GSIF09 SUMMARIES
Plenary 1: Designing Our Future! Thursday, 1 October • Huang Yasheng • Zainul Abidin Rasheed • Alvin Toffler • S Robson Walton Moderated by • Penny Low Mr Toffler started off the session saying that the changes that are taking place are of historic consequence. Now, industries are replacing assembly workers with knowledge and service workers, signifying an increasing reliance on knowledge and information. Right now we are still focused on reconstructing the past instead of investing in the future. There is still an industrial approach to education, where public education provides the hard skills for industries; when the new knowledge economies need innovative workers capable of thinking independently. His wife, Mrs Heidi Toffler, added that it is not the general crisis of capitalism, or the crisis of socialism, but the general crisis of industrialization. Mr Walton said that climate change has awakened us to the importance economic growth grounded in a smarter and greener way. Wal-Mart relies on creative solutions by the workers on the ground to help with its forts. All that was needed was a simple idea from a guy in the break room and someone who was willing enough to listen to him and Wal-Mart was able to save billions of dollars in electricity bills. Sustainability is an important issue for Wal-Mart, as seen through the sustainable seafood program. Wal-Mart also promotes sustainability through working with its vendors everywhere, coming up with a more concrete sustainability index. Mr Zainul Abidin said that there should be an inclusive approach to solving the world’s problems of sustainable growth. No one should consider himself insignificant in solving them; we need to understand how to find a balance between capitalism and socialism because no one needs to be left behind in this changing world. Professor Huang then proposed that there are four different challenges facing social entrepreneurs in developing countries:
- Government regulation and licensing requirements that restrict mobility - Access to financial capital and the importance of financial deregulation - Business models - The need to grow human capital base Ms Low asked if we are able to measure success not only through financial indicators, but through social and environmental contributions, and if these could be a more inclusive measurement of success. A participant commented that ethics is at the core of everything. In an age where consumption and disposability are the new religions; ethics should guide us in our decisions. A panelist replied that ethics is a good thing to have, but we should still be giving more focus to financial regulation to promote responsible economic growth. Mr Toffler ended the session by saying that it is too simplistic to assume that the world will change according to how we predict it to change. We underestimate the speed of change, and we cannot recognize the complexity of complexity.
Download GSIF09 Plenary 1 - Summary. |
|
GSIF09 SUMMARIES
Plenary 2: Team Earth: The Marvels of Cross-Sector Collaborations Thursday, 1 October • Laura Bowling • Michael H. Chen • Harry Hui • Peter Seligmann • Jeanette Takamura Moderated by • Sharanjit Leyl The success of Team Earth’s collaborative efforts spanning many sectors and countries outlines the benefits of such engagements in spreading the message of conservation to the masses. Through research carried out in various countries by Conservation International (CI), the core idea of responsibility has been outlined. This study has also generated key lessons, such as empowering people to make a difference and using the Internet to bind people together. Five big issues have also been highlighted, namely climate change, water, food, health and the need to consume less. In this sphere, Columbia University can be viewed as a good example of having high commitment with its bottoms-up approach. More importantly, technology-savvy students with their idealism make for excellent foot soldiers that can be effectively mobilized for this conservation effort. PepsiCo has also drawn on this point through its Battle of the Bands competition that was carried out in China this year. Together with CI, PepsiCo has managed to communicate the idea of conserving the Yangtze River to younger generations by involving them in public service. This notion of ‘Performance with Purpose’ has resulted in increasing awareness of conservation among Chinese youth. Harrah’s Entertainment serves as an example of linking corporate responsibility with environmental conservation through its Code Green project. This effort has seen the growth of over 100 significant projects and the generation of over 40 Code Green teams aimed at coming up with ideas on how the company can be more environmentally friendly. The global financial meltdown has not slowed down the efforts of CI to get more companies to be more involved. Rather, it has brought about collective action among companies who see this as a way of allocating their resources more effectively. There is also a need to create programs that are congruent with companies’ products so that consumers will not doubt the authenticity of their purpose. The role of governments remains paramount. As one panelist observed, “If we don’t have a conversation with them, they will have a conversation of their own.” Ultimately, there is a need to “cut to the chase.” After all, “This is for the survival of Planet Earth, period”, concluded one panelist.
Download GSIF09 Plenary 2 - Summary. |
GSIF09 SUMMARIES
Plenary 3: The Big Shifts: Social Innovation & an Inclusive World Thursday, 1 October • Calvin Chin • Suhas Gopinath • Arifin Panigoro • Irving Tan • Jackie Y. Ying Moderated by • Richard Kelly Becoming more inclusive is the direction of progress for social innovation, as the fields of engineering, energy, education, business and IT converge in providing solutions to the world’s problems. Some key areas were identified as places where social innovators could make an impact, namely creating a sustainable environment by improving energy efficiency; improving methods of healthcare; and improving the general standards of living by finding ways to self-enable people. Several methods were cited as examples of social innovation, such as the development of stimuli-responsive drug delivery methods; a renal assisting device that could one day help patients with kidney failure; using bamboo to build houses for earthquake-prone regions; providing access to education for students in China; using organic rather than chemical fertilizers; and setting up wireless or broadband networks in poorer regions not currently covered by Internet coverage. The panelists generally agreed that their inspiration is derived from creating a profitable, sustainable impact on people’s lives through mutual collaboration that solves the problems they face from being underprivileged. A top-down framework to help such people is no longer satisfactory; rather a cooperative approach to self-enable them is the key. One panelist mentioned that, in translating anything to reality, nothing can be achieved on one’s own. There is a need to rally people to a cause by going out into the field, testing the idea on people to see if it resonates, before setting up a company to meet the need, with technology helping to function as a great enabler. He went on to emphasize that collaboration is important as teams always outperform individuals over the long term, and some of the best ideas often come from working with people outside of the organization in partnerships.
Download GSIF09 Plenary 3 - Summary. |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 7 |