Russia, the G20's rotating chair, introduced a parallel Civil Society 20 (C20) "summit" in its tune-up for the St. Petersburg G20 summit which will open later Thursday.

First online and then in person, representatives from global civil societies discussed initiatives to be put to G20 leaders and their key recommendation is the addition of a fourth pillar to the group's three-pillar recovery plan.

The proposed pillar is inclusiveness, as a way of affirming the value of equality along with the G20's aim for strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

In a newsletter delivered to summit participants, the C20 said its recommendations were the results of yearlong consultations among civic organizations, non-profit institutions and the scientific community.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the C20 contribution as a way to ensure economic recovery did not come at the price of welfare and social security for citizens.

The Civil Society 20, or Civil 20 in summit jargon, followed three stages of consensus building: peer groups drafted recommendations, then revised their drafts after online consultation, and finally voted their drafts into a joint list of recommendations to be presented to the G20 leaders in St. Petersburg.

C20 participants say the G20's outreach approach will increase global public understanding of the G20 process and therefore increase trust in the self-selected group.