Members and invited guests from around the world, gathered at the shores of Lake Como in Bellagio, Italy on April 27 – 29, 2006 to address the theme “Perspectives for the Future: Beyond Traditional Partnerships.” The occasion marked the 10th anniversary of the Bellagio Forum. The 3-day event featured five keynote speakers each representing different perspectives from foundations, business, government and non-governmental organizations.  Full Meeting Summary

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For the full details of the meeting please click here

Peter Goldmark, Director of the Climate and Air Program at Environmental Defense and former president of the Rockefeller Foundation, delivered the opening keynote address. Goldmark stressed that bold action must be taken and done so in a high-profile manner. “Sustainability,” he said, “is the paramount subject of our moment in history.” Goldmark continued, “The pace is quickening . . . and today’s young people are a generation to whom we will leave a lot of problems”.

Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland, pointed to the importance of finding ways to deepen the communication and bridge the language between those committed to addressing issues of the environment and those who are addressing human rights challenges. “The overlap is quite significant but not yet necessarily the shared language and values,” said Robinson. “I think that your [Bellagio] Forum can be part of the bridging of that gap.”

Klaus Toepfer, former Under-Secretary-General of the UN and former Executive Director of the UNEP, encouraged participants to imagine the world as it will be for their grandchildren. Toepfer spoke of the important role individuals as well as foundations must play in fostering this change and the significant challenges of posed by the forces of globalization. “If we want to have globalization for our markets,” explained Toepfer, “we need to have a system that assures the sustainability of our societies. This is not just an add-on, it is a pre-condition. Globalization comes to an end if we can not integrate all members of society into the process.”

Cole Wilbur, trustee and former President of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, stressed the importance of researching problems in order to provide strategic and systemic solutions. As an example, Wilbur described his foundations efforts to improve health, livelihoods and the environment in Asia. He also stressed the extreme import of including China as a fundamental part of any solution to global challenges.

On the island of Comacina, participants gathered to hear the keynote address of Björn Stigson, World Business Council for Sustainable Development President. Stigson stressed that trust is essential for taking the necessary risks to make progress. He pondered the obstacles to taking the necessary bold and controversial steps toward solving long-term problems. Corporations, he noted, have significant resources but lack the public trust and that non-governmental organizations often have considerable reserves of trust but lack the resources. Based on this dichotomy, Stigson questioned what steps would be necessary to harness both of these necessary elements to establish productive relationships and collaborative partnerships.

Plenary sessions focused on foundations as change leaders in terms of globalization and more specifically on the topic of trade. The panelists and commentary focused on how foundations have and can use their unique role in society as a catalyst to accelerate the shift to more sustainable patterns of growth.

The Bellagio Forum began drafting a set of principles for foundations, to be known as “the Bellagio Commitment.” The document is intended to provide a measurable set of principles for endowed foundations and their partners. Based on input from guests and members, “The Bellagio Commitment” will be finalized and presented to the foundation world in the second half of 2006.

Bellagio Forum Working Groups on Energy, Water, Awareness, Finance and Health met on April 29th to continue work on their specific areas of concentration. Please watch this space for additional information on the meeting.

The next gathering is planned to take place in Salzburg, Austria in December 2006. Attendance is by invitation only. If you would like more information on how to receive and invitation please contact info@bfsd.org.

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