Many countries around the world are facing similar challenges with the attendant opportunities to shape new developments: demographic change, globalisation, sustainable energy supply, the digitalisation of the world as we experience it, innovation and growth, and successful cooperation between peoples.

Every country will find its own solutions to challenges like these, solutions grounded in the country’s own history and culture, its level of development and how its economy and society are organised. But we are also dependent upon one another. One country’s solutions can affect many others far beyond its own borders.

New forum to discuss the burning issues of our time

The Chancellor intends the International German Forum to be a new format for the discussion of questions facing societies in the future. These questions are important for many countries around the world and our answers will set our course towards the future.

Angela Merkel has invited more than 100 international experts from the realms of civil society, the academic community, the business community, politics and the administration to Berlin where they are to discuss ways of shaping societal, political and economic transition, modernisation and innovation projects. The aim is for all participants to get to know one another, to listen to one another, and thus to learn from one another and build a global learning network. This in turn should underpin an exchange of innovative ideas and approaches.

The first part of the conference is dedicated to the presentation of case studies, including studies in France, Bhutan and the USA. There will then be an opportunity to discuss the case studies. In the second part of the conference 12 opinion leaders will engage in discussion with the Chancellor from 14:00 to 16:00; the other experts will have the opportunity to put questions and voice their comments.

You can follow the entire event live on 5 June as of 09:30 Central European Summer Time at www.bundesregierung.de and www.bundeskanzlerin.de and via the website of the Dialogue on Germany’s Future.

The Forum was an idea to emerge from the Dialogue on Germany’s Future

The idea for the International German Forum was spawned by the Chancellor’s Dialogue on Germany’s Future. Within the framework of this dialogue, she asked the German people and experts to submit, between early 2011 and mid-2012, their proposals as to how we want to live in five to ten years time.

What matters to people – wellbeing and progress

For some years now there has been more and more intensive debate at national and international level on people’s wellbeing, quality of life and contentment. Many states have chosen to approach the issues with the help of government reports, commissions of experts and national dialogues. The issues explored include:

·         How the people, the academic community, the business community and the realm of politics define “wellbeing”, “quality of life” and “progress”

·         The role played by material and non-material prosperity

·         The significance these goals have for people and for the actors that shape business, society and politics.

Reports about the quality of life in one region or one country tell us something about the situation there, about what action must be taken, and about what the government should aim to accomplish.

The idea of involving the people in dialogue processes, and determining what they mean by “quality of life” and “wellbeing” is intended to generate an understanding of what constitutes a desirable future, a pluralistic understanding that takes the whole of society into account.

Many initiatives and discussions

In Germany, the issue of the quality of life and progress has been debated for some time – in academic circles, the business community, society at large, political circles and in the media.

Under the Chancellor, the German government too has been exploring these issues for several years:

• In late 2009 the Chancellor and the then French President Nicolas Sarkozy launched an initiative under which experts from the two countries produced a joint report on how better to measure progress.

• With the "Dialogue on Germany’s Future" the Chancellor entered into a wide-ranging dialogue with the German people and with experts on topics of importance to the future that included the quality of life, prosperity and progress.

• The German government has had for some years now a national sustainability strategy that includes detailed reporting on progress made towards achieving targets.

• The government regularly publishes reports focusing on various topics such as poverty and wealth,  education and its sustainability strategy.

• The Federal Statistical Office and academic and research facilities have extensive data on the subjective and objective factors that affect the quality of life and the standard of living.

Global learning network

The focus of this global discussion shifts depending on the given cultural and historical background and the level of development. For countries with a lower level of development, value-oriented economic development and the appreciation and use of their own culture often take precedence. Countries with a higher level of development pay more attention to subjective happiness and social cohesion in addition to maintaining prosperity.

Progress thrives on learning. And learning thrives on dialogue. In addition to the experts, around 40 representatives from German organizations active abroad and representatives from the national and international media have been invited as observers in order to ensure that the dialogue will continue both at home and abroad.

In order to strengthen this dialogue and establish a global learning network, preparation and follow-up events related to the topic are planned for future events in the International German Forum series. These will be open to both governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Under hashtag #IGF (International German Forum) you can find the comments of forum participants on Twitter.