During the recent World Economic Forum Summit in Istanbul, Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy) led heads of state and government, senior ministers, business leaders and academic experts in a working session about the future of government.
Participants in the session explored ways that governments can more effectively meet the increasing challenges of global and national macroeconomic inequalities and transnational political conflicts in an increasingly interconnected world. The summit’s theme, bridging regions in transformation, focused on jobs, youth education and employment, and ways to promote economic development throughout the region.
Fountain is the vice chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government, and led the session with Lord Peter Mandelson, the council’s 2012 chair. She headed the council last year and has been a member for four years.
During the trip, Fountain was interviewed on social media and digital government in Turkey and throughout the region. She also met with key government, media business and academic leaders, including Nursuna Memecan, one of only a few women members of parliament in Turkey and delegate to the Council of Europe. Among other issues, they spoke of the need for greater appreciation for diversity in European politics. Among the academics Fountain met was Professor Zuhre Aksoy of Istanbul’s Bogazici University. Aksoy is an expert on international environmental politics and received her doctorate in political science from UMass Amherst.
Fountain directs the National Center for Digital Government and the Science, Technology and Society Initiative, both of which are based at the Center for Public Policy and Administration. The National Center for Digital Government, a research center, regularly hosts international visiting fellows as part of its mission to build a global network of scholars focused on technology and government.
To watch an interview with Professor Fountain on the Turkish television station ATV, click here [in Turkish]. A copy of the Future of Government report is available through the World Economic Forum website, as is more information about the Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government.