Each new year presents itself with a mixture of hopes and worries. Let us remember that nothing is decided in advance: the world will be what we make of it. It is possible to come together, to live better today and to protect the future.
One of the keys to achieving this would be more science and a democratization of knowledge to establish political decisions and promote understanding of the issues by the population. For this, a greater number of scientists, scholars and scholars should advance in the public space.
This is one of our wishes for 2023: more intellectuals in the city.
In recent years, the chain of pandemics, natural disasters, armed conflicts and the cost of living crisis has been destabilizing and undermined the morale of citizens. These events contributed in particular to polarizing public debate and to the emergence of anti-democratic currents favoring disinformation. They also confronted us with the evidence of the global village, even in our daily lives. The price of food, the overcrowding of emergencies, the availability of materials, even the tone of our debates are influenced by external causes beyond our control and over which we seem to have no control. We are faced with problems that are complex and global. They call on different knowledge (multidisciplinarity) and different governments (multilaterality).
COP 15, an example of modern leadership
These circumstances are demanding, but progress is possible. The recent example of COP 15 in Montreal on biodiversity, held under a Canada-China co-presidency, is inspiring. The order was sizeable: co-presidents from countries in diplomatic cold, an immense and vital subject, a sea of 20,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, positions that initially seemed irreconcilable. However, the resulting Kunming-Montreal agreement was certainly hailed as a major step forward with a target of protecting 30% of the land and oceans and a financial commitment from the countries of the North to those of the South.
This progress was made possible because the co-chairs set aside immediate differences to focus on the long term, because delegates discussed on the basis of facts and scientific data, because the will to reach a agreement led the participants to listen to and understand each other in order to reach a compromise.
COP 15 is an example of this modern leadership that the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has been promoting for 20 years.
With our doctoral scholarships in four themes (human rights, responsible citizenship, Canada and the world, population and the environment) awarded to exceptional candidates from home and abroad, we seek to bring out the leaders of tomorrow. We are guided by this notion of the intellectual in the city: to develop and democratize knowledge, to weave links with populations from diverse backgrounds; understand the reality of the other to find the common path to action.
Today, engaged leadership must engender trust, be based on knowledge and seek voluntary commitment. In this sense, the historic COP 15 agreement cannot be detached from the place where it was concluded. Canada is an essential hub, a gateway to the world that allows peoples to truly meet by channeling their common aspirations and propelling their reciprocal knowledge. Through our values and our art of living, we are seen and perceived as a space for dialogue and respect. Let us build on this base in order to create and nurture spaces of courage that invite responsible citizenship. Let us remember that nothing is decided in advance: the world will be what we make of it.