FEPS at the United Nations Summit of the Future

FEPS participated in the Summit of the Future, which took place in New York on 22 and 23 September 2024 at the United Nations Headquarters. In cooperation with its international partners, FEPS also organised and supported several official side events during the Summit of the Future Action Days on 20 and 21 September 2024.

The Summit of the Future brought together world leaders to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future. This was achieved through an action-oriented outcome document called the Pact for the Future, which was approved by consensus. This initiative was conceived to meet existent commitments, address present and future global challenges, and revamp the multilateral system, making it fit for purpose.

This Pact is the culmination of an inclusive, years-long process to adapt international cooperation to the realities of today and the challenges of tomorrow. The most wide-ranging international agreement in many years, covering entirely new areas as well as issues on which agreement has not been possible in decades, the Pact aims above all to ensure that international institutions can deliver in the face of a world that has changed dramatically since they were created. As the Secretary-General has said, “we cannot create a future fit for our grandchildren with a system built by our grandparents.

– United Nations, 2024

The Pact covers seven key areas: peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital transformation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the reform of global governance.

It also includes two annexes: the Global Digital Compact, the first worldwide agreement on the international regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), and the Declaration for Future Generations, which aims at securing the rights and well-being of future generations.

The FEPS Delegation, headed by our President Maria João Rodrigues, has played a significant role during the Summit by bringing key inputs to the global discussion that have informed the UN Pact.

More concretely, FEPS successfully co-organised two side events:

On 19 September, as part of FEPS’ ‘UNited for’ flagship project, FEPS presented insights from its book A New Global Deal: Reforming World Governance, which contributes to open dialogue across all continents concerning the priorities of reforming world governance and policies to address current global challenges. Find out more about this event.

On 20 September, FEPS presented the policy recommendations of the T20 Brasil Communiqué to the G20 leaders in our official side event “T20 inputs for the Summit of the Future“. The T20 Brasil Communiqué includes policy recommendations for the G20 leaders. It focuses on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and reforming global governance based on extensive consultations with global think tanks, including FEPS.

Watch “T20 inputs for the Summit of the Future” on UNTV:

The T20 is a G20 engagement group that brings together think tanks and research centres from G20 members under the Brazillian Presidency of the G20, FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues is part of the T20 Brasil’s International Advisory Council.

FEPS also supported the following side events:

• Room for optimism: A precondition for success in challenging times. The video is available here (FEPS President intervened at minute 1’26)
• The road through the summit of the future: Generating impact from the Pact for the Future
• Harnessing artificial intelligence & other cyber-technologies for a safe, just & sustainable future

The book ‘A New Global Deal: Reforming global governance’ contains proposals to reform world governance, address current global challenges, and get the Sustainable Development Goals back on track.

Five years before the deadline connected to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, we see increasing inequalities worldwide and a general backsliding in implementing the SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015. Many countries simply lack the means to do so. The book identifies various global governance reforms to be implemented in the form of a New Global Deal.

On this topic, you can also read FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues’ article assessing the outcomes of the Pact of the Future.