Advisory Board

The advisory board for the Konrad Adenauer Synergy research project “Rethinking Global Governance and Human Security: Lessons from the Pivotal Decade of the 1990s” met in Venice in April 2026 for its kick-off meeting to launch a fruitful dialogue between academia and practice.

The Konrad Adenauer Synergy research project “Rethinking Global Governance and Human Security: Lessons from the Pivotal Decade of the 1990s”, funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation with 4.4 million euros over five years, has now commenced its research work at the University of Cologne and Nuffield College, University of Oxford. It examines how the multifaceted history of the 1990s has shaped today’s international order – and what lessons it holds for the future of multilateral cooperation.

The inaugural meeting of the high-profile advisory board in Venice brought together for the first time leading figures from international organisations, global governance institutions and the field of international politics from different parts of the world with the project’s researchers, with the aim of initiating an ongoing exchange between academia and practice. This marked the launch of a unique forum for dialogue, designed to combine in-depth historical research with a strong practical dimension.

The meeting in Venice not only provided an opportunity to get to know one another and gain mutual insights into different perspectives; it also allowed participants to explore a wide range of opportunities for collaboration and to identify common ground, both in terms of subject matter and personal backgrounds. Many advisory board members had begun their careers in international politics in the 1990s and had thus become direct witnesses to the defining events of that decade. At the same time, their decades of experience in prominent positions in international politics offer insightful perspectives on the connections between past and present global challenges.

The advisory board meetings, which have now been launched with the Venice meeting, will take place annually in the future. Depending on the thematic focus and content priorities, the venues will vary and additional invited guests may be included. At the same time, channels for ongoing exchange were established in Venice, enabling continuous dialogue and ideas to be developed further in the period between the annual meetings.