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Intervento del ministro Giorgetti al 7° OECD Global Forum on Wellbeing

 04/11/2024

Intervento di apertura del Ministro Giorgetti
(7 OECD Global Forum on Wellbeing, Rome, 4 November 2024)

Dear participants, esteemed speakers, ladies and gentlemen.

I am pleased to welcome you all in Rome to attend the OECD Global Forum on Wellbeing.

I regret not being able to join you in person today, but I will be present with you in the concluding day.

I am very glad to introduce the Forum today with the Secretary General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, and the President of ISTAT, Francesco Maria Chelli.

Our respective institutions have joined efforts to organize this event and I would like to praise the work done by the OECD in close collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Italian Statistical Institute (ISTAT). The Bank of Italy also provided valuable contributions.

We have gathered a remarkable set of speakers coming from a variety of backgrounds to provide data evidence, policy assessment and expert opinions.

As the host of this Forum and current G7 Presidency, Italy is deeply committed to advancing the well-being agenda in G7 countries and beyond, building on the discussions started by the Japanese G7 Presidency last year.

Indeed, against the background of persistent inequalities, the global landscape is undergoing profound transformations, from the growing impacts of climate change and of the demographic transition, to the rapidly advancing frontiers of technology and digitalization.

In this context, pandemic and geopolitical shocks have reminded us that the resilience of our economies is essential for the well-being of our citizens and that it should be measured and assessed through multidimensional indicators.

Welfare, social cohesion and sustainability require broadening the metrics for successful economic policies.

This means putting additional indicators, - for example quality of life, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability - at the heart of our decision-making, as an essential complement to traditional economic variables to measure the impact and success of policies.

It also requires a deep reflection on well-being measurement and on the desirability of adding a broader set of metrics to indicators such as GDP so we can assess more thoroughly the well-being and sustainability of our societies and of the planet.

This is why this Forum represents a unique opportunity—for policymakers, statisticians, academics, business leaders, civil society, and all other stakeholders —to come together, share knowledge, and develop actionable strategies.

Only by collaborating can we ensure the transformative changes required for a sustainable and inclusive future.

Italy is at the forefront of the well-being agenda. It is not by chance that today’s Forum in Italy marks twenty years from its first gathering in Palermo in 2004.

This is not just a coincidence, given the important role that Italy has played in developing a multidimensional approach to measuring well-being and embedding it in the policy-making process.

Since 2017, Italy has been one of the first countries among EU and G7 members to integrate a dashboard of twelve indicators of equitable and sustainable well-being (BES) into its economic and financial planning documents.

The effort goes beyond monitoring and includes an exercise to forecast such well-being indicators, based on estimates of the impact of government policies.

This implies a commitment to pursue policies that are instrumental to make progress on the well-being domains covered by the indicators, and to be accountable towards Parliament for the results achieved. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan has added new momentum to this endeavor.

Let me now turn to the G7 agenda. Under the Italian Presidency, the G7 Finance Track has worked extensively this year on topics that have significant well-being implications, such as artificial intelligence and climate change.

I look forward to the discussions that will take place in the dedicated sessions of the Forum.

International cooperation among policy makers will be crucial in addressing the global implications of AI advancements and identify best practices to promote economic growth while supporting a human-centred approach to enhance well-being.

On climate change, in the context of the decarbonization of our economies, it is key to ensure a just and inclusive transition, addressing the social and distributional impacts of climate change mitigation strategies, as well as their acceptability for society at large.

It is important to integrate in overall economic policymaking the progress achieved in recent years on how we track and evaluate well-being: climate change and AI are two prominent issues where such an approach is most needed.

Let me conclude by wishing that the discussions in the Forum will advance the well-being agenda and help shape a better future for all.

Intervento di chiusura Ministro Giorgetti
7mo Forum OCSE Wellbeing, Roma, 6 novembre 2024

Distinguished participants, esteemed speakers, ladies and gentlemen

As we approach the conclusion of the seventh OECD World Forum on Well-being,

I would like to thank all of you for making this Forum a success.

Over the past few days, you have engaged in lively debates and shared research outcomes, practical insights and real-world examples of well-being indicators and analytical tools and how they can help shape economic, social, and environmental policies.

Let me focus on two critical areas where I believe a well-being approach is particularly warranted, namely in assessing the impact of Artificial Intelligence and of Climate change and related policies.

Both topics have been high on the agenda of the Italian Presidency of the G7.

I am glad that the Forum has enriched the discussion on those topics with new perspectives.

In the Finance Track, G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have discussed AI’s impact on the economy and the financial sector, stressing its economic potential and impact on productivity while monitoring potential risks of economic divergences, marginalization of unskilled labour force and financial instability.

During the Forum, panelists have highlighted how transformative digital advancements such as AI can be leveraged to improve lives and well-being while being aware of the associated risks that range from deepening inequalities to environmental concerns, as well as to issues related to privacy and trust.

The urgency of addressing climate change and managing a just and inclusive green transition has also been at the forefront of the Italian G7 agenda as well as of discussions in this Forum where the debate emphasized that climate policies must address environmental sustainability and at the same time ensure social equity, protecting the most vulnerable and creating opportunities for all.

I believe that this perspective is very much in line with the outcome of the G7 discussion which resulted in agreement on a set of policy actions that governments can take to promote decarbonization in an effective, equitable, growth-compatible manner and to strengthen the resilience of economies and societies against climate disaster risks.

In general, let me mention two cross-cutting challenges for the well-being agenda.

The first, is the complexity of measuring wellbeing and monitoring its progress. Several dimensions affect wellbeing such as health, safety, environmental sustainability, access to resources and services, social relationships, to name a few. The discussions in the Forum highlighted the importance of the availability of timely, comparable and reliable data on such dimensions to shape effective policies. They are often difficult to quantify and give rise to subjective judgment.

Consequently, the variety of indicators and methodologies for measuring wellbeing can lead to differing perspectives among citizens and policymakers.

In my view, we are at a turning point in understanding how to introduce innovations in data collection and how to better link data and analysis to understand the real impacts of policies on people’s lives.

In a context where no one size fits all, it would be useful to agree on some overall principles for using well-being frameworks in policy making.

A second challenge is translating a well-being approach into effective public policies.

Policies aimed at improving wellbeing are multidimensional, emphasize equity and inclusion, focus on people, and consider sustainability as key for assessing impacts and returns of investment.

Therefore, they require a broader framework ranging from the design to the evaluation of a given policy rather than one only based on economic indicators.

An additional element of complexity is that the time horizon to assess changes in well-being indicators may be long and span beyond Governments’ perspectives.

Despite these challenges,- discussed in depth and from different and interdisciplinary points of view over the past three days -, a conclusion stands out clearly: wellbeing is a more and more key approach for policies that seek to improve the lives of people and society as a whole.

This dialogue will not stop today, and I am firmly convinced that the outcome of this Forum will offer a solid foundation and new ideas for future steps.

Indeed, Italy is actively taking part in the implementation of a broad well-being approach and - building on its national experience and on last year’s Japanese G7 Presidency - has organised this Forum as a key event on this year’s G7 program.

As we look to the future, and as we prepare to pass the baton of the G7 presidency to Canada let me encourage all of you to cooperatively carry forward the momentum we have generated here in Rome.

Thank you.

 Video

Intervento del ministro Giorgetti al 7° OECD Global Forum on Wellbeing
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