The Shared Societies Project
Building a World Safe for Difference
Programs
- The Shared Societies Project
- The G20 in a Post Crisis World
- Women's Political Participation and Leadership
- Energy and Climate Change
- Global Leadership for Haiti Reconstruction
- Political Leadership for Democratic Transition in Kyrgyzstan
- Freedom of Association in the MENA
- The Political Dimensions of the World Economic Crisis
- Political Leadership for Democratic Development
- Democracy, Security and Terrorism
- General Assemblies and Annual Conferences
The project in action
The Economics of Shared Societies at the 4th Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations |
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OECD’s Report on Perspectives on Global Development 2012: Social Cohesion in a Shifting World |
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From Rising Inequalities to Shared Societies at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings |
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Kim Campbell Promotes Political Party Development and Civic Political Engagement in Kyrgyzstan |
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Valuing Diversity and Dialogue in a New Alliance between Citizens and Governments in the MENA Region |
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Members Birkavs and Roman Promote Shared Societies during Second Mission to Kyrgyzstan |
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A New Era of Social Justice |
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Peaceful and Shared Societies: The Challenge of Current Leaders |
 26 May 2011, Brussles – Club de Madrid Secretary General Carlos Westendorp stressed in the presentation of the 2011 Global Peace Index (GPI) that “societies are most likely to be peaceful, democratic and prosperous when leaders and citizens recognize the value of diversity and actively build a shared society”. Read the full article |
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The economic benefits of Shared Societies |
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April 2011, USA - During the last weeks of April, the Club de Madrid has presented the Economic Argument of Shared Societies to the United Nations, the World Bank, the Brookings Institution, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the Center of Concern and Gallup. Read the full article |
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A Shared Societies Approach to Economic and Social Policy |
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An inclusive and shared society: key driver for well-being by 2020 and beyond |
 29 March 2011, Brussles - Alfred Gusenbauer, Former Chancellor of the Austrian Federation and Member of the Club de Madrid, presented on March 29th, for the first time, one of the main outcomes of the Shared Societies Project: The Economic Rationale for Shared Societies. This research was presented during a Policy Dialogue in Brussels organized by the Club de Madrid and the European Policy Center (EPC), entitled “Shared Societies and inclusiveness: key drivers for well-being by 2020 and beyond”. Read more |
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Political leadership is critical in determining if a society is inclusive and shared |
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Video Summary - Activities 2010 |
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"For an inclusive society": a radio series by Radio Nederland* |
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2010 - The Club de Madrid believes that the issue of social division is one of the most critical issues of our time. In the belief that societies are more likely to be peaceful, democratic and prosperous when leaders and citizens recognize the value of diversity and actively contribute to building an inclusive society, the Shared Societies Project, a global initiative of the Club de Madrid, was designed to respond to an urgent request from leaders around the world. These leaders required arguments and action plans to help them effectively and constructively manage ethnic, cultural, religious differences (promoting human rights and respecting the dignity of people) to facilitate sharing, inclusion, equal opportunities and participation. It is precisely all this spirit that inspires this radio series. The final product is the joint effort of the Club de Madrid and Radio Nederland. We hope that your station, your institution, your educational institution spread the content of these programs and promote the dialogue necessary to move towards more inclusive societies. *The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Club de Madrid |
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Armenia's foreign policy: Security challenges and European perspectives |
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In an agile debate, experts, journalists and diplomats discussed regional security issues, such as the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict brokered by the OSCE Minsk group (co-chaired by the US, Russia and France) and the normalisation process between Armenia and Turkey, as well as the wider context of Armenia's European integration efforts. Read more |
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Dialogue and Action |
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November 2010 - Matthew Hodes, Director of Programs of the Club de Madrid, addressed the audience of the V Congress "Dialogue and Action" organized by the Bertelsmann Foundation in Madrid (22 November). The congress reflected on the increasing diversity in our societies as an opportunity to enrich them and showcased some examples of inclusive policies that illustrate these ideas. Matthew Hodes talked about the relationship between well-being and social cohesion and the work the Club de Madrid is doing in building the economic rationale for Shared Societies. More |
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Leadership for social cohesion |
 November 2010 - Carlos Westendorp, Secretary General of the Club of Madrid, recalled during the Second Meeting on Social Cohesion and Regional Development, Cities and Immigration, that ensuring that public policy and political discourse have a positive effect on social cohesion, is a responsibility that lies under governments and political leaders. This meeting, organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Fundación Instituto de Cultura del Sur, analyzed, during November 17-19, the role that social cohesion has played in the past and will play in the future. Read more |
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Special Session on the Economic Argument for Shared Societies |
 November 2010 - The Shared Societies Project organized a special session within the Club de Madrid’s General Assembly (Madrid, 5 November 2010). The session focused on the Economic Rationale for Shared Societies, a project strand dedicated to the exploration of links between economic well-being and the existence of a shared society. Backed with empirical evidence, the project strand aims to present the economic case for shared societies. For this purpose, the project convened a reference group of experts that, over the past eight months, has constituted a multidisciplinary committee to examine the link between economic development and shared societies. Furthermore, it aims to consider the best ways to present the economic argument for inclusion and appropriate policy options to leaders. This meeting served as a forum for the working group to present its reflections and recommendations to the Members of the Club de Madrid. The session was fortunate enough to have as a guest invitee Mr. Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace and the Global Peace Index, who addressed the audience to share the work of the Global Peace Index. He stressed the strong links and synergies between this index and the Shared Societies project. After presentations by Mr. Killelea, Dr. Clem McCartney, Content Coordinator of the Shared Societies Project and Werner Puschra, Director of FES New York and Member of the Reference Group of Experts, there was an open discussion that concluded with the members of the Club de Madrid endorsing the initiative. They also added some recommendations and expressed their wish for the Club de Madrid to continue working efforts on the issue. More |
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“What matters is not whether we can live together… is knowing how to live together" |
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"Diversity itself is neither a blessing nor a curse. It is simply a reality. The world is a mosaic of countless shades and our country, our provinces, our cities will be increasingly the image and likeness of the world. What matters is not whether we can live together despite differences of color, language or belief, what matters is knowing how to live together, how to turn our diversity for the benefit, not disaster". Read more. |
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A new way for Europe: from Separation to Shared Societies |
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October 2010 - In the light of recent events and statements in Europe the Club de Madrid is calling for a new and different conversation on how we create societies where different groups live in harmony with each other. The current concerns can also become an opportunity for hope where barriers are being brought down and change may come from new directions, leading us together from divided to shared societies. In the light of recent events and statements in Europe the Club de Madrid is calling for a new and different conversation on how we create societies where different groups live in harmony with each other. Whether through divisive political actions or insensitive rhetoric, the old terminology of assimilation and separation once again threaten to frame the debate. Read more. |
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A call to action to build shared societies at the Cities of Migration conference |
 September 2010 - Wim Kok, Former Prime Minister of The Netherlands and current President of the Club de Madrid delivered the closing speech at the 2010 International Conference Cities of Migration (The Hague, 3-4 October). The meeting proved successful in engaging international city leaders, migration experts and local practitioners in a practical dialogue. The participants exchanged ideas relating to the issue of integration as a critical dimension of urban prosperity and growth. Read more |
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The meeting of the Fourth Forum of the 
The Club de Madrid was invited to co-launch the 
The Club de Madrid, the Center of Concern and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, have jointly organised the second conference this year at the International Monetary and Financial Institutions: “From Rising Inequalities to Shared Societies: The need to create a sustainable International Monetary and Financial System” , held on September 25 in Washington DC during the Annual Meetings of the IMF-World Bank.
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, September 2011, – With the objective of supporting peaceful and just transitional political processes in the run up to the October 30th Presidential elections, Club de Madrid Member 
7 July 2011, Paris – The Workshop “Valuing Diversity and Dialogue: A New Alliance between Citizens and Governments”, organized by the MENA-OECD Governance Programme and the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation (ALF), gathered selected representatives of civil society and governments from MENA and OECD countries active in promoting diversity, social and intercultural dialogue to share experiences and disseminate good practices with as specific focus on the MENA Region.
23 June 2011, Bishkek – With the objective of offering counsel to key stakeholders within the leadership and political sectors, Club de Madrid Members Valdis Birkavs, Former Prime Minister of Latvia, and Peter Roman, Former Prime Minister of Romania, encourage acceptance of the steps taken in the newly developed Ethnic Concept initiated by the President´s Office. This Concept garnered national support during an important Kuraltai (people’s assembly) on June 18th convened by President Rosa Otunbaeva. Members emphasized that equally important is the implementation process of the Ethnic Concept in which many challenges will be faced and widespread support and consistent approaches to overcoming challenges must also be adopted.
15 June 2011, Geneva – Five Members of the Club de Madrid (Former heads of state and government from Ecuador, Ghana, Nigeria, Yemen and the Netherlands) addressed the need for a new era of social justice and sustainable and shared societies in the wake of the global financial and jobs crisis during two special events held at 
April 12th, 2011, New York City - “A Shared Societies Approach to Economic and Social Policy”, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. April 12th, New York City. With the participation of: Mr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations and Carlos Westendorp, Secretary-General, Club de Madrid, Former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This session provided an opportunity to learn more about the contribution of a Shared Societies Approach can make to the key concern of UNDESA – social integration. After initial presentations by the representatives of the Club de Madrid there was time for discussion in which it was possible to consider the relevance of these ideas, how they can be applied to local and national situations and their implications for global policy frameworks.
20 January 2011, Paris - Cassam Uteem, Co-chair of the Shared Societies Project, addressed the final plenary session of the International Seminar on Social Cohesion and Development, organised by the 
Don´t miss our latest video with a 
December 2010 - The Club de Madrid and FRIDE organized today the open discussion on ‘Armenia's foreign policy: Security challenges and European perspectives’, with the participation of Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. The meeting took place on Friday, 17 December in Madrid.
October 2010 - During the last weekend of October, the French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf received the 2010 Prince of Asturias Award for Letters. In his acceptance speech Maalouf highlighted the need to see the diversity within our societies as a reality that will continue growing and also as an opportunity to enrich our societies.