The Foundation was able to convene its first, face to face, global roundtable meeting in 3 years, held over three days, in Assisi and then Rome from 21- 23 May. Our Chairman, Ms Louise Watson, travelled to Italy for the purpose, along with a distinguished and diverse group of members and supporters from across the world.

We were blessed to enjoy very strong support and participation from all three levels of government in Italy: we were hosted by our long-standing friend, Prof Stefania Proietti, the Mayor of Assisi (who is also Governor of the Province of Perugia) in her famous city of peace and integral ecology.

We were also fortunate to be joined in both Assisi and Rome by the Italian Minister for Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility, Prof Enrico Giovannini, who has also been associated with and supportive of the work of the Foundation over many years.

Both the Minister and the Mayor have extended offers of continuing support and partnership to the Foundation, on a number of sustainability issues and projects in Italy and beyond. One such project focusses upon the Hermitage, a very special site of world significance, managed by Franciscan friars in the forested hills near Assisi. This was a favourite place of retreat for St Francis of Assisi, whose spirit inspired our roundtable discussions.

It was particularly heartening to have such a strong presence from senior figures from across Asia, most notably the Governor of Indonesia’s largest province, West Java, H.E. Ridwan Kamil, formerly Mayor of Bandung. Trained as an architect in the United States, the Governor is a remarkable leader of a modern and progressive society and enjoys nearly 20 million followers on social media. Such is his popularity, there are suggestions that Governor Ridwan Kamil might run for the Office of President of Indonesia in 2024.

The Assisi Accord was the main outcome from the three days of the 2022 global roundtable. This is an historic, signed call to action on climate change and related matters, requiring significant reform of the international financial system so that genuine and measurable progress towards the sustainability of the planet will be possible.