Events

Sao Paulo, Brazil

OCP Policy Center and the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in partnership with the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Institute, are organizing an Atlantic Strategy Group conference on June 23^rd and 24^th, 2015 in São Paulo, Brazil with a focus on trade, energy, food, and Geopolitical System in the international system. The event will be preceded by a formal dinner for conference participants on June 22^nd, 2015.

The convening is hosted by former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso who will join the entire conference and related activities, with the participation of roughly 45 senior policy, business, and civil society leaders from Africa, Europe, Latin America (primarily Brazil), Morocco and the United States. They will discuss the shape of what is to come in critical areas such as sustainable agriculture and food trade, energy, trade, and governance — and how our respective interests may overlap, intersect, or clash, in the second quarter of the century.

Theme

The main theme of the conference is trade, energy, food, and geopolitical changes in the international system and its rationale is as follow:

Emerging powers are players in a complex and growing network of new multilateral architecture and regional organizations, as frustration mounts at lagging reform of traditional organizations. For 70 years, the U.S.-Europe transatlantic relationship has been the most important partnership for both Europe and the United States. It has served as a foundation for security, economic prosperity, and effective governance, and has been a major generator of global public goods. But, as global power becomes more diffuse, the promise and challenges of transatlantic ties are evolving.

The last 15 years saw significant growth in many South Atlantic countries—as well as concerted efforts by some key players to raise their geopolitical and geoeconomic profiles. New linkages of many sorts—economic, political, human, licit and illicit—have taken shape around the Atlantic north, south, east, and west. At the same time, extra-regional players, chief among them China, have expanded their economic, trade, and political engagement throughout the Atlantic Basin.

The Atlantic is a more diverse, dynamic, and competitive arena than ever. Yet, its four continents have a shared 500-year history whose legacy includes many demographic, cultural, and normative affinities. This legacy is often fraught with tensions, but its linkages, built over centuries of interaction in a shared space, also provide resilient foundations for greater cooperation in the 21st Century. Such an environment should summon Atlantic players to re-evaluate the old assumptions and mental maps as they seek to identify and build practical 21st century partnerships that can advance their interests. This is an important moment to look beyond the headlines and focus on the trends that will shape the strategic environment that emerges over the next two decades. Of particular interest will be how political, security, and trade dynamics between North America and Europe might affect key countries of the Atlantic south. So, too, will be how various integration, growth, and security scenarios in the Atlantic south might affect core interests of other major Atlantic societies.

PROGRAM

About GMF

The German Marshall Fund of the United States strengthens transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship.

In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 as a non-partisan, non-profit organization through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has offices in Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, Bucharest, Warsaw, and Tunis. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm. More information can be found on GMF’s website.

About IFHC

The Institute Fernando Henrique Cardoso has been founded by the former President of Brazil Fernando H. Cardoso. As a forum for debating democracy and development, the institute’s mission is to contribute, from a global perspective, to increased understanding and the dissemination of information about the country and the challenges it faces. To address these challenges, the iFHC seeks to:

• - Identify and debate these challenges and encounter ways to overcome them
• - Promote interchange among social, political and intellectual actors
• - Foment commitment to democratic politics
• - Broaden interest around themes related to the public agenda

To achieve its objectives, the foundation organizes exhibitions, educational events, cross-disciplinary debates, studies and publications.