TORONTO, ON – On 23-24 May, on the eve of the 2011 G8 Summit, “New World, New Ideas: Contributions from Scholars and Civil Society” will bring international speakers to Paris to discuss the issues facing the G8 leaders a few days later.

The conference is organized by the G8 Research Group and the Digital20 Project at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, the Stratford Institute, with INSEAD, the Pôle de Recherche et d’Enseignement Supérieur (PRES) Sorbonne Universités and The Stanley Foundation.

The objective is to engage a dialogue with the authorities of the host country, representatives of civil society and academics on the priorities identified by French president Nicolas Sarkozy for discussion at the Deauville Summit:

•        New common challenges: the internet and green growth
•        Peace and security
•        The partnership with Africa

Looking ahead to France’s hosting of the G20 summit in November, the conference will also consider key finance and economic priorities for that summit.

The conference will open with a keynote address by Ambassador Laurent Stéfanini, chef de protocol, Secrétariat général de la présidence française du G20 et du G8. Speakers include

•        Olivier Giscard d’Estaing, INSEAD, France
•        Honourable William Graham, former minister of foreign affairs, Canada
•        Sir Nicholas Bayne, London School of Economics, United Kingdom
•        Janice Gross Stein, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Canada
•        Luk Van Wassenhove, INSEAD, France
•        Lee Dong-hwi, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Korea
•        Bruce Jentleson, Duke University, United States
•        Naoki Tanaka, Centre for International Public Policy Studies, Japan
•        Marina Larionova, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia
•        Paola Subacchi, Chatham House, United Kingdom
•        John Kirton, G8 Research Group, Canada

It will be followed by a press conference on 24 May at which the G8 Research Group will release the “2010 Muskoka G8 Summit Final Compliance Report.” The report monitors the performance of the G8 in meeting the commitments made at the 2010 Muskoka Summit. The G20 Research Group will release a similar interim report on the G20 Seoul Summit. Both reports will be available online at the G8 Information Centre website at http://www.g8.utoronto.ca and the G20 Information Centre website at http://www.g20.utoronto.ca.

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For more information, please contact:

Madeline Koch
Managing Director
G8 Research Group
G20 Research Group
T: +1 416 588 3833
SMS: +44 770 007 5833
mad.koch@utoronto.ca
http://www.g8.utoronto.ca
http://www.g20.utoronto.ca