The 10th BRICS Academic Forum, consisting of scholars from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, took place on 28 – 31 May 2018 at Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. This year also marks the coming of age for the BRICS nations, as we are celebrating 10 years since our inception and looking to the second Golden Decade of BRICS co-operation and solidarity. For the current Chairship, South Africa extended participation at the Academic Forum to other African countries as part of the Africa Outreach initiative.
African countries that were invited to participate include: Angola; Burundi; Ethiopia; Gabon, Namibia, Uganda, Togo, Rwanda, and Senegal. Participants commended the efforts made by China during its BRICS presidency to promote BRICS cooperation and suggested working together to strengthen the three-wheel-driven areas of economy, peace and security and people-to-people exchanges.
Noting BRICS Countries’ unwavering support for multilateralism, the need for continued BRICS co-operation for a more just, equitable, fair, democratic and representative international political and economic order with the central role of the United Nations was re-emphasised. It was the common assessment that BRICS countries continue to make joint efforts to address common traditional and non-traditional security challenges to build a shared future for the community of humankind.
Under the theme, “Envisioning inclusive development through a socially responsive economy”, the 2018 Academic Forum focused on the following themes from which several recommendations were generated. The BTTC is submitting a list of recommendations for
the BRICS leader’s consideration as under:
Economic Prosperity and Smart Manufacturing Hubs
1. An open and inclusive world economy is important to the economic growth of all countries as it enables people to share the benefits of globalization. We therefore express serious concern over escalation in the unilateral protectionist measures taken by certain countries, and strongly oppose such forms of unilateralism.
2. Job creation and future of work itself is a common issue confronting all BRICS countries. The group must work together to ensure that the trade and economic regimes must serve to create livelihood and job opportunities for all and the flow of human capital underwrite growth in this knowledge age.
3. We believe BRICS countries should stay firmly committed to a rule-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading system as embodied in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Furthermore, to safeguard multilateralism and a rule-based international trading regime, we support the settlement of trade disputes through the WTO, and call for interconnected growth that benefits all countries. We recommend BRICS countries to cooperate further
to ensure the multilateral trading system meets the new demands of evolving global trade situation.
4. Noting that Inclusive Development is a priority theme for South Africa’s presidency, we propose the establishment of a Forum on Women’s Equality. Such a Forum will share experiences on the progress of women-led developments in the economic, social, and political life of our respective countries; identify the obstacles to inclusivity in the BRICS domain; strive to establish a panel of experts on gender equality to contribute to setting up BRICS own indicator system for evaluating gender equality and enhancing women’s economic and social rights under the framework of the BTTC. We furthermore, support the idea of the creation of the Women Business Council as well as other relevant formats, ensuring full participation of women in all professional and social paths of life. We also suggest ensuring ongoing consultation of BRICS representatives within other multilateral entities, devoted to women empowerment issue, such as the UN Women, Women 20 and others.
5. Whereas we re-affirm that our goal in development is about human flourishing in a prosperous, pacific and mutually respectful world; and to build a community of shared future for mankind. We also commit ourselves to cooperative programmes to redress inequality in our midst, we need to encourage economic development that is smart, labour absorbing and pro-active. In this light we propose the establishment of Networks of Smart Manufacturing Hubs in the BRICS domain. Such Hubs would be pooling together knowledge, technology and new ideas around constructing new and interconnected economic frontiers. Instead of competing as industrial societies we would be thinking together on how to utilise the breakthroughs in the 4th Industrial Revolution, the Research and Development around it, to enhance our
mutual productive powers, our interconnected value-chains and to create new labour absorbing frontiers backed by partnership and respecting labour rights.
6. Given the vital role of infrastructure development and connectivity in promoting development, lifting overall development capability, and facilitating domestic and international trade and investment, BRICS members should support relevant cooperative initiatives and carry out joint projects that are highly compatible with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and can serve as important impetus to sustainable development of participating countries. We recommend BRICS countries to explore cooperation following the principle of extensive consultation, joint efforts and shared benefits and enhance complementarities among national development strategies of BRICS countries.
7. The South African presidency involves an ambitious African Outreach Dimension and that participants from important Africa-wide Think Tanks and Institutions are in our midst; noting the aspirations of the African continent as set out in the Agenda 2063 document, such as “a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development”; noting too that the most vital post-colonial ambition was
to turn the continent’s abundant resource-base into virtuous industrialisation and self-sufficiency (the Lagos Plan of the 1980s, Africa’s Accelerated Industrialisation Plan of the late 2000s); we recommend the establishment of an African Academy for Development and Beneficiation. In this, BRICS countries and BRICS-related tertiary institutions and experts would participate in assisting in the creation and the definition of priorities for such an Academy.
Universal Health Coverage and Social Protection Programmes
8. To meet new health challenges such as Non-Communicable Diseases, infectious diseases, drug resistant tuberculosis, BRICS should play a greater role in global norm setting and in global governance of health sector issues. It would be important to explore BRICS cooperation for finding out appropriate forms of comprehensive national health-care systems and contextual-sensitive systems of social protection. Noting too that sustaining a healthy nation and the provision of basic health services is a precondition for the development of our respective countries; noting too that all Departments of Health in our domain are working close together towards a health/development consensus, the BTTC can only play a supportive role. We therefore recommend the establishment of a Vaccination Research Platform to respond to our communicable and non-communicable disease challenges: zika, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and so on, are of a vital concern to our domain. Finally, the medical and social well-being of the individuals with disabilities is one of the priorities for BRICS, therefore establishment of sustainable international and multidisciplinary collaboration in this field is essential. That might be achieved by
developing a working group consisting of an international panel of experts in the areas such as rehabilitation, social protection, inclusive education, and adapted sport.
9. Noting that Food Security and making agriculture economically viable for small and marginal farmers has been placed high on the agenda of BRICS governmental cooperation; noting too that vast movements of de-peasantation have evolved over the last three decades that threaten the food security of our urban populations, decisive planning and action are necessary. We recommend the development of a cooperative Food Security-Driven MSME’s Programme which would link agrarian production, small-scale manufacturing and servicing the nutritional integrity of our people. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) cannot be forgotten in this given their role in job creation. Such a Programme should also be targeted towards promoting supplier development and participation of MSMEs in the BRICS countries value-chains where possible, as well as the exchange of best practices on MSME development.
Furthermore, noting that the planting and beneficiation of indigenous and biodiverse plants, trees and fruit-trees for nutritional purposes needs to be based on sound indigenous knowledge principles, prioritized and linked to land reform, urban renewal, small business development, and value-added beneficiation. From the research needed to the stocking up of seeds, to their proliferation and maintenance would be a major job-creating exercise whilst at the same time it will facilitate the resilience of other flora and fauna. Therefore, the delegates recommend and support the initiation of an Indigenous Tree, Fruit-tree and Plant Beneficiation Programme in the BRICS domain with the aim of furthering indigenous knowledge, technologies and practices.
10. To adequately protect family agriculture and the livelihood of small farmers and producers it is critical for BRICS to gain influence in norm and standard setting processes that impact food and agriculture globally. This would entail not just participating but gaining decision-making powers in institutions of global governance, to ensure that these institutions become inclusive, legitimate and efficient. Global agricultural norms and standards should also reflect the realities and interests of BRICS small producers.
Education, Productive, Creative and Scientific Powers
11. Our cooperation ought to be prioritising our productive, creative and scientific powers it has to translate into strengthening the BRICS University and post-school systems; that there is a major encounter of such systems around the future of BRICS higher education collaboration; noting too that to be drivers of innovation and on
the forefront of new technological revolutions our systems have to become cooperative and innovative; noting too that the emergence of big data and advanced analytics, the ever-rising importance of the internet as an important catalyst for development and sharing of ‘new’ knowledges, as well as the increased integration of digital modelling in the manufacturing spaces have emerged as a function of information and a ‘new’ world dictated by complex systems besetting the 4th Industrial Revolution. In this case, we are called to make the realities of this ‘new’ revolution integral to the post-school high education sector that reinforces synchronised cross-national curricula to facilitate knowledge-sharing and collaborative efforts in universities and vocational training institutions in the BRICS.
12. The creation of knowledge-based economies to meet our unique developmental aspirations as the BRICS requires a grasp of the ‘new’ set of rules of engagement; nevertheless, that enduring challenges in the 21st century are also social and cultural, we propose a series of initiatives that would stand us in good stead in the future, including: the creation of (a) BRICS Astrophysics and Space Research Scientific Committee (b) a Joint R&D Research Platform (c) The Establishment of an advanced study international institute on South American, African and Eurasian Social challenges. The leadership of each would rotate in a way still to be decided.
13. The BTCC agrees that it ought to encourage initiatives to bridge the gap of mutual knowledge among the BRICS as well as to disseminate the BRICS perspectives more broadly to foster understanding and enhance trust in our respective societies.
Global Commons and Collective Challenges
14. In the context of a global transformation of the world energy system the need for strengthening the role of BRICS in reforming the international energy architecture is evident, we recommend the launch of the BRICS Energy Research Platform and to start joint research as soon as possible. It is time to create new institution which will be responsible for estimates and long-term forecasts to provide actual and quality information on key trends in the energy sector. This information is needed primarily for strategic planning of activities of governmental structures, local authorities and enterprises of the BRICS countries. Furthermore, BRICS researchers aim to cooperate and facilitate cooperation of the official delegations at the international energy organizations.
15. The protection and enhancement of our commons has been agreed upon; that great efforts are underway to enhance a broader African biodiversity and ecosystems integrity by strengthening responsible forms of development, nurturing green technologies and prioritising indigenous knowledge-based solutions to chronic socio-natural challenges; noting that the importance of addressing global challenges of food and global security, environmental governance, ecosystems services, climate change and human rights are important considerations; noting too the emergence of new initiatives such as the International
Solar Alliance (ISA) as a positive contribution to mitigate climate change, we recommend the creation of a (a) Smart Climate Early Warning System (b) Green and Blue Economy as well as a Resilient Ecosystems Network and (c) a Knowledge Hub for Sustainable forms of Urban Renewal.
16. Development is based on sustainable and environmentally sensitive protocols; that energy is both as a source and driver of responsible development; that our economies are industrialised and in many instances resource-extractive, we recommend the creation of a BRICS Centre for Policy Research on Energy, Innovation and Sustainable Development as a flagship project of the BRICS Think Tank, the
BRICS University system and our respective Departments of Energy.
17. The ever-growing importance of International Information Security, we suggest increasing cooperation of BRICS countries in this domain through coordination of agenda at the international venues, as well as signing BRICS agreement on Security in the Use of ICT. BRICS countries fully support UN efforts on ICT governance and security, having in mind principles of state sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, human rights and freedoms, and equal rights for all countries to mention but a few.
18. Our engagement is about fostering cooperation in fields such as music, craft, art and culture, we recommend the establishment of (a) a BRICS Digital Heritage Sites Platform. This would be a first step towards cooperation and partnerships in and around Heritage studies, working together to make available the unique endowments of our countries to each other and the world at large. Also, (b) Establishing rotating Creative retreats. This would also be a first step for the development of strong cultural, and people-to-people exchange in the future. This in turn will bring to life musical traditions, diverse styles and with it understanding and further creative cooperation. That this could be extended to other areas of art and culture needs little emphasis.
Peacekeeping and Peace building
19. Our encounters in China set a high standard in understanding the necessity for new norms of Global Governance to achieve a pacific new world system; noting too that South Africa has a vital interest in this: reducing the moral deficit of the existing world system and strengthening the visibility of our humanistic heritage from Mahatma Gandhi, Sol Plaatje all the way to Nelson Mandela around the issues of justice, restitution, peace and reconciliation in a world torn by violence and war; noting too that our leaderships are engaged in prioritising Peacekeeping and Peace building important instruments for Economic and Social Progress for the World at large and the African Continent and the Middle East in particular; peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction efforts in various parts of the world; to this end, all efforts should strive to intensify our peacekeeping and peacebuilding initiatives in a war-torn world with institution-building forming the central pillar of our operations in the quest to achieve sustained peacebuilding outcomes for a prosperous future. Whereas our think tank networks, scientists and scholars are and will be involved in such endeavours, we recommend the Establishment of a BRICS Institute of Peace Research as a flagship of the BRICS University system.
Development Goals
20. A major developmental step has been achieved with the creation of the New Development Bank, it is incumbent on our Think Tanks to make available the most advanced thinking to support its development endeavours. BTTC recommends to study in detail an idea of creation of a multilateral BRICS Research Consortium to conduct research and present reports to Track 1 and the public on specific issues using instruments of permanent and ad hoc working groups. One example of a pilot project may be Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Working Group. Eventually the BRICS Research Consortium could undertake the mission to monitor the implementation of the agreements within BRICS in order to identify urgent areas of necessary intervention, prioritise such areas and create a bridge/forum between itself and governments, business and civil society in the BRICS domain; as well as platforms for the promotion of mutual knowledge and education exchanges. Delegates of the 10th BRICS Academic Forum thank the organizers for all the arrangements and hospitality. Academics and scholars from the BRICS countries look forward to the 11th Academic Forum to be hosted by Brazil in 2019.
