Since rebooting after a pandemic-related hiatus in 2022, the Clinton Global Initiative, or CGI as the annual two-day summit has become to be known, has sought to bring together an assemblage of A-list celebrities, policymakers, politicos, CEOs, nonprofits heads and other global do-gooders who are attempting to address the planet’s most pressing problems.
The event, which is held on the sidelines of the annual ‘High-Level’ Week of the United Nations General Assembly (or ‘UNGA’ for short) when Heads of State and a phalanx of other bold-faced names descend on New York City, has become, along with the Concordia Summit, the tier-one gathering among a host of competing conclaves taking places during the same week, such as the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, Axios House Climate Week, and Devex’s “The Future Can’t Wait” Summit, to name just a few. And as far as star-power is concerned, this year’s CGI didn’t disappoint. From Prince Harry to Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés to actor Matt Damon to even a surprise cameo by President Joe Biden, CGI had something for everyone.
In fact, maybe a little bit too much of everything for everyone.
Everything everywhere all at once
CGI 2024 was perhaps a little bit “everything everywhere all at once”—which, ironically, was also the name of a CGI session headlined by Prince Harry focused on the dangers of digital devices and excessive screentime among kids.
It seemed that this year’s CGI was trying too hard to be relevant to too many different audiences. Yes, there was a lot of content around climate change and A.I., but this year’s event was also replete with sessions focused on women empowerment, and clean water, and food security, and democracy, and bipartisanship, and gun violence, and health equity, and fighting racism. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Many noble causes were given their due time on stage, but it was all a bit scattered. And it left many attendees wondering if maybe next year they should be a bit more deliberate about which conferences to attend and focusing their attention on events tailored to their specific interests.
“Many corporate and nonprofit leaders really want to be in New York City during ‘UN Week’ to take advantage of all the people and players in town and to leave their mark,” Bradley Honan, founder of the Honan Strategy Group, told Observer. Honan’s communications consultant firm has developed an entirely new line of business helping companies navigate the plethora of events taking place around the city during UNGA. “But its daunting—aside from CGI and Concordia, there are at least 20 other summits, conferences, and forums taking place in the span of a short number of days, and knowing where to be, who to see, and how to garner attention is a tough nut to crack,” he said.
“At the end of the day, people come looking to network, and if you aren’t running into a lot of people at an event that are at least adjacent to what you are doing, it can seem frustrating,” added Honan.
The rise of stakeholder capitalism
What seems to be driving not only the sweeping thematic expansion of CGI but also the panoply of other UNGA sideline events is the rise of stakeholder capitalism—a new framework in which the once-dominant principle of maximizing shareholder value in corporate governance is being replaced by a more comprehensive approach in which companies take into account the needs and interests of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities and the environment.
Even the most successful Wall Street firms now understand that financial performance alone is no longer sufficient and that investors are increasingly assessing companies through the lens of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Those that prioritize sustainability and social responsibility often enjoy higher valuations and easier access to capital. And the rise of forums engaging a wide range of stakeholders such as CGI highlights a broader definition of corporate success in today’s world. Business leaders are realizing that their influence extends well beyond the stock market and they have a critical role in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, and the events around UNGA provide the ideal setting to highlight what they are doing in this new emerging framework.
Movers and shakers
For those looking to see a cadre of global movers and shakers talking about the planet’s most pressing challenges, CGI 2024 didn’t disappoint.
U.N. Secretary General hopeful Mia Motley, the current Prime Minister of Barbados, delivered a moving, if not chilling, address, about the shortcoming of financing strategies for supporting the Global South. Former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz leveraged his access to the media covering CGI to making a key announcement about his foundations’ initiative to decarbonize ethanol. The actor Matt Damon gave a detailed update on the progress of his charity, water.org. And Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro reflected on his efforts to make voting easier and more accessible in his home state.
There was indeed something for everyone. But even this smattering of bold-faced names highlights the essential if not existential question facing the organizers of next year’s CGI: Can it continue to be ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once?’
