THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY:

ASCENDING OR DESCENDING? 

16:30-18:15Nefeli Room

PROGRAM Nefeli Room 16:30-18:15

16:30 – 16:35 Introduction by Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute

Section 1: Civil Society and the State – Partners or Competitors?

16:35– 16:40 Marwa El Daly, Founder and Chairperson of the Maadi Community Foundation (Egypt)

16:40 – 16:45 Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Сo-founder and shareholder of HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform (Germany)

16:45 – 16:50 Helmut Anheier, Former President of the Hertie School and Professor of Sociology (Germany)

16:50 – 16:55 Hind Arroub, Founder & Director of a Think Tank ''Hypatia of Alexandria Institute for Reflexions & Studies'' (Morocco)

16:55 – 17:25 Open Discussion

Section 2: Civil Society and Protest in the Digital Age

17:25 – 17:30 Rob van Kranenburg, Founder of Council theinternetofthings.eu, DeTao Master, NGI.eu FORWARD Strategy CSA

17:30 – 17:35 David Gorodyansky, Social Entrepreneur and Investor, Chairman GlobeIn

17:35 – 17:40 Representative of Facebook (TBC)

17:40 – 18:10 Open Interactive Discussion

18:10 – 18:15 Closing Remarks by Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute

2

Chaired by Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute

Moderated by Jean-Christophe Bas, Chief Executive Officer & Executive BoardChairman, DOC Research Institute

Civil Society and the State: Partners or Competitors?

SECTION 1

In the 21st century, the market, state, and civil society are generally

believed to be the main pillars of any societal order. While societal order is

commonly envisaged in terms of governance – and when performing well, of

good governance – civil society has increasingly assumed a role in governance

arrangements over the past decades. This role is expressed in terms of a

number of distinct functions and relates to many issues, ranging from

economic development, provision of health care, and the fight against

poverty, to ethnicity, gender, and religious equality.

The interactions between the state, the market, and civil society differ

considerably, relative to time and geography. Recently, a broad international

debate has arisen over what is sometimes termed as a ‘shrinking civic space’.

Contrary to the enthusiasm with which both the concept and the activities of

civil society have been embraced, there appears to be an urgent need to unpack

the relationship between the state and civil society, both at an academic and

policy level and in practical political terms.

The meeting will discuss and map these developments from an

intercultural perspective and will attempt to develop policies that may ease

tensions. Any dialogue of civilisations requires civil society and its members –

organised or not – to communicate and relate to each other in an

unconstrained mode of free deliberation. Politics and markets should help

making this form of communication possible, rather than complicating it.

3

Among the questions to be addressed:

• How do governments respond to newly emerging civil society initiatives driven by identity politics, driven by nationalistic movements?

• Is shrinking space primarily market-driven (commodification), or caused by state agencies?

• Which have been key factors for policies, legislation, and regulation resulting in shrinking spaces for civil society in a number of countries?

• Which types of civil society organisations are mostly affected by such restrictions?

• How has civil society reacted to new restrictions?

Marwa El Daly

Founder and Chairperson of the Maadi Community Foundation (Egypt)

Rupert Graf Strachwitz

Сo-founder and shareholder of HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform (Germany)

Helmut Anheier Former President of the Hertie School and Professor of Sociology (Germany)

Hind Arroub

Founder & Director of a Think Tank ''Hypatia of Alexandria Institute for Reflexions & Studies'' (Morocco)

Speakers:

4

Over the past few months, much attention has been paid to the massive

rallies and upheavals in Hong Kong (anti-extradition law), Russia (fair

elections and freedom of speech), France (Yellow Vests), the United Kingdom

(‘Leave’ versus ‘Remain’), the global Fridays for Future movement

(environment), but also the almost forgotten Arab uprisings of 2010-2011. It is

often far from obvious how this protest originally emerged. Is it rooted in

discontent related to single and very specific causes and events, or is it an

expression of a generalised dissatisfaction with government policies? The

strength and wide diffusion of these protests can hardly be understood

without taking note of the role of social media connecting and activating the

masses.

Digitalisation can therefore be said to substantially change the way how

civil society acts and expresses itself in public. Yet, the extent to which civil

society is influenced by processes of digitalisation is more far-reaching. We

observe a growing dependence on digital platforms, where people are

searching for information, job opportunities, emotional partnerships, social

contacts, etc. Technologies employed in digital processes leverage on social

and personal behaviour, big data analysis, and algorithms, including AI, for

the achievement of designed goals. This panel tries answer to what extent

digital technologies are changing social movements and vice versa and how

sustainable social movements can be built in today’s world.

SECTION 2

Civil Society and Protest in the Digital Age

5

Among the questions to be addressed:

• Do quickly evolving mass movements organised on social media manage to have a lasting impact and avoid dying out quickly?

• Will movements organised and strengthened via social media become the dominant form of mobilisation?

• How does the use of social media change the demands and structures of civil society and social movements?

• What are the major issues of state sovereignty and security policies in particular societies in view of the growing dependence on digital platforms and new technology developments?

Rob van Kranenburg

Co-Founder of Bricolabs and the Founder of Council, the largest independent #IoT Thinktank (Netherlands)

David Gorodyansky

Social Entrepreneur and Investor, Chairman GlobeIn

Representative of Facebook

TBC

Speakers:

6

Marwa El Daly

Founder and Chairperson of the Maadi Community Foundation (Egypt)

Rupert Graf Strachwitz

Сo-founder and shareholder of HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform (Germany)

Helmut Anheier Former President of the Hertie School and Professor of Sociology (Germany)

Hind Arroub

Founder & Director of a Think Tank ''Hypatia of Alexandria Institute for Reflexions & Studies'' (Morocco)

Participants of the Leaders Club Meeting

Chaired by Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, DOC Research Institute

Moderated by Jean-Christophe Bas, Chief Executive Officer & Executive BoardChairman, DOC Research Institute

Participants: (In alphabetical order)

• Helmut Anheier, Professor of Sociology at the Hertie School of Governance and former President of the Hertie School

• Hind Arroub, Fulbright Senior Lecturer & Scholar; Founder & Director Hypatia of Alexandria Institute for Reflexion & Studies

• Vladimir Chizhov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the EU

• Christopher Coker, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics, and Director of LSE IDEAS

• Michael Cox, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Director of LSE IDEAS

• Peter Eigen, Founder of the Advisory Council of Transparency International, Co-chair, Africa Progress Group

• Marwa El Daly, Fellow at the Ashoka Foundation, Egypt

• Charlie Firestone, Vice President of the Aspen Institute

• Vladimir Fortov, Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2013 - 2017)

• David Gorodyansky, Social Entrepreneur and Investor, Chairman GlobeIn

• Alfred Gusenbauer, Former Chancellor of Austria

• Georges Haddad, President of the Sorbonne University

• Wang Huiyao, Founder and President of Center for China and Globalization

• Ivor Ichikowitz, Ichikowitz Family Foundation, South Africa

• Raza Jafar, Global Philanthropists Circle, UAE

• Alphons Kannanthanam, Former Union Minister of State for Culture, and Tourism

• Dhruv C. Katoch, Director, India Foundation

• Kabiné Komara, Former Prime Minister of Guinea

7

• Rob van Kranenburg, Founder of Council theinternetofthings.eu, DeTao Master, NGI.eu FORWARD Strategy CSA

• Pavithra Kumar, Chief Programme Director, Tata Trust, India

• Ricardo Lagorio, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic to the Russian Federation

• Bruno Maçaes, Senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and Former Portuguese Minister of European Affairs

• Vyacheslav Nikonov, Chairman of the Committee on Education of the State Duma, Dean of the Moscow State University School of Public Administration

• Jean-Yves Ollivier, Founder and Chairman of the Brazzaville Foundation

• Ehud Olmert, Former Prime Minister of Israel (2006-2008)

• Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20

• Demet Sabanci Çetindoğan, Sabanci Foundation, Turkey

• Martin Schulz, Former President of the European Parliament from 2012 to 2017

• Peter W. Schulze, Professor, Political Science Department, Georg-August University of Gőttingen, Co-founder of the Dialogue of Civilisations Research Institute

• Walter Schwimmer, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (2004-2009), Co-Founder of the DOC Research Institute

• Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Executive Director of the Maecenata Foundation and Director of the Maecenata Institute for Philanthropy and Civil Society

• Iwi Sumbada, Susilo Institute for Ethics in Global Economy, Indonesia

• General Trinquand, Former Head of France's Military Mission to the UN and NATO

• Ruben Vardanyan, Social entrepreneur and impact investor, President of LLC Vardanyan, Broitman and Partners, Co-Founder of RVVZ Foundation

• Li Xin, Professor, Director of Institute for Economic Comparative Studies, Director of Dept. of Russian and Central Asian Studies, Shanghai Institute for International Studies

8

Rob van Kranenburg

Co-Founder of Bricolabs and the Founder of Council, the largest independent #IoT Thinktank (Netherlands)

David Gorodyansky

Social Entrepreneur and Investor, Chairman GlobeIn

Representative of Facebook

About DOC Leaders Club Meeting

Established in 2017, and comprised of current and former heads of state

and government, including leaders from the business, academic, media,

diplomatic and political communities, the Leaders Club Meeting by the DOC

Research Institute offers a unique platform for the development of relevant

policy proposals to help foster constructive dialogue and to contribute to fair,

sustainable and peaceful world development.

The Club aims to present fresh ideas and solutions for the world’s most

pressing challenges and to develop concrete and actionable policy

recommendations. The work and mission are deeply in line with the agenda of

many international institutions and organizations, such as the United

Nations, G20, OECD, UNESCO, T20 policy network, OSCE, ASEAN, BRICS, SCO,

etc. Since its inception, the Club has held meetings on the following key global

issues: the refugee crisis in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; the

future of education; the role of ‘civil forums’ or ‘councils’ in mediation and

overcoming geopolitical and intercultural tensions; the future of work; and

infrastructure for development. The results of these meetings were widely

distributed among global and regional policymaking organisations.

Given the successful experience and outcomes of the Leaders Club

meetings in the framework of the Rhodes Forum annual sessions, the DOC

Research Institute aims to establish a series of regional meetings around the

world (once or twice per year). This approach will be a promising opportunity

for further discussion on how to contribute to the global agenda and realise

comprehensive and implementable policies.

Berlin HeadquartersFranzösische Straße, 23 10117 Berlin, GermanyTel. +49 30 209 677 900

Moscow officePokrovka str., 42 build. 5 105062 Moscow, RussiaTel. +7 495 369-15-70

Vienna officeNeustiftgasse 67-69, Top 24

1070 Vienna, AustriaTel. +43 1 513 01 38

www.doc-research.org

CONTACT US