Bridge Initiative International The Bridge Initiative is a joint project of InterAct and the European television agency Article Z. The Initiative's aim is to help stakeholders with conflicting perspectives on globalization issues find agreement on substantive changes in policy that make the process more equitable. The Initiative offers a "neutral space," where these stakeholders can participate in issue-driven meetings, debates, and media-oriented exchanges without compromising their own missions or status. Participants in Bridge Initiative processes include officials of multilateral institutions the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the European Union and the World Trade Organization; representatives of the corporate and business communities including the World Economic Forum; representatives of a broad range of NGOs including the World Social Forum; as well as academics and government officials. The Initiative uses three key techniques: informal facilitated dialogues; formalized public debates which present issues of legitimate contention to the public; and public briefings, which focus attention on agreements among key stakeholders. A comprehensive report on BIG activities 2000-2003 is available in pdf format. Click here to download. In 2004, the Bridge Initiative created the NGO, Bridge Initiative International. InterAct is a founding member of the Board of Directors, and the US Representative office of BI. 2005 Action Plan. (PDF). Programs and Televised Public Events Include: America Alone? An Encounter Between Americans and the World – 2003 On the eve of the Iraq War, policy experts and journalists in the San Francisco studio connected to their counterparts at the World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum, and to callers from across the nation. A Changed World: Globalization After 9.11 In cooperation with Czech Television and President Vaclav Havel's Bridging Global Gaps conference in Prague, Czech Republic, BIG produced a television program in which prominent leaders on all sides of the issue debate the future of globalization after September 11, 2001. Participants: Thomas Dawson, International Monetary Fund Susan George, ATTAC Mats Karlsson, World Bank Ricardo Navarro, Friends of the Earth International Njoki Njehu, 50 Years Is Enough Network Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University Marc Sarkady, Advisor to the UN Global Compact The debate, moderated by Czech journalist Tomas Klvana, took place on October 20, 2002, after a year of extraordinary changes, in the power balance between globalization's detractors and its defenders; amid budgetary crises that have pushed governments to default; and at the intersection between globalization and terrorism. These articulate and knowledgeable leaders engage and challenge each other in a fast-paced discussion on the meaning and effects of the new reality that we all are just beginning to understand. Other televised events: • December 2001, in Stockholm with Nobel Prize Winners in    Economics, Joseph Stiglitz (formerly vice-president of the    World Bank); Amartya Sen (Nobel Prize 1998); philanthropist and   financier George Soros; Susan George, vice-president of ATTAC;   and Candido Grzybowski, member of the Organizing Committee    of the World Social Forum. • March 2002, at the UN conference on Financing for Development    in Monterrey, Mexico. Participants included: Roberto Bissio,    Third World Network; Thomas Dawson, IMF; Mats Karlsson,    World Bank; Ian Kinniburgh, United Nations • January 2002, a debate between the World Economic Forum and    the World Social Forum, initiated through our efforts and aired    on Swiss Television. • January 2003, at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre Brazil   A series of four debates over four days on key issues of    globalization. The WSF created the 'Controversies' as a key    element of the Forum. The Bridge Initiative consulted on the    design and participants. Jan. 24 - What kind of globalization and how should the world be governed? Jan. 25 - We are faced by a major economic and financial crisis: What kind of crisis is it? What are the alternatives? Jan. 26 - Gaps and tensions between social movements, political parties and political institutions: How to deal with them to achieve participatory democracy? Jan. 27 - In opposition to 21st century wars, how do we build peace among peoples?