Month: September 2023

This year´s event took place between September 20-22 in New York City, within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (Funglode) and its sister institution in the United States, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), in coordination with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), organized the Global Forum Latin America and Caribbean 2023.

The Forum was held from September 20 to 22 in New York and brought together representatives from the main think-tanks dedicated to the study of regional dynamics. Academics and well-known personalities from the political, economic and social spheres of Latin America and the Caribbean were present at the annual event.

This year, the Forum addressed the influence and impact that Artificial Intelligence is having today on democracies and electoral processes in the region. Also, its impact on societies, the economy and politics, and how it can be regulated for a responsible use and to provide social benefits.

Participants at the event included the former President of the Dominican Republic and president of Funglode, Dr. Leonel Fernández; the regional director for Latin America and Caribbean of International IDEA, Daniel Zovatto; the 2001 Economic Nobel Laureate, Joseph Stiglitz; the former President of the Republic of Bolivia, Carlos Mesa, and the former Vice President of Costa Rica and Secretary General of International IDEA, Kevin Casas-Zamora.

Also, José Antonio Ocampo, professor at the School of International Public Affairs, Columbia University; José Manuel Salazar Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean (ECLAC); Michelle Muschett, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); and Paulina Astroza, professor of International Law, International Relations and European Integration at the University of Concepción, Chile.

Also, renowned experts and international analysts.

About the Forum

The main objective of this initiative is to promote a space for debate and discussion, as well as offer a pluralistic platform for the exchange of ideas and analysis of the current role Latin America and the Caribbean play on the world stage. Also, its implications and challenges, in times of great uncertainty, as a result of the global geopolitical and economic crisis.

Joseph Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, highlighted this particular issue at the inaugural conference of the Latin America and Caribbean 2023 Global Forum, held in New York City this past Thursday, September 21.

(New York, September 21, 2023). Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz considered that it is necessary to listen to the voices coming from Latin American when the time comes to rewrite a new framework and rules of globalization. His statements were made during his inaugural remarks, delivered at the inaugural conference of the Global Forum Latin America and the Caribbean 2023.

The event was organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (Funglode), the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

During his keynote address on the “Global Economic Situation: Globalization in the Current Economic and Geopolitical Scenario,” Nobel Laureate Stiglitz stated that there are many changes currently underway under the globalization process that will impact Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as other countries around the world.

He also specified that the most important change in the globalization process has to do with the ideology that supports it. The process has been criticized both from the left and the right, and stated that economists have concluded that the importance of globalization was overestimated.

Stiglitz proposed that there is a new global geopolitical and economic structure that reveals the importance of borders, which was clearly demonstrated after the pandemic. He also noted that it is more important for countries to protect citizens than to follow the rules.

The Latin America and Caribbean Global Forum is held annually in New York within the context of the United Nations General Assembly. It aims to be a space for the exchange of ideas on the challenges and current situation of Latin America, as well as the consequences and impact of global trends that influence its social and economic development at the global level.

On this occasion, the event discussed the influence and impact that Artificial Intelligence has today on the democracies and electoral processes in the region.