We must understand each other: Jeffrey Sachs shared his impressions of the Open Dialogue

---

Dialogue is the most pressing need of the global community, according to SDSN President Jeffrey Sachs. The expert took part in all three days of the international Open Dialogue "The Future of the World. New Platform for Global Growth" at the National Centre RUSSIA — from 28 to 30 April. As Jeffrey Sachs told the National Centre RUSSIA, countries today must understand and listen to one another.

"I believe that dialogue is the most important need in our world. We must understand what is happening. We must understand each other. That is why dialogue is extremely important. The Open Dialogue, which brings together people from all over the world with different points of view, is a wonderful, remarkable contribution to solving global problems," emphasised Jeffrey Sachs.

The expert added that he was very pleased to return to Moscow after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I haven't been here for several years, but I'm very happy to be back. The city looks beautiful. The Open Dialogue went well and was very interesting. I had a number of excellent meetings with Russian colleagues and with people from other parts of the world. So for me, and I think for everyone, this was a very successful event," noted Jeffrey Sachs.

More than 100 guests from 48 countries, representing all continents of the Earth, took part in the international Open Dialogue at the National Centre RUSSIA. Among them were authors of essays selected by the expert council of the Open Dialogue from 700 submitted works. These essays were written in 18 languages, including Pashto, Malagasy, Serbian, Greek, and others.

The essay topic that attracted the greatest interest during the competition was "Investments in Human Capital" (41%), followed by "Investments in Connectivity" (24%), "Investments in Technology" (22%), and "Investments in the Environment" (13%). Expert pitch sessions were held on each of these topics, and based on their results, some essay authors selected by world-class experts were given the opportunity to speak at the panel pitch and the final session of the Open Dialogue.

Jeffrey Sachs also emphasized that the organization of all three days of the Dialogue was carried out at the highest level. At the request of essayists and experts, the organising committee is considering holding the Open Dialogue on a regular basis.