This is a look into “Young Global Leaders” (YGL), the international, 'global governance' school which both our Prime Minister and our Deputy Prime Minister cum Finance Minister have attended.

To say that I have been overwhelmed with the depth and complexity of this school, its creation and its impact on our global society is an understatement.

Perhaps it is best to begin by expanding on the list of Canadians who have attended or are attending this school, and/or it's parallel institution, the “Global Shapers Community”:

Abrahams, Tony – C.E.O. Ai-Media

Brison, Scott – Vice. Chair Investment & Corporate Banking, BMO Financial

Faulkner, Joelle – C.E.O. “Area One Farms”

Formosa, Jocelyn – Director “National Association of Friendship Centres”

Gagne, Jean-Francois – V.P. AI Canada

Gallon, Alessandra – Chief Editor, Thomson/Reuters

Hallwood, Kim – Head of Sustainability, HSBC Bank of Canada (see below)

House, Brett – Deputy Chief Economist, Scotia Bank, Canada

Kielburger, Craig – WE Charity founder

Raw, Catherine – C.E.O. Barrick Gold N.America

Romanow, Michele – President, Clear Finance Technology

Roy, Maya – V.P. Equity & Impact, “Institute For Change Leaders” Canada

Sobey, Liam – V.P. Sobey's Canada

Szabo de Carvalho, Ilona – President “Igarape Institute”

Watson, Nolan – CEO Sandstrom Gold

The list above, plus this collection, fails to include the many entrepreneurs, founders of NGO's, entertainers, artists, corporate leaders, the judiciary, politicians and media persons involved in Canada, not only because there are too many to include here but because many do not want their names on the list. Similarly this list will never be up-to-date due to an ever increasing number of new names appearing every year in different positions

Those shortcomings not withstanding, the people and their positions within government, industry and media give you some idea of the 'coverage' these graduates have in every facet of our society. There are some recognizable family names on that list and I am sure there are even more well known names that do not wish to be publicly known as an alumnus.

So what?

There are many global leadership schools for business, finance and law and their graduates are hired by some of the best and largest agencies and corporations in the world. This is nothing new. What makes this one, the “Young Global Leaders” so special?

It is special because of what it teaches; Corporatism (the merger of industry and state in order to solve 'global' problems), and the path to achieving it; Sustainable Development.

Students of the school, many of whom are/were global leaders, are taught to identify global challenges to Sustainable Development which might be found in education, technology, industry, finance, health and environment. They are taught how to exploit these challenges to a common end; that of global, corporate governance.

This education instills in its disciples the belief that civilization will be more efficient and our world more environmentally sound if the reins of control are taken from individuals and regional governments and handed to a single, globe-spanning entity made up of many, large corporations. In this way the risk of environmental or infrastructure damage through 'waste and inefficiency' by individuals, politicians and business is removed, and we can meet our Sustainable Development' goals.

I did not make up that phrase, 'Sustainable Development', the United Nations did. Here is their definition of it:

“The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.”

Today, corporations are creating new positions for graduates of this global governance school in the same way and for the same reason they were hiring health and safety (HSE) managers several years ago; to meet new regulations.

A good example of this hiring policy is that of Kim Hallwood – Head of Sustainability, HSBC Bank of Canada. This, according to HSBC is what Kim Hallwood does:

“Our climate strategy is part of our broader commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.

In addition to our climate ambitions, these include increasing the representation of women in senior roles, improving customer satisfaction, and upholding high standards of conduct worldwide.”

Rather a vague job description for some vague regulations, but 'climate' and 'environment' are large parts of her scope of work, and the HSBC description of her job is a neat summary of the United Nations description of Sustainable Development.

“YGL” began life as the “Global Leaders for Tomorrow” in 1992 as a Non-government organization (NGO). It's first round of instructions generated two hundred important and well know graduates the following year, including;

Jose Manuel Barroso (President of the European Commission), Tony Blair, BONO, Edgar Bronfman, Richard Branson, Paul Desmarais, Bill Gates, Angela Merkel, Boris Nemtsov, Victor Orban, Nicolas Sarkozy, and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.

For that initial course of study, leaders of industry, of academia, of finance and of governments came from more than forty countries to learn about what is in effect, a new order to the world. The full (?) list of graduates is linked here.

Since their name change to “Young Global Leaders”, the school has had more than thirteen hundred graduates of its now five-year program. Some ten thousand people have passed through the less demanding but equally 'transformative' leadership program of the “Global Shapers Community”.

Some better known “YGL” graduates include;

Jeff Bezos, Mark Zukerberg, Chelsea Clinton, Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Peter Thiel (PayPal), Larry Fink (Blackrock), Gavin Newsom (Gov. California), Peter Buttigieg (U.S. Sec. Of Transport) and those Canadians named above.

At this writing there are approximately one hundred and ninety (190) countries with graduates posted to influential positions through out their societies.

“Young Global Leaders” is a creation of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is itself a Non-government organization that has wielded significant financial and technological clout since its inception in 1971. It began ostensibly as a 'think tank' called the “European Management Forum”, working in cooperation with Harvard University, Henry Kissinger, the Council On Foreign Relations, and other entities to bring industry, finance and government together in the face of a rapidly changing world.

In 1971 the world was indeed moving rapidly and in the throws of some of the most far reaching changes to the environment and society since the end of WW2, and their influence on events of today cannot be overlooked. Some of the most notable events include, but are certainly not limited to the following;

President Nixon removed the last gold standard attached to currency, which devalued the U.S. Dollar and, after some months of discord, finally forced other nations to adopt a floating exchange rate; an action considered to be the end of the Bretton-Woods era.

This action plus other unpopular moves by the United States worsened global distrust in the dollar and U.S. Financial think tanks like the WEF began to plan for an uncertain future.

United Nations countries suffering from environmental changes resolved to reinvigorate the roll of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the creation of a basket of several currencies, not just the U.S. Dollar, from which financial aid (loans) could be drawn.

By 1971 climate in the Northern Hemisphere had been cooling for three years due to the dumping of cold, low salinity Arctic Ocean water into the North Atlantic around Greenland. Crop yields across Europe, Asia and North America were reduced. Monsoon seasons changed time and location leading to starvation and migration.

The nation of Bangladesh was created out of repeated wars between India and Pakistan in the face of famine brought on by the changing weather

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was born in December of 1971 while his father Pierre held the office of Prime Minister

China, having suffered the worst famine in recent history just ten years before, and facing new challenges is reinstated at the United Nations. In the following year, Nixon became the first U.S. President to make an official visit to China to initiate trade and discuss other, less public agreements.

At the United Nations, the year 1971 was transformative and resolutions passed by the various U.N. bodies served to substantially increased U.N. presence in global finance, trade, environment and human societies. Their resolutions made in 1971 regarding global environment and development were the result of decades of planning and laid the foundation of a powerful set of goals and mandates which came out of the Rio de Janario, Brazil conference of 1992, the same year that saw the founding of the World Economic Forum's, “Global Leaders Of Tomorrow” school of corporatism.

That U.N. document is titled; “United Nations Conference on Environment & Development Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992 AGENDA 21”

The document consists of four sections:

Part 1 - Social and Economic Dimensions which includes:

Part 2 - Conservation and Management of Resources for Development which includes:

Part 3 - Strengthening the Role of Major Groups

Part 4 - Means of Implementation

Continued to Part 2...