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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.

The former president of the Dominican Republic and president of Funglode/GFDD, Leonel Fernández, and Daniel Zovatto, Latin America Director of International IDEA, presented the final conclusions of the Global Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean 2022

NEW YORK. – The Global Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean, which brought together experts from the region and the United States for two days, concluded the invitation they received to evaluate the “delicate situation” that the countries of the area have experienced after the crisis initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic and obvious signs of the presence of political authoritarianism. The impact of the Ukraine-Russia war was also analyzed by the experts.

At the conclusion of the event, the former President of the Dominican Republic and President of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (Funglode), Leonel Fernández, and Daniel Zovatto, Latin America Director of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), summarized the presentations developed during the seven panels and five discussions, on Thursday, September 22 and Friday, September 23, at Fordham University´s  Lincoln Center, in New York City.

The forum was organized by Funglode and its sister institution in the United States, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), along with IDEA International, with the collaboration of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Institute for Latin American Studies (ILAS).

In this 2022 Forum, experts analyzed the current economic, social, political and cultural world situation, and how these sectors have impacted the Latin American region, stated Fernández and Zovatto during their final conclusions.

“Our participating experts, representing multiple disciplines, foresee a delicate situation in the economic, social and geopolitical point of view of our countries, beginning with the context of the weak post-pandemic recovery and the war in Ukraine,” they highlighted.

They also added that the Forum´s 2022 edition focused, in addition to the traditional issues of democracy and electoral politics, on debates related to citizen security, immigration, the environment, quality education, social networks and gender equality. Specific panels were also held on Colombia´s presidential Administration, the upcoming elections in Brazil and the plebiscite in Chile.

Various experts concluded that, despite the gloomy outlook, we are at a decisive juncture that requires greater empowerment of the population and efficient and intelligent decision-making processes.

Natasha Despotovic, GFDD´s Executive Director, and Daniel Zovatto, were the Forum´s academic directors, which was presented using a hybrid format, with face-to-face and virtual presentations.

All exhibitions and debates are available on the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/GlobalFoundation

The Forum´s oficial website is: https://www.globalforumlac.org