Consumers are being left behind in our rapidly changing world. How will Global Congress 2023 change that?
Dramatic. Historic. Unprecedented.
These are all words that have been used to describe the pace and scale of change that has swept through the world in the 2020s.
They’re all valid descriptions of the seismic shifts that COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis, climate change, surging food prices, rapid digitalisation and now artificial intelligence (AI) have unleashed.
But what these grand words don’t communicate is the everyday impact this cataclysmic cluster of events has had – and continues to have – on the lives of billions of consumers all around the world.
They fail to explain that a 3.3% rise in food prices means nearly half the global population can no longer afford to eat a healthy or nutritious diet. Or how vulnerable people are being drawn into a debt spiral by easy-to-access “buy now, pay later” deals that are eroding consumer protection. And they don’t get across the fact that insufficient government support for people to switch to sustainable lifestyles is stoking the climate change that’s sending people’s homes and livelihoods up in smoke.
This is the stark reality on the ground for consumers around the world. Headline inflation may be falling, but prices are still rising – and other developments and challenges keep on coming. Consumers need far more help and protection than they are getting, and how they get that help also needs to evolve to reflect the changing world we live in.
This is the message we want to get across at our Global Congress 2023. We also hope the event can help find a better way forward for everyone, which is why the theme will be “Building resilience for consumers”.
“Digital technologies, climate change and the cost-of-living crisis are changing everything, but consumer protection has not evolved fast enough to keep up,” says Consumers International Director General Helena Leurent. “Our Global Congress 2023 will diagnose the problems facing consumers today, but more importantly, it will also spotlight solutions and give a voice to the people and organisations that are doing things right.”
The Global Congress will be held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on 6-8 December 2023, although all sessions can also be attended virtually – simply register online on our event programme page. Here’s a preview of some of the discussions that will be taking place.
Creating consumer protection for a digital world
We are more plugged into the digital world than ever before, but surveys show that one in four global consumers do not trust the internet.
Online scams, data breaches and surveillance scams are partly to blame, but a lack of consumer protection laws covering the digital space is also part of the problem. More than 40% of countries are falling short in this area, and our Scams, Fraud and Fake Reviews: Building Trust in the Digital Economy session will look at how consumer advocates can create constructive change.
The rise in scams is a truly global problem, causing consumers not just immense financial distress, but also emotional and psychological harm. This is why Consumers International and our members will launch a Global Statement to Stop Online Scams during Congress to highlight what governments need to do to protect people against this dangerous threat.
The potential for online scams and fraud is rising in the age of AI, alongside other threats. It's one of the reasons why we've made 'Fair and responsible AI for consumers' the theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2024, and will be explored further in our Impact of Generative AI on Consumers session. Another danger facing consumers in the online world is unsafe products, and something urgently needs to be done about this. Products banned from shops are being sold on numerous websites and consumers are paying the price, in every sense. Our Effective Frameworks for Product Safety session will map out what a global action plan could look like.
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There will also be a focus on digital finance, with a session called Channels of Change Towards Fair Digital Finance. Two-thirds of consumers worldwide now use digital finance, but consumer protection frameworks have not evolved alongside these changes and therefore no longer inform, protect and empower consumers effectively. This is why we will also use Congress to launch a new initiative to elevate the voice of vulnerable consumers in digital finance.
Consumers’ data privacy has also been a victim of the digital economy. Personal information is moving across borders faster than ever, and consumers often lack means of redress if this information is misused or stolen. Building trustworthy data governance mechanisms is critical, and finding ways to do this will be the focus of a session called Around the World in 80 Bytes: Building Privacy and Redress into Cross-Border Data Flows.
Stepping up on sustainability
The climate crisis is starting to hit home. More and more people have first-hand experience of the devastating environmental impacts, and at the same time, more and more people want to act responsibly and sustainably. But there is a “say-do gap” – in new research to be released on day 3 – we reveal that ninety-four percent of consumers support the shift to a green economy – but consumers can’t always act the way they want to because businesses and governments aren’t helping them to do so.
Our Making a Sustainable Lifestyle the Norm session will look to pinpoint positive ways consumers are being supported in the shift to greener goods, cleaner transport and more energy-efficient homes. Ensuring the integrity of claims around green credentials is also key to empowering consumers to act in a more environmentally friendly way, and this will be the focus of a session called A Deeper Shade of Green: In Search of Credible Sustainability Claims.
Changing the way our food and agriculture systems work is unavoidable if we want to protect our planet, as well as the people on it. The global food system is clearly broken. Prices are surging and people are going hungry, yet at the same time, 40% of all food produced is going to waste. On top of that, current methods of food production are responsible for a third of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions.
There is growing momentum behind the call for food systems transformation, and the session Serving up a Food System that Works for People and Planet will highlight the better business models and positive policies that can make this happen.
The food crisis is particularly acute in Africa, and a session called Fair Prices for Healthy and Sustainable Diets will explore how consumer groups across the continent have been working to find solutions to this. They see trade distortions and overconcentrated value chains leading to record profits for food producers. What they want to see instead is action against uncompetitive practices so that everyone can afford to have enough to eat. This is why Consumers International – with the support of The Rockefeller Foundation – has set up the Consumer Voice for Fair Food Prices project.
The way forward for consumers
Fair trade is a key part of making food systems work more equitably, and this will be just one of the focuses of a session called The C21: Why the G21 Needs Consumer Protection and Empowerment. Decisions made by the G21 since 2019 have failed to fully take into account consumer rights. As our Global Consumer Advocacy Survey 2023 shows, just one in three consumer groups globally feel aligned with their government’s priorities. This session will look at how things can be turned around, including sustainable consumption and digital policy.
Growing numbers of consumers desperately need independent advice, support and a voice. Our closing session, The State of Consumer Advocacy in 2030, will highlight inspiring stories from organisations around the world that are showing how this can be done.
Their successes prove that, if we work together, we can make sure words like “dramatic”, “historic” and “unprecedented” are being used to describe positive change by the time the next Global Congress comes around in 2027.
