Ms. Skaljic, you recently became an Agenda Contributor for the World Economic Forum, focusing on "Business as a force for good".
As an advisory board member of the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust, you co-wrote a WEF article about regenerative economies. Your co-authors are André Hoffmann, Vice-Chair of Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, and Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Vice-President of the Club of Rome, an organization that already 50 years ago warned that global ecosystems would approach breaking points.
Could humanity, as your article says, be given a second chance on planet Earth, or are we doomed to keep exploiting both people and nature?
The future is profoundly unknown. But, we believe that ingredients exist to make it inclusive and prosperous– provided humanity collaborates while living regeneratively. This is what our WEF article is about. We explain what work we have undertaken so far to enable this kind of future. In essence, if humanity's horizon is a new synthesis of equitable human well-being within a healthy biosphere, then regeneration has to become the social norm.
It's clear that existing frameworks designed to address humanity's challenges, such as the U.N. Agenda 2030, are not meeting expectations. There is a sense of "stuckness" as if we cannot get out of an extractive and exploitative model which wages war on all Life on Earth. A regenerative economy is an antidote to this, a concept André, Carlos, myself and an entire ecosystem of organizations and inspiring individuals believe in and practice.
In a regenerative economy, one judges the health and success of our society not by outputs— but by outcomes, such as fairness, sustainability and trust. To ecologize our financial and industrial markets, what should matter most is how we make money, not how we spend it. Humanity can no longer rely on the good intentions of sedative philanthropy, while 99% of mainstream practices continue to be predatory, exploitative and destructive to people and nature.
Each year, you visit the WEF's Annual Meeting in Davos. Can you give us a general impression of how systems such as the World Economic Forum work and what happens at this iconic Swiss village each year in January?
I must disappoint everyone who believes in sinister scenarios taking place at Davos. Most people I meet there, from activists, business leaders, and politicians, attend WEF intending to learn and collaborate to make a positive difference in the World. Without the convening power of the WEF as the world's premier forum for public-private partnerships, it would be difficult to imagine large-scale projects that, as partners, bring together activists, the E.U., and the likes of Salesforce or Microsoft.
We live in a permission-less world today. Everyone's voice can be heard. And believe me, governments and business leaders do listen! Thanks to social media, there is now a lobbyist in all of us. You don't have to attend Davos to matter. But this also implies a heightened responsibility on everybody to take action to improve the state of the World. Ultimately, actions speak louder than slogans. And many meaningful actions occur each year at the WEF in Davos.
For example, during WEF this January, we convened an experimental session at the SDG Tent. We brought together 150 sustainability, business and climate leaders, activists and students from across geographies, cultures and generations to explore how to accelerate a massive shift to regeneration by all kinds of organizations. We came to some spectacular insights. What we started at Davos 2023 is now the ongoing work of The Club or Rome, supported by InTent for Change and in cooperation with the Weidenfeld Hoffmann Trust.
After a legal career that took you from Sarajevo to study at Harvard and Oxford, then working in New York, London, Brussels, and The Hague - you are now based in Geneva, Switzerland. What brings you here? What does Switzerland offer?
Switzerland came at the end of a fast, challenging, but ultimately rewarding journey. I feel at peace here. The Swiss are a bold and wise nation. There is a sense of prudence—and, at the same time, wondrous possibility.I speak the local languages, so I never feel excluded. German is really another mother tongue for me, and my French improved thanks to the generosity of the local 'Genevois'.
After Brexit, when I finished my appointment with the British at the E.U., I moved to Geneva and became chief legal officer in the private sector. Leaving the policy world was a big adjustment. However, my new work gave me an appreciation for the role of business in society. I passionately believe in corporate citizenship.
Since I am an international lawyer, Geneva always held a special place in my heart. It's home to a unique symbiosis: humanitarian organizations exist alongside the world of high capital and international trade. This works for the benefit of all.
Switzerland is at the cutting edge of so much innovation. The country continues to play an essential role as convenor of international negotiations. I see it as an enduring testimony of global trust in Switzerland. Its role as an interlocutor will only rise significantly in the complex decades ahead.
You also worked for the European Union, creating Great Britain's policy in it, leading up to Brexit and immediately after. How do you see this part of your career now? And can you tell us what you think of Brexit and the future of the E.U.?
Political life in Brussels revolves around the big national delegations. Our British team at the E.U., alongside Germany and France, was the largest. Britain is a G7 economy and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Britain's tech industry still leads Europe, with venture capital investments higher than in France and Germany combined. It was very special to create policy for this system. Fortunately, I have served with—and learned from— the best.
If you want to be in politics, you have to work close to real power. The late nights, intrigue, urgency resolutions, and last-minute negotiations are all integral to this life. But, you can sustain this lifestyle only if you are seriously committed and passionate about policy.
So much has been said about the causes of Brexit, most of it frustratingly simplistic. My primary impression of the E.U. across the continent in 2015 was of an enterprise no longer delivering for Europeans. This perception persists today. I hope this changes now with the European Green Deal and the new digital and privacy agendas. The E.U. is still a project worth fighting for. If it wants to be a global power, a counterweight to the U.S. and China, the E.U. must first become a local power. A reinvigorated neighbourhood and enlargement policy is the place to start. Ukraine will be its biggest test on this path.
Your career was also marked by working for the Prosecutor's office at the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, at the trials of the biggest war criminals from the end of the 20th century. There is still a lot of confusion among the public about the success of the prosecution of the accused. How much, in your opinion, did its work contribute to reconciliation?
I am a lawyer, first and foremost. Equality before the law, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial are just some of the principles we as professionals believe in—and are bound by. The ICTY's objective was justice. Its mandate was to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991. Strictly speaking, reconciliation was never part of the Tribunal's mandate. But, of course, it was hoped that establishing the facts and determining individual criminal responsibility would be the first steps in that direction. The Tribunal has closed its doors now, but reconciliation remains elusive.
I worked for the Prosecutor's office on the case against Radovan Karadzic, who today serves life in prison after being convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. All perpetrators must face justice. All victims deserve recognition. These ordinary virtues should ultimately prevail. Somebody once said that 'history begins when there are no more people to ask.' Perhaps this is where hope lies for the Western Balkans. A new generation needs to come about. They will have nobody to ask and, consequently, will have to take a hard, objective look at the evidence from a historical distance.
And, finally, since our interview was conducted within the framework of successful, global stories of people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, can you tell us more about the experience of your home country and its future perspective?
The Western Balkans is at a crossroads. As the world's supply chains move back closer to Europe, these countries could stand to benefit enormously. It is essential not to miss this boat for the future. The ex-Yugoslav nations never took advantage of the benefits of globalization. The wars of the 90s made that impossible. Today, they cannot afford to miss integrating into the new green and digital economy. If they fail to do so, I am afraid it would be difficult, if not impossible, to catch up. The pace of technological progress today is simply too great. So, the Western Balkan countries either cooperate or stay trapped in the unproductive and dangerous past. In the first scenario, many will win, especially the young. In the second, everybody loses, including Europe at large.
Normally, I would be optimistic about Bosnia's future. Why? It is a middle-income European country with significant natural resources, not over-indebted, and just a few hours' drive from the E.U. heartlands. But its constitutional framework is unfit for purpose, perpetuating political crises and fueling three nationalisms. The result is an exodus of the young as well as private capital.
Citizens across the Western Balkans want change. The young want European standards in their communities so they do not have to leave seeking them in Germany or elsewhere. The young need and deserve concrete, operational support from us in the diaspora on this journey. Much good work remains to be done. You here at the i-platform have terrific private sector initiatives supported by the Swiss government and people. This is what Switzerland does best. I am, in my way, working to contribute to that effort.
