Across different levels of seniority – including government ministers, state secretaries, UN leaders and policy experts from five continents – participants focused on two sets of issues: how to improve cooperation for sustainable development, and how to better address the nexus between peace and development.
©Trust Lab
For the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) that took place on 2 and 3 June, IDOS joined hands with Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) to organise a Trust Lab. As a closed-door event, the Trust Labs brought together 30 representatives from international organisations, national governments, academia and civil society organisations for an in-depth exchange and discussion about generating and strengthening trust for multilateral cooperation in a context of shifting global coalitions.
Discussions focused on key lessons from successful cases of multilateral cooperation – such as the fight against HIV/Aids – for current challenges, including efforts to mitigate climate change. Among other things, they also identified the need to link public regulations (in line with internationally agreed targets) to the creation of incentive structures for sustained private sector engagement, and align multilateral humanitarian action with member states’ political will.
The 2025 Trust Lab was the second edition in a continuing process where IDOS – represented by Stephan Klingebiel and Sebastian Haug – together with BMZ, UNSSC and co-creating partners from Brazil, Canada, China and Colombia offers a platform through the HSC for a diverse and evolving set of stakeholders to develop ideas on how to address some of the most pressing challenges to multilateral cooperation.
