4th annual state of the world conference
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Join us at Queen's Landing, Niagara-on-the-Lake for our 4th Annual State of the World Conference, June 6-8, 2016. There are few more gorgeous places than Niagara-on-the-Lake in June. Enjoy a quality learning experiences in wonderful surroundings.
The Learning Program
Seldom has the world faced as many challenging issues as we do today, from climate change, shifting geopolitical power; the possible end of the China growth story; exploding global population; mass migration both within countries and pushing at the borders; a critical need to reduce inequality with new political and economic approaches; a U.S. election; a global technological transformation and more.
We will focus in on six of the major issues facing the world, sharing what the leading global thinkers are saying as well as alternative points of view, and inviting active (but of course civil) discussion amongst our group. While we will not finalize the agenda until closer to the program, given how volatile world events are, we will include several of the following topics. Subjects will be discussed in six 2-hour sessions over the three days, starting mid-morning on June 6 and finishing mid-afternoon on June 8.
Climate Change – Now it Gets Serious: This continues to be the issue of our age. The Paris conference of December 2015 may or may not result in a global deal to reduce emissions, but either way, massive changes will be required to deal with climate change, possibly requiring a fundamental changes in our economic system and way of life. We will do a thorough update on the challenge, the policy options and the status of possible solutions, particularly the shift from fossil fuels to renewables. How will this be accomplished and who will pay?
Demographics and the Migration Crisis: Closely related to climate change is the issue of the rapidly growing population – to almost 10 billion by 2050. The strain on resources and the effect of massive consumption makes population growth of critical importance. One of the effects is mass migration within countries and regions but also across and between continents as evidenced by the mass migration to Europe. How will this play out? How do we support a 10 billion population? We will explore possible scenarios and policy options.
Political Economy - The End of Neoliberalism: Our political economy refers to the way the economic system is organized – free market neoliberalism, social democracy, state capitalism, socialism and so on. The dominant system of the last 30 years, free market neoliberal capitalism is now increasingly discredited as a result of massive inequality and financial instability. Several countries, including the U.S., U.K., Japan, France, Germany, Brazil and even China are struggling to define which system will best serve their people. We will explore the ongoing debate about what kind of political-economic system will best fit 21st century needs.
A Slow-Growth World, A No-Growth World? Ever since the financial crisis of 2008-09, the developed world has had sluggish growth, and that only achieved through huge money printing, negligible interest rates and the relatively high growth in the emerging economies. This game is over. Printing money or “quantitative easing” has been shown to do little other than boost the prices of stocks and real estate. Low interest rates are a dead end. They cannot go any lower. Now the emerging economies, particularly China, are running out of gas. The entire world, but particularly the West, is going to have to live with either very low growth or no growth at all. Maybe this will be great for climate change but how will we adjust after two centuries of almost continuous high growth? How will society handle it?
Technology Transformation: We live in a technological, globally connected world, where technology has enabled massive change everywhere and for everyone, from New York hedge traders to African farmers. But is it all for the good? Has it really improved the human condition? Is it going to be the answer to climate change and other global problems; or are we at a tipping point where technology could hurt us more than help. Is it going to wipe out large numbers of jobs? Are we going to lose what privacy we have left? Is government surveillance going to restrict our basic freedoms? We will explore the arguments pro and con the rapid advance of technology into our lives.
Global Security. How Threatened Are We? Some politicians like to paint a picture of a very dangerous world, justifying extreme measures to prevent terrorism in particular, but also spending lots of money on weapons. There is no doubt that there are security threats to everyone, although in the developed world we have no concept of how insecure life is in much of the developing world. How serious are the threats to our security? Do they justify huge expenditures and restriction of personal freedoms? For example does the massive airport security infrastructure make sense? Should a large portion of security and defense resources be spent actually improving the world? Or is that just a naïve view? We will explore all of these questions, although we aren’t promising answers!
The Obama Presidency and the U.S. Election: Next summer will be an ideal time to assess Obama’s impact and look forward to the presidential race. Obama could be one of the most consequential presidents of the last 50 years; or he could be seen as having not done enough to change the system, or he could, in some people's view, have made the U.S. weaker. We will look at all points of view. The upcoming election will be fascinating, whoever the candidates are. By the time of the conference we will likely know who will duke it out in November. We will assess their chances against the backdrop of waning U.S. power and how a troubled world will function without U.S. leadership.
Geopolitics in 2016 – China, Russia and Iran Oh My!: We are seeing a massive shift in geopolitical power to China (even with its current difficulties). Russia is asserting itself to retain its status as a global power. A new set of emerging middle powers could shift the balance. These include Iran (post nuclear deal), Turkey, Indonesia and Brazil. All have problems but all have huge potential. We will explore what this rapidly changing power landscape means. In particular, we will look at Iran and consider its likely strategy and impact after the nuclear deal.
Canada’s Prospects in a Turbulent World. Let’s face it, we have it good here. Canada has been a wonderful place to live – prosperous, stable and safe, and amazingly, not all due to Stephen Harper! True, it is naïve to think this is the case for all Canadians, but relatively, we have it good compared with most other countries. Will we continue to sail through and retain our enviable situation, or could Canada have to face far more challenging times? Most likely we will, as the global economy slows and restructures, and as power moves away from our traditional “protectors”. We will explore the emerging global environment through a Canadian lens, considering what the future might hold and how we should deal with it, whoever is at the controls.
Accommodation and Meals
Accommodation on June 6 and 7 will be at the Queen's Landing Hotel, their website is : http://www.vintage-hotels.com/queenslanding/
Shaw Festival Theatre
Transportation
Cost and Deposits
The cost of the entire package is as follows:
Double occupancy: $ 850 per person
Single occupancy : $1,100
The initial deposit will be $70 per person, payable by September 30, fully refundable up to December 31, 2015 should you decide to cancel. There will be a second deposit of $150 per person due on, or about, January 15th.
Finally, a one-room night deposit will be due to the hotel in mid April. (This will be approximately $400 for single occupancy and $275 per person for double occupancy, both including taxes). This will be fully refundable up to two weeks before the conference.
The remaining cost will be payable on completion of the conference to the hotel.
- Learn about the major issues facing the world using material and videos from the world's leading thinkers, moderated by John and Pat Simke, experienced moderators who have studied politics and economics at Cambridge University and the London School of Economics and Political Science and moderated over 60 courses
- Luxuriate in accommodation at Queen's Landing for two nights, June 6 and 7, with all meals at the Tiara, 4 Diamond Restaurant.
- Enjoy two Shaw plays of your choice - a first class theatre experience
- Mix and mingle at our welcome cocktail party and get to know the other participants
- Use your ample free time to explore Niagara-on-the-Lake's lovely trails, wineries & shops
The Learning Program
Seldom has the world faced as many challenging issues as we do today, from climate change, shifting geopolitical power; the possible end of the China growth story; exploding global population; mass migration both within countries and pushing at the borders; a critical need to reduce inequality with new political and economic approaches; a U.S. election; a global technological transformation and more.
We will focus in on six of the major issues facing the world, sharing what the leading global thinkers are saying as well as alternative points of view, and inviting active (but of course civil) discussion amongst our group. While we will not finalize the agenda until closer to the program, given how volatile world events are, we will include several of the following topics. Subjects will be discussed in six 2-hour sessions over the three days, starting mid-morning on June 6 and finishing mid-afternoon on June 8.
Climate Change – Now it Gets Serious: This continues to be the issue of our age. The Paris conference of December 2015 may or may not result in a global deal to reduce emissions, but either way, massive changes will be required to deal with climate change, possibly requiring a fundamental changes in our economic system and way of life. We will do a thorough update on the challenge, the policy options and the status of possible solutions, particularly the shift from fossil fuels to renewables. How will this be accomplished and who will pay?
Demographics and the Migration Crisis: Closely related to climate change is the issue of the rapidly growing population – to almost 10 billion by 2050. The strain on resources and the effect of massive consumption makes population growth of critical importance. One of the effects is mass migration within countries and regions but also across and between continents as evidenced by the mass migration to Europe. How will this play out? How do we support a 10 billion population? We will explore possible scenarios and policy options.
Political Economy - The End of Neoliberalism: Our political economy refers to the way the economic system is organized – free market neoliberalism, social democracy, state capitalism, socialism and so on. The dominant system of the last 30 years, free market neoliberal capitalism is now increasingly discredited as a result of massive inequality and financial instability. Several countries, including the U.S., U.K., Japan, France, Germany, Brazil and even China are struggling to define which system will best serve their people. We will explore the ongoing debate about what kind of political-economic system will best fit 21st century needs.
A Slow-Growth World, A No-Growth World? Ever since the financial crisis of 2008-09, the developed world has had sluggish growth, and that only achieved through huge money printing, negligible interest rates and the relatively high growth in the emerging economies. This game is over. Printing money or “quantitative easing” has been shown to do little other than boost the prices of stocks and real estate. Low interest rates are a dead end. They cannot go any lower. Now the emerging economies, particularly China, are running out of gas. The entire world, but particularly the West, is going to have to live with either very low growth or no growth at all. Maybe this will be great for climate change but how will we adjust after two centuries of almost continuous high growth? How will society handle it?
Technology Transformation: We live in a technological, globally connected world, where technology has enabled massive change everywhere and for everyone, from New York hedge traders to African farmers. But is it all for the good? Has it really improved the human condition? Is it going to be the answer to climate change and other global problems; or are we at a tipping point where technology could hurt us more than help. Is it going to wipe out large numbers of jobs? Are we going to lose what privacy we have left? Is government surveillance going to restrict our basic freedoms? We will explore the arguments pro and con the rapid advance of technology into our lives.
Global Security. How Threatened Are We? Some politicians like to paint a picture of a very dangerous world, justifying extreme measures to prevent terrorism in particular, but also spending lots of money on weapons. There is no doubt that there are security threats to everyone, although in the developed world we have no concept of how insecure life is in much of the developing world. How serious are the threats to our security? Do they justify huge expenditures and restriction of personal freedoms? For example does the massive airport security infrastructure make sense? Should a large portion of security and defense resources be spent actually improving the world? Or is that just a naïve view? We will explore all of these questions, although we aren’t promising answers!
The Obama Presidency and the U.S. Election: Next summer will be an ideal time to assess Obama’s impact and look forward to the presidential race. Obama could be one of the most consequential presidents of the last 50 years; or he could be seen as having not done enough to change the system, or he could, in some people's view, have made the U.S. weaker. We will look at all points of view. The upcoming election will be fascinating, whoever the candidates are. By the time of the conference we will likely know who will duke it out in November. We will assess their chances against the backdrop of waning U.S. power and how a troubled world will function without U.S. leadership.
Geopolitics in 2016 – China, Russia and Iran Oh My!: We are seeing a massive shift in geopolitical power to China (even with its current difficulties). Russia is asserting itself to retain its status as a global power. A new set of emerging middle powers could shift the balance. These include Iran (post nuclear deal), Turkey, Indonesia and Brazil. All have problems but all have huge potential. We will explore what this rapidly changing power landscape means. In particular, we will look at Iran and consider its likely strategy and impact after the nuclear deal.
Canada’s Prospects in a Turbulent World. Let’s face it, we have it good here. Canada has been a wonderful place to live – prosperous, stable and safe, and amazingly, not all due to Stephen Harper! True, it is naïve to think this is the case for all Canadians, but relatively, we have it good compared with most other countries. Will we continue to sail through and retain our enviable situation, or could Canada have to face far more challenging times? Most likely we will, as the global economy slows and restructures, and as power moves away from our traditional “protectors”. We will explore the emerging global environment through a Canadian lens, considering what the future might hold and how we should deal with it, whoever is at the controls.
Accommodation and Meals
Accommodation on June 6 and 7 will be at the Queen's Landing Hotel, their website is : http://www.vintage-hotels.com/queenslanding/
- Accommodation will be either single or double occupancy.
- You can also bring a guest not attending the conference to share your room; additional cost is only food/beverage.
- Meals will be included from arrival refreshments on Tuesday, June 6 until lunch on June 8.
- All meals will be in Queen's Landing's Tiara Restaurant.
- A welcome cocktail party on June 6 will help us mingle and get to know each other
- Mid-morning & mid-afternoon break refreshments will be provided at our meeting room.
- Individual dietary needs will be accommodated.
Shaw Festival Theatre
- You will have your choice of 2 Shaw theatre plays at discounted prices as part of the package
- When the Shaw calendar is available we will send it to you and ask for your selections.
- We will seek a second deposit in January to cover the cost of the Shaw tickets. This deposit will be about $150 per person
Transportation
- We all make our own transportation arrangements, but if you need a ride we'll try and arrange it.
- There's excellent train service to Niagara Falls & a shuttle service to NOTL from the train station. It works well (we have used it). The cost is most reasonable.
- In NOTL, Queen's Landing provides transportation between the hotel, theatre & the town centre. But distances are short and most of us love the stroll!
Cost and Deposits
The cost of the entire package is as follows:
Double occupancy: $ 850 per person
Single occupancy : $1,100
The initial deposit will be $70 per person, payable by September 30, fully refundable up to December 31, 2015 should you decide to cancel. There will be a second deposit of $150 per person due on, or about, January 15th.
Finally, a one-room night deposit will be due to the hotel in mid April. (This will be approximately $400 for single occupancy and $275 per person for double occupancy, both including taxes). This will be fully refundable up to two weeks before the conference.
The remaining cost will be payable on completion of the conference to the hotel.