On June 18 and 19, 2009 the Foresight project held its second major regional symposium in Washington, D.C. Organized by the Alfred Herrhausen Society in partnership with Policy Network and the Brookings Institution, it provided a unique opportunity to advance the task of forging a new global consensus on the shape of the emerging world order and the role of the United States within it.
The U.S. government faces a challenge in its efforts to revitalize the economy and restore American leadership abroad in an increasingly complex international environment. The symposium in Washington, D.C. involved senior figures from the new Obama administration and provided a unique opportunity to learn more about its future visions and strategies. Issues discussed included the fallout of the global financial crisis, the forging of an integrated security policy based on multilateral cooperation and the linked security challenges of climate, energy and proliferation.
Policy-makers, leaders and experts from the United States, Europe, India, China, Russia and Latin America compared and contrasted their perspectives of the key global challenges facing the United States and the rest of the world. International speakers included: Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution; Lawrence Summers, director of the National Economic Council; Peter Mandelson, UK first secretary of state, lord president of the council, secretary of state for business, innovation & skills; Jose Serra, governor of the State of Sao Paulo; Teresa Ribera, Spanish state secretary for climate change; Anatoly Adamishin, former deputy foreign minister of the Russian federation; Bernd Mutzelburg, German special envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan; and Wu Jianmin, president, China Foreign Affairs University.
Foresight began its series of six high-level roundtable symposiums in Russia on 19-20 June 2008; this was followed by an expert roundtable in London at which Joseph Nye gave the keynote address. After Foresight USA, further events are planned in Europe, Brazil, India, China and Japan. The aim of these events is to identify areas where common positions between the Foresight countries/regions can be developed and thus progress made towards forging common futures. By bringing together participants from different parts of the world, these events will help build and sustain a Foresight network.