Gold Mercury International
Encyclopedia : G : GO : GOL : Gold Mercury International
Gold Mercury International is an independent global think tank and award organisation founded in 1961. They are specialised in Global Governance and Ethical Leadership and are committed to promoting peace, understanding and cooperation throughout the world.
History
Gold Mercury was founded in 1961 on the initiative of “Centro Giornalistico Annali”, an independent association of journalists devoted to the promotion and exchange of economic cooperation. The first Gold Mercury Awards were presented in Rome in November of that year. The award, initially called 'Mercurio D'oro', was bestowed upon Italian companies and individuals that showed good governance initiatives. It became increasingly influential receiving the official patronage of the President of the Italian Republic. Its mission was to publicly acclaim Italian companies for productivity and innovation by granting an official acknowledgement. For each company one key motivation was used: “for the development of corporate initiatives for trade, production and economic cooperation among countries in order to foster commerce and peace”.
The awards and conferences began expanding beyond Italy in the late 1960s. The name “Gold Mercury International” was first used in 1975 when the organisation had truly achieved international recognition and begun operating at the international level, bringing together leaders from all over the world to discuss governance issues. Since 1970 Gold Mercury International has been honoured by the patronage and participation in its conferences of H.E. Prof. Giuseppe Saragat, President of the Italian Republic, H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain, H.E. Anwar Sadat President of Egypt, Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev, United Nations Secretary General Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, Italian Presidents H.E. Giovanni Leone and H.E. Giulio Andreotti, Sheikh Khalifia bin Sulman Al-Khalifia of Bahrain, H.E. Luis Herrera Campins President of Venezuela, and H.E. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali President of Tunisia, among many others.
In the 1970s and 1980s Gold Mercury International was active worldwide developing conferences and award ceremonies in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The promotion of peace and dialogue through trade and cooperation captured the attention of statesmen, companies, politicians, the media and the public during times of Cold War, international military conflicts, blockades, oil and energy crises, and terrorism.
Part of Gold Mercury’s strategy has been to bring together the world's greatest minds in order to discuss fundamental global issues. Therefore, the organisation has held international conferences and forums in most regions and countries of the world including Russia, Spain, Italy, Pakistan, China, Iran, Congo, Bahrain, Mexico, Egypt, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Gabon, Turkey and Belgium. These conferences have been held in the most prestigious settings from the Quirinale Palace in Rome to the Kremlin in Moscow and many other high profile venues.
Organisation
Mission
In today’s world states are faced with cross-border challenges such as economic crises, terrorism, environmental degradation and the spread of diseases. Gold Mercury International believes that effective and accountable Global Governance and Ethical Leadership are vital to achieving a better global society and therefore collective efforts must be made to identify and address the contemporary global challenges.
Global Governance involves actors from different sectors such as government, business and civil society, bringing in individuals from all over the world with diverse cultural and legal backgrounds. Gold Mercury believes it is vital to increase interaction between the participants in Global Governance and to encourage the much needed dialogue through the Global Governance Forum.
It is the will and mission of Gold Mercury International that all individuals, institutions and organisations participating in the processes of Global Governance, demonstrate Ethical Leadership.
A basic set of good governance principles has been agreed upon through a consensus among societies, corporations, institutions and organisations. These must be followed by leaders involved in Global Governance: • Participation – Those affected by a decision should have a voice in the decision-making process, either directly or through legitimate institutions that represent their interests. • Rule of law - Legal frameworks should be fair and enforced impartially and all people should be equal before the law. • Transparency - Processes, institutions and information should be directly accessible to those concerned with them. • Responsiveness - Institutions and processes should endeavour to serve all stakeholders. • Consensus orientation – Differing interests should be mediated to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interests of those involved. • Equity - All individuals should have opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being. • Efficiency - Processes and institutions should produce results that meet needs while making the best use of resources. • Accountability - Decision-makers in government, the private sector and civil society organisations should be accountable to the public and to institutional stakeholders. • Strategic vision - Leaders should have a broad and long-term perspective on governance and human development and a sense of what is needed for such development. In other words, they must work to provide for the needs of the world's current population without damaging the ability of future generations to provide for themselves.
Activities
Gold Mercury grants the prestigious Gold Mercury Awards to actors in the international system for outstanding achievements in eight different Global Governance challenge areas. Winners are among the most recognised and respected figures, institutions and organisations in the world. In addition to the awards, Gold Mercury unites together world leaders in business, politics, academia and civil society through the annual Global Governance Forum. The forum provides a cooperative and friendly framework in which key economic, political and social issues are being discussed whilst inspiring all participants towards improving Global Governance and Ethical Leadership.
Gold Mercury International is made up of an Executive Board, International Advisory Board and an Award Nomination Committee. Their activities are organised and controlled by the Executive Board, supervised by the International Advisory Board and supported by the Award Nomination Committee.
The Gold Mercury Awards are leading awards, bestowed upon actors within the international system for outstanding achievements in eight key Global Governance challenge areas: Peace & Security, Corporate Governance, Cooperation & Development, Social & Economic Policy, Health & Science, the Environment, Humanitarian work, and Information & Media. Previous winners included highly distinguished individuals such as Ronald Reagan, Dr. Boutros Ghali, H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and Soichiro Honda (founder of Honda Motor Co).
The Global Governance Forum is the annual international event encompassing the Gold Mercury Award ceremony and banquet and an international conference focusing on key Global Governance issues. The Global Governance Forum is attended by leading figures in government, business and society.
The Executive Board, with the help of its administrative and support teams, develops the policy, administrative and organisational aspects of Gold Mercury International, manages day to day operations and maintains relations with governments, corporations and civil society organisations. The Board and its support teams also review and evaluate award nominations. The International Advisory Board supervises the governance and development of Gold Mercury International. The Board supports the Global Governance Forum and confirms the selection of Gold Mercury Award winners in each category. Through the years the Gold Mercury International Advisory Board has included some of the most important people in government, business, academia and society, including: Soichiro Honda, President of Honda Motor Co.; Ramon Areces Rodriguez, President of El Corte Ingles; Lord William Rees-Mogg, Editor of The Times, London; Gunnar Engellau, President of A. B. VOLVO; Masaru Ibuka, Founder and President of the Sony Corporation; Hans Suessenguth, Chairman of Lufthansa A.G.; The Hon. Pietro Campilli, Former Finance and Treasury Minister of Italy; Cav. Lavoro Angelo Rizzoli, Founder of Rizzoli Editrice; Luis Garcia Berlanga, Film Director and Academy Award Nominee.; Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former Secretary General of the United Nations; Uolevi Raade, Chairman of Neste; and Alfonso Escamez, President of Banco Central.
The Nomination Committee plays a vital role in our award nomination and selection process. The Committee is made up of experts and leaders from around the world from diverse professional backgrounds including:
• University professors and top researchers in each of the specialised award categories • Members of governments or national assemblies • Board members of corporations • Board members of institutions • Board members of NGOs • High ranking members of religious groups • High ranking representatives of the media
Members of the Nomination Committee are divided into Award category sub-committees according to their field of experience. In the first step of our award nomination and selection process, Committee members individually nominate candidates for an award in their designated category.
Global Governance Forum
Historic Forums
Gold Mercury International has developed conferences and award ceremonies all over the world in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
As the level and nature of the events dictates, the conferences have been held in the Quirinale Palace in Rome, the Kremlin in Moscow and many other high profile venues.
The Gold Mercury Conference in 1970 was held in Rome under the high patronage of H.E. Prof. Giuseppe Saragat President of the Italian Republic. Since that time Gold Mercury International has been honoured by the patronage and participation in its conferences of H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain, H.E. Anwar Sadat President of Egypt, Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev, United Nations Secretary General Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, Italian Presidents H.E. Giovanni Leone and H.E. Giulio Andreotti, Sheikh Khalifia bin Sulman Al-Khalifia of Bahrain, H.E. Luis Herrera Campins President of Venezuela, and H.E. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali President of Tunisia, among many others.
Forum 2007
The annual Global Governance Forum encompasses the award ceremony, the award banquet dinner and a four day international conference on Global Governance issues.
The theme of the next forum is 'Women in Global Governance', which will be held in Madrid in 2007 in partnership with top universities, corporate partners and international and local government. Speakers will include First Ladies, Heads of State and Government, leading women in business and top academics.
The aim of the forum is to provide a unique networking platform where participants come into direct contact with world leaders in politics, government, business and civil society. In addition, the forum seeks to feature the next generation of women leaders, to foster appreciation of women’s contribution to the processes of Global Governance, and to highlight the importance of continuing to increase women’s role in Global Governance.
External Links
The Official Gold Mercury International Website [link]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.