12 INTRODUCTION & WELCOME
Outreach Dialogue: a chance to build a better world
Victor Philippenko, Chairman of the executive board, G20 Foundation
Since 1999, the G20 has achieved remarkable progress as a platform providing solutions to global challenges. The goal of further establishing a solid framework for a better global governance depends on several factors, most notably the fostering of transparency and increasing participation of the stakeholders of the G20 process within and between nations.
As a group consisting of countries with various cultural, historical and economic backgrounds, the implementation and the success of G20 solutions requires a broad consensus between different countries and different communities within the respective countries. With such a inhomogeneous group it is necessary to provide a framework for public debate of the topics attached to G20 agenda.
The Outreach Dialogue has proven to have the potential to become a key measure on the way towards better coordination of different stakeholders of the G20 process. The five Outreach groups bring together the main groups of the societies of the G20 countries like businesses, civil society, academia, labor organizations and youth in a structured and transparent communication process to generate crosssectoral synergies and enhance the public benefit of the G20 process. All Outreach groups have been integrated in the G20 process with participation to Summits and by giving recommendations to the heads of state. A part of these recommendations has been incorporated into the Leaders Declaration of the Summit in Russia 2013.
However, the Outreach Dialogue as part of the G20 process has proven valuable but at this young stage is still in development and needs further improvement. To reach a new level of impact for the Outreach format, the efficiency in the communication process needs to be enhanced by a better coordination of all actors. To really build a meaningful consensus, it is crucial to