The Responsible Leaders Summit
United Nations Headquarters, New York · May 1, 2019
Nearly two decades after the Millennium World Peace Summit, H.E. Bawa Jain returned to the United Nations with a wider question. The Millennium Summit had asked what religious leaders could do together for peace. The Responsible Leaders Summit asked what leaders from every sector, faith among them, could commit to doing about the problems no single sector can solve on its own.
Convened by the Centre for Responsible Leadership in partnership with the Muslim World League, the Summit met on May 1, 2019 in the Economic and Social Council chamber at UN Headquarters. More than 100 leaders from international politics, business, religion, media and the environment took part. The aim was not another round of speeches but a set of practical, shared commitments.
"From economics to environmentalism to the basics of religious coexistence, we are seeing the virtues of responsible leadership under assault. There is a gap in global leadership that we must immediately fill."
Who Led It
H.E. Dr. Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, chaired the Summit, and H.E. Bawa Jain served as its Secretary General. Journalist David Gregory, former moderator of NBC's Meet the Press, was master of ceremonies.
Five Solution Sessions
The day was built around five working sessions, each pairing leaders who rarely sit at the same table.
Restoring Civility to Public Discourse
How to protect room for reasoned debate and respectful disagreement when the loudest voices are often the harshest. Panelists included Ambassador Nancy Brinker, former Senator Joseph Lieberman, and Adam Sharp of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Addressing Economic Inequality
How trade and social protection can deliver real gains to the most marginalized. Panelists included Lauren Bush Lauren of FEED, Maurice Lévy of Publicis Groupe, Franz Paasche of PayPal, and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
Safeguarding Our Planet
How to meet present needs without borrowing against the future. Panelists included Ken Berlin of The Climate Reality Project, Bjørn Kjærand Haugland of Norway 203040, and Noel Kinder of Nike.
Uniting the Faithful
How the common ground of the great traditions can be turned into real solutions in local communities, and how to drain the ground in which extremism grows. Voices included Dr. Al-Issa, Swami Avdheshanand Giri, Rabbi David Rosen, Venerable Shi Ming Yi, Monsignor Khaled Akasheh of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and H.E. Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi.
Ensuring Gender Equality
How to close the gap between progressive laws and the lived reality of women and girls. Panelists included Cecile Richards, Neera Tanden, Claudia Chan and Jimmie Briggs.
Honoring Responsible Leaders
The 2019 Responsible Leadership Award for Excellence in Sustainability was presented to Christian Rynning-Tønnesen, CEO of Statkraft, in the Delegates Dining Room. At the evening dinner at the Harvard Club, awards went to journalist Ann Curry for Truth in Media, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky for Engaged Leadership, and Rabbi Arthur Schneier of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation for a Lifetime of Achievement. The day also included a special presentation by UNHCR and the Muslim World League on support for refugees.
What Came After
A Partnership Between Muslims and Jews
The day before the Summit, on April 30, 2019, the Muslim World League and the American Jewish Committee signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New York, with H.E. Bawa Jain as its witness and guarantor. Its first commitment led directly to the Interfaith Mission to Auschwitz in January 2020.
Responsible Dialogues
When the pandemic made gathering impossible, the Centre launched Responsible Dialogues, a series of online conversations that kept the Summit's work moving with leaders from business, faith and public life.
Bridging Faith and Science on the Overdose Crisis
In 2021 the Centre partnered with the Clinton Foundation and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to bring faith and science leaders together on the overdose crisis, with the aim of reducing stigma around addiction and helping congregations support proven care. A public conversation hosted by President Bill Clinton and Dr. Sanjay Gupta took place on May 4, 2021.
Ethical AI
The same conviction, that leaders from every sector must take shared responsibility for what is coming, now shapes the Council's Ethical AI partnership with the Centre.