First Phase 2002-2005

The Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy was launched in 2003 after the call from a conference held in Helsinki in December 2002 for global multi-stakeholder dialogue in order to bridge divisions between various stakeholders.

The inspiration for the conference came from the collaboration of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and a number of Southern and Northern civil society actors. One of the most prominent ideas brought forth from the conference was to see how the energy and commitment of various actors could be further synthesised and brought behind the implementation of the Millennium Declaration.

The key idea behind the process, facilitated by the Finnish and Tanzanian governments, was the notion that various stakeholders – governments, civil society, the business community, international organisations, academia and even the media – can play a major role in accelerating thinking on global problem solving and implementing global commitments.

In fact, different stakeholders have such diverse resources at their disposal that they could make a difference in addressing complex globally manifested problems, such as environmental degradation or poverty, through joint and well co-ordinated action.

Governments can agree on norms and legal frameworks, business actors often have the technical solutions and know-how to address the problem efficiently, and civil society, typically, has as its strengths the ability to contribute to civic dialogue on priorities and to mobilise awareness and political will. If combined, the common action of these different stakeholders could manifest a new era in creating and implementing the global agenda.

The first Helsinki Process, bridging the gap between East and West, helped in ending the Cold War, whilst the second has contributed towards bridging the divide between North and South and bringing more democracy into international relations. The aim of the 21st century Helsinki Process has been to set development on a new course.

The involvement of all stakeholders in various capacities in global decision-making processes, as such, does not solve problems, but it can help in highlighting where gaps and difficulties remain. Through the course of the Helsinki Process, several concrete proposals were formulated on issues ranging from the need to further engage national actors – such as parliamentarians – in ensuring the accountability of global decision-making processes to the analysis and emphasis on those - often the poor, women and children - marginalised from global decision-making processes.

In order to advance dialogue and the setting of priorities by various stakeholders involved, the Helsinki Process established three Tracks, which worked simultaneously and contributed reciprocally to each other's work. The Tracks, which started their work in autumn 2003 and met three times before submitting their reports in January 2004, were composed of individuals with backgrounds in various stakeholder groups from the North and the South.

The Tracks - entitled "New Approaches to Global Problem Solving", "The Global Economic Agenda", and "Human Security" - were asked to prioritise such issues from the vast global agenda where either credible support for implementation could be gathered from the stakeholder groups or where multi-stakeholder engagement could bring particular value-added.

The Tracks explored new ways in which to construct global governance and advance global leadership, discussed how to mobilise finances both from the developed and developing countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals, and prioritised policies for empowering communities at risk.

With a wide range of issues debated, the key concern of a need for necessary global and national governance, accountable and transparent leadership, and inclusive decision making methods were highlighted by all the Tracks as one of the most vital elements allowing the implementation of global policies and in making globalisation benefitial to all.

The high-level Helsinki Group started its work in January 2004 and was composed of eminent personalities representing know-how from all stakeholder groups from the North and the South. Building on the work of the Tracks, the Helsinki Group was challenged with considering priorities for improved and more democratic global governance. In its four meetings from early 2004 to the spring of 2005, the Helsinki Group discussed issues ranging from security to human rights and from development to environmental issues.

Though covering several issue areas, the challenge of improved global and national governance through engaging the resources and political will of all stakeholders remained the key concern for the Helsinki Group. In its report the Helsinki Group suggests strategies for continuing the multistakeholder dialogue launched by the Helsinki Process, in order to enhance goal-oriented collaboration between different stakeholders.

The work of the Helsinki Group and Tracks was greatly assisted by a number of events facilitating wider participation, as well as by dialogue with various stakeholder groups. Between 2002-2005 seminars have been organised together with members of civil society, media, the academic world, and the business community, and consultations have been held in conjunction with major global events.

Contacts with governments and international organisations as well as publications emanating from the work of the Helsinki Process have helped to broaden the network of the Process. In 2005, building towards the Helsinki Conference, a group of "Friends of the Helsinki Process" governments started to engage in the process and its follow-up.

The First Phase of the Helsinki Process has allowed participants to study the modalities of multi-stakeholder dialogue and to discuss the priorities of the global agenda. However, there is still a great deal which needs to be done. This was the key conclusion from the multistakeholder Helsinki Conference of September 2005, entitled “Mobilising Political Will”, which gathered some 700 participants from over 80 countries to discuss key conclusions of the Helsinki Process as well as future steps.

The conference highlighted the need to be even more practically and strategically oriented in the future, and to aim at identifying partnerships, coalitions and alliances for mobilising political will for the implementation of the promises already made as well as for tackling the challenges ahead. This is the foundation on which the Second Phase of the Helsinki Process will be built upon.