the Lifeboat Foundation.

Marguerite Van Cook, Ph.D.

Marguerite examines the interactions between culture, politics, and the arts. Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. on the History of Political Economics and French, she received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia University. She has extensive experience in political relations and campaigning for change. She specializes in reframing narratives and public engagement. A prolific artist as well, she toured as opening act for The Clash, and became a New York Times bestselling author. Her artwork is in many public collections, including the MOMA, the Whitney Museum and Harvard. She is currently, Board President at Visual AIDS, the organization that brought us the Red Ribbon AIDS awareness symbol as well as A Day Without Art. She is the President Emeritus of Howl Arts! She is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York.