Horasis Extraordinary MeetingVirtual Event, 1 October 2020

a Horasis leadership event

Unite. Inspire. Create.

Report

© Horasis

2020 –All rights reserved

The publication was prepared in cooperation with IE University, Madrid, Spain.

The statements quoted in the publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions ofHorasis and IE University. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in anyform or by any means.

Inspiring our future

Upcoming Horasis events:

Horasis Asia Meeting Virtual Event, 30 November 2020

Horasis Extraordinary Meeting on the United States Virtual Event, 18 March 2021

Horasis Global Meeting Cascais, Portugal, 5-8 June 2021

Horasis India Meeting Binh Duong, Vietnam, 20-21 June 2021

Horasis China Meeting Yerevan, Armenia, 24-25 October 2021

Horasis is a global visions community dedicated to inspiring our future. (www.horasis.org)

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Horasis Extraordinary Meeting Virtual Event, 1 October 2020a Horasis leadership event

Unite. Inspire. Create.

Co-chairs:Ibukun Awosika Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria

Richard Branson Founder, Virgin Group, United Kingdom

Andrew Forrest Co-Founder and Chairman, Minderoo Foundation, Australia

Roshni Nadar Malhotra Chairperson, HCL Corporation Ltd., India

Hank McKinnell Chairman, Moody’s, USA

Michelle Nunn President and Chief Executive Officer, CARE, USA

Sally Ann Ranney President and Co-Founder, Global Choices, USA

Martin Richenhagen Chairman, President and CEO, AGCO, USA

Hans Vestberg Chief Executive Officer, Verizon Communications, USA

Partner Organizations:U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Allianz

All India Management Association (AIMA)

Altru Institute

Caspian Week

CEO Clubs Network Worldwide

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Entrepreneurs’ Organization

Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG)

IE University

Oxford Analytica

Philip Morris International

Publicize

QI Group

Reuters Breakingviews

Run The World

The Digital Economist

Thunderbird School of Global Management

Wingsure

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Unite.Uniting in the morning (06.30-07.15)– Horasis Community Building

Digital Breakfast Sessions (07.15-08.00)– Are we at an evolutionary moment?– Revitalizing economic growth– COVID vaccination availability– Technology for social impact– Future-proof business– Changing world of e-commerce– Mental health crisis– Celebrating diversity– Power of media– Regeneration of world trade– Sustainable brands– Pivoting your businesses– China

Parallel Sessions (08.00-08.45)– Competing in leaderless world– Corporate strategy through pandemic– Balancing long & short term– Progress on global UN commitments– Water: The Innovation Imperative– Owning your own data– Fair Taxation for All– Developing entrepreneurial spirit– Developing NewTech despite COVID– New Cold War– Developing Digital Prowess– Family Business– Future Role of the Digital Leader– Everywhere entrepreneurship– South East Asia

Plenary (08.45-08.50)– Welcome Address by Antonio Guterres

Plenary (08.50-09.30)– Unite. Inspire. Create.

Plenary (09.30-10.15)– Nurturing inclusive leadership

Parallel Sessions (10.15-11.00)– Where are we at? Where are we Going?– Impact investing– Stronger together– Millennials & Gen-Z– Competition for economic leadership– AI as force for good– Art supporting leadership transformations– Reconstructing supply chains– New Unicorn ventures– Managed philanthropy– Business Toughness– Austerity or Plenty– Global Solidarity– Family Offices– Greater Caspian Region

Inspire.Plenary (11.00-11.45)– Developing leadership and inspiration– South Asia

Plenary (11.45-12.30)– Sustainable Development Goals– Thinking as citizens– Impact Created by Companies

Parallel Sessions (12.30-13.15)– The elephants in the room– Inspirational leadership – Economic recovery by digitization– Unlikely collaborators – Rekindling education post-COVID– Regeneration or evolution of cities– Building peace– We are living longer– Deriving ideas for start-ups– Global Coordination– Competitive Green Economies– African Peace Engineering Corps– Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)– Armenia– United Kingdom

Virtual Lunch Plenary (13.15-14.00)– Climate change commitments– Horasis Community Building

Special Addresses (13.15-14.00)– Ulisses Correia e Silva (14.00-14.15)– Juan Guaidó (14.15-14.30)– Iliana Iotova (14.30-14.45)

Plenary (13.15-14.00)– Celebrating UN 75 in times of COVID– Abraham Accords

Parallel Sessions (15.30-16.15)– United Nations: The Next 75 years– Public-private partnerships– Redefining HRM as human relations– Strategic infrastructure investment– Developing emotional intelligence– Entrepreneurial gale – Developing deep learning – Changing future of work– Overcoming gender inequality– South-South cooperation– Future of finance – Profit and Purpose in a Pandemic– Transforming Business For Social Change– Middle East

Parallel Sessions (16.15-17.00)– SDG goal #3 – its deeper meaning– Technology harnessing– Partnering for food security– Harnessing migration– Inspiring social innovation– Our need of fulfilment– Ethics in a troubled world– Managing funds post-COVID– Blended finance for future benefits– Start-up Nations– Bridging the Digital Divide– Fostering Purpose through Movies– Triple bottom line investments– Closing the Gap on Gender Equality– Africa

Create.Plenary (17.00-17.45)– USA– Renewable Energy and Oceans

Plenary (17.45-18.30)– UN Global Compact post-COVID– Business-Led Solutions

Parallel Sessions (18.30-19.15)– Stock market volatility– FinTech Post-COVID– Responsibility for blockchain usage– Black lives matter– New Deal for Globalization– Innovation in a pandemic world – Making more from less– Digital utopia– Implanting Industry 4.0– Fighting Poverty– Solutions for an impact-led recovery– Governance after COVID-19– Fixing Broken Government– Latin America

Plenary (19.15-20.00)– Governing a world out of balance– Africa

Closing Plenary (20.00-20.45)– Unity, inspiration and creativity– New Global Awareness

Closing Remarks (20.45-20.50)– Unpalatables in times of COVID-19

Virtual Closing Dinners (20.50-21.30)– Our world in 2030– Equitable growth post-COVID– Leading change– The CEO in age of disruption– Ensuring inclusive prosperity– Navigating business on the edge– Building trust– Technology is running amok– Political revolutions– The Conservation Continent– The emerging future is bright– Global Climate Transformation– Refugees and humanitarian crises– Pathways for the disenfranchised– Redefining Philanthropy– Civil Society

Closing Parallel Sessions (21.30-22.15)– Corporate leadership – Behavioral changes – Populism vs multilateralism – Venture capital– Awakening to a digital world– Clusters– Advancing the 5th industrial revolution– The zing of cryptocurrency– Coaching through COVID– Mutuality amid COVID-19– Globally Green Policies– Reaching for the Future with Technology– Un-led global crisis – Greatest Transfer of Private Wealth– The current state of the world

Virtual Receptions (22.15-23.00)– Horasis community building– Horasis Young Visionaries– The 2021 Horasis Global Meeting

Schedule

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Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Summary 11

The Horasis Extraordinary Meeting was held on Run The World, the Silicon Valley-based online meeting platform.

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Foreword

By Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman, Horasis, Switzerland

Horasis held its first digital ExtraordinaryMeeting on 1st October 2020 with thetheme of Unite. Inspire. Create. The meetingbrought together heads of state, prime mi nis -ters and other government represen ta ti vesas well as CEOs and entrepreneurs fromaround the world. 900 speakers contributedto the discussion of themes spanning politics,business and civil society across 150 ses sions– the largest online meeting held by anyorganisation so far.

The discussions through the meetingcovered a wide range of issues and dele ga tesendeavoured to generate novel solutionspertaining to the difficulties facing us all atthe present time, especially with respect tothe effects of the COVID pandemic. Thereis a clear and present need to ensure we aidall the disenfranchised, to meet our Sus -tain able Development Goals and attempt tomeet our climate change targets, makingthe planet greener. Businesses need to pivotto new modes and to change their targetsto be sustainable.

Horasis decided to address these issues underthe themes of Unite, Inspire, Create sodelegates could discuss and derive novelways to support our unique new-normalfuture – to strengthen global coordination,cooperation and multilateralism via itsinternational institutions. This has beenrecognised by the UN who have created anew policy review of ‘Democracy withoutBorders’ within a UN Parliamentary As sem -bly (UNPA) – it will be an addition to theUN General Assembly under the title ofUN75 thus celebrating its 75th year ofincorporation.

In January 2020 there were few instances ofCOVID in China in the probable epicentretown of Wuhan. The Chinese authoritiesreacted quickly, as did their scientists andepidemiologists who quickly analysed andopenly published its DNA. National HealthCoordination centres have stated that thetime to make a novel vaccine is long – be cau -se of all the testing phases, analyses and soon. Of concern is the heavy political pres -sure on vaccine manufacturers to rapidlypresent solutions. Nine leading biophar ma -ceutical firms pledged in early September2020 to ‘always make the safety and well-being of vaccinated individuals our toppriority’ – saying they believed their actionwould ‘ensure public confidence’ in thedevelopment of inoculation.

The WTO (World Trade Organisation)reckoned the global trade conflicts wouldlead to a sizeable reduction in direct tradebetween nations, and to a reorganisation of supply chains in East Asia.Yet, in lateSummer 2020 after the initial ravages ofCOVID, the OECD raised its global eco no -my outlook to a 4.5 percent fall. Certainly,the abrupt cessation of some commercialsectors caused havoc: mass transport systemslost passengers and closed down as people

Anto�nio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations

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attempted to work from home; labour-intensive hospitality operations simplyhalted; manufacturing firms furloughedtheir staff. Sir Richard Branson, CEO,Virgin Group discussed the turmoil in thetourism sector.

Formally opening the meeting, AntónioGuterres, Secretary-General of the UnitedNations opened his address by stating thatthe COVID-19 pandemic is the greatestglobal test since the founding of the UnitedNations. It has devastated lives, economiesand communities everywhere and under -mined the UN efforts to achieve the Sus tain -able Development Goals. This pandemic hasto be resolved for us all to concentrate onglobally important issues like the SDGs,climate change; and as nations rebuild theireconomies devastated by COVID they mustaddress gender equality and diversity in allits forms.

Fabrizio Hochschild, Under-SecretaryGeneral, Special Adviser on Preparations for75th United Nations Anniversary, UnitedNations, USA opened a Horasis panel‘Celebrating UN 75 – Multilateralism inTimes of COVID’ noting that COVID-19,climate change, social inequalities and geo -political tensions and digital technologiesare pressing upon all nations. In this panel,Armen Sarkissian, President of Armenia,Armenia, as a former scientist, suggesting

the UN ought to have been recognised al -ready by several Nobel prizes, but dialoguesare of vital importance especially recog ni -sing global dynamics and cyber-threats aremuch more important than formerly. Heposed the useful potential for a ‘Club ofSmall Nations’ to act as a fulcrum in manyglobal discussions. Supporting these ideas,Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Minister of ForeignAffairs, Kazakhstan outlined how Kazakh -stan has hosted several peace initiativesacross Central Asia, and globally.

Continuing with this theme, SandaOjiambo, Executive Director, UnitedNations Global Compact, USA called forfull disclosure of sustainability policies andpractices thus committing businesses tosustainability and a shared responsibility forachieving a better world. She was suppor -ted by Munir Akram, President, UnitedNations Economic and Social Council, USAwho noted ‘urgent debt relief and adequatefinance is essential to enable developingcountries to respond to the COVID crisis.’

Michelle Bachelet, United NationsHigh Commissioner for Human Rights,Switzerland further emphasised the need toovercome COVID and to regenerate support

Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group, United Kingdom

Armen Sarkissian, President of Armenia, speaking about UN 75

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for inequality across the globe. In vulne rablesocieties this must arise from strong socialprotection of all individuals, especiallywomen and children who are often themost deprived. This urgency was noted byHage G. Geingob, President of Namibia,Namibia as his nation is struggling to re ver sethe strong legacy of apartheid that formallyended in neighbouring South Africa in 1994.

Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, WorldMeteorological Organization, Switzerland isclear: the COVID pandemic and lock downshave made cities appear clean: but what willoccur on the resumption of commerce?‘We must not be driven to despair, giventhat reasonable, consensus-based solutionsare available to the international community,governments and civil society. We need a“Do” movement, not a “Talk” movement.This is our common goal.’

In panels debating South America, JuanGuaidó, Interim President of Venezuela,President of the National Assembly ofVenezuela, Venezuela emphasised thatthroughout the world corruption and fraudhas led to the underinvestment in healthservices so now they can’t cooperate fullyand internationally to overcome COVID.Today in Venezuela there is an emergent

electoral legitimacy looking to regeneratethe nation. Diego Mesa, Minister of Minesand Energy, Colombia states he will continuethe ‘green thrust’ of the government by in -creasing clean sources and creating new elec -tricity distribution to the more remote partsof the nation. And Gabriel Quijandria,Vice Minister of Strategic Development ofNatural Resources, Peru noted in shiftingto sustainable energy, to electric vehiclesand in removing deforestation from supplychains ‘we need to incorporate conserva tionas part of the toolkit for solving develop mentproblems.’ And Paul Oquist Kelley, Mi -nister of Presidency and National Policies,Nicaragua urged that ‘the way in which wework together needs to change to over comethe profound economic, political and socialdisruptions caused by COVID-19, in LatinAmerica and elsewhere.’

While business on many fronts in Africa isbooming – its pan-Africa Passport can aidbusiness interactions once the COVID-19pandemic eases; banks are helping rideCOVID issues and manage debt relief, aswell as strengthen regional integration; andit is boosting renewables power deliveringenergy for growth across the continent.Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, Afri -can Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),

Hage G. Geingob, President of Namibia, Namibia Michelle Bachelet, United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights

Diego Mesa, Minister of Mines and Energy,Colombia

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Ghana celebrates the birth of the AfricanContinental Free Trade Area which signalsreductions in all restrictions to inter-Africantrade, aiming by 2035, to double its inter naltrade by enhancing its intellectual propertyrights, industrial development and supplychains. COVID-19 crisis has slowed us down.He ensures its youth must be part of thesolution. Aurélien Agbénonci, Ministerof Foreign Affairs, Benin stated Benin andother nations must change the ways in whichAfrica does business: to develop objectivesfor each nation and then between nations todefine the strengths and objectives to reachglobal markets. It has defined how to fightcorruption and to limit minister’s terms inoffice to uphold democracy. He applauds thatthey have had the audacity to move forwardquickly. Soraya M. Hakuziyaremye,Minister for Trade and Industry, Rwanda in -formed how Rwanda has introduced reformsto make it easier for incoming businesses.Administrative reform was first; then regu -latory reform; and then digital reforms: ithas risen into the top 40 nations globally in the ease of doing business. To combatCOVID, Rwanda quickly adopted masstesting and tracing as well as containmentmeasures.

In other panels, Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, Minister and Special Advisor tothe President of Niger, Niger explainedhow they were looking to a citizen-centricapproach around service delivery informedby technology: this will strongly aid Niger’sgoal of meeting the UN/SDGs. And RaniaA. Al-Mashat, Minister of InternationalCooperation, Egypt affirmed that the effectsof the COVID pandemic would have beenmore difficult for Egypt if not for thecomprehensive reforms on taxes, budgetsand foreign exchange that the countryundertook.

South Asia has also been battered by theCOVID-19 pandemic as well as occasionallyby geo-political tension: but they offer hopefor the world if they succeed in mutuallybeneficial growth. The SAARC’s (SouthAsian Association for Regional Coopera tion)has a strong role to boosting regional inte -gration. Shariar Alam, Minister of Statefor Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh noted every4th global person is a South-Asian but in theSouth Asian Association for Regional Co -ope ra tion (SAARCs) its 8 nations representonly 2% global GDP but 40% of world’spoorest. Lasting peace in the region has beenillusive even though SAARCs members wishto openly counteract terrorism. Suppor ting

Soraya M. Hakuziyaremye, Minister for Trade and Industry,Rwanda

Special Address by Juan Guaidó, Interim President of Venezuela

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these data, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali,Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nepal statedthe region has high potentials for the future,though presently depressed by the on-set ofCOVID. And Abdullah Sahid, Minister ofForeign Affairs, Maldives noted the strugglesof the Maldives tourist industry that is abig contributor to its GDP, as are reducedremittances (cut by the global COVID lock -downs). To overcome some of the unrest henoted communications with citizens is veryimportant to get the peoples to realize theenormity of COVID’s reach.

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemicwill take years to clear – partly as trustbetween citizens and their governments hasfaltered, as has the trust between formerpartners along supply chains. Delegatesdiscussed potential solutions for disruptionand proposed new ‘new-normal’ routes tosustainable actions on global and local levels.Above all, suggested Roshni NadarMalhotra, Chairperson, HCL Corpora tionLtd., India global businesses are ready tocooperate with the public sector and inter -national organizations to confront and solvethe COVID-19 pandemic and to rebuildour economies.

On behalf of Horasis, I would like to thankall delegates for their efforts in contributingto the constructive dialogue as a corner -stone to unite, inspire be creative for ourfuture well-being.

The First Horasis Extraordinary Meetingwas a unique experience which would nothave been possible without the dedicationand enthusiasm of our partners across theworld. Please find detailed coverage of allthe panels and plenaries in the Summary of the Meeting which was compiled by IEUni versity – it holds many clues to chan -ging the world for the better, and I hope itinspires you.

The Second Horasis Extraordinary Meetingon 18 March 2021 will focus on the Uni tedStates. 500 members of the Horasis VisionsCommunity (including several senior U.S.public figures) will gather virtually to dis -cuss and shape the vision of the new U.S.administration.

Hopefully we all can influence decisionmakers to take personal responsibility todrive the future to be more sustainable,better governed, and less divisive.

Horasis Chairman Frank-Ju� rgen Richter introducing UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Egypt

Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nepal

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Summary

By IE University

Welcome Address by Antonio Guterres

Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman atHorasis welcomed Antonio Guterres,United Nations Secretary-General. Mr.Guterres highlighted how the COVID-19virus has been the greatest global test sincethe foundation of the United Nations. Hestressed on the initiatives undertaken by theUnited Nations to fight the virus; push forrescue packages for the most vulnerablecountries and development of an affordable“people’s” vaccine. Mr. Guterres also sharedhow COVID-19 has been a wake-up callfor bigger challenges facing us, like climatechange, and the need for us to embrace re -newable energy to achieve net-zero emis sionsby 2050. He concluded with his invitationto all partners to work together to build aworld of peace, dignity and sustainabledevelopment.

Opening Plenary: Unite. Inspire. Create.

Global accords have been broken by edict ata time when nations need to unite and fightcommon battles – and to ultimately combatCOVID-19 for equitable growth and secu ri ty.Axel Threlfall, Editor-at-Large, Reuters,UK, opened the conversation on UniteInspire. Hage G. Geingob, President ofNamibia, Namibia, mentioned that we needto be creative in the way we manage oursystems, governance and nation-building bycollaborating and acting as one community.He mentioned that by declaring a state ofemergency they were able to manage thesystems since the transportation was closeddown. He quoted, ‘Vaccines in the makingshould not be business as usual for the

purpose of making profits but should beeveryone’s property.’ Michelle Bachelet,United Nations High Commissioner forHuman Rights, Switzerland further empha -sised the need to overcome COVID and toregenerate support for inequality acrossthe globe. In vulnerable societies this mustarise from strong social protection of allindividuals, especially women and childrenwho are often the most deprived.

Futurist Panel: Are we at anEvolutionary Moment?

Since 2020 has been a catalyst of sorts, thepanel discussed what the future holds forus. Kishore Mahbubani, DistinguishedFellow, Asia Research Institute at the Na -tio nal University of Singapore, felt threetectonic shifts should be dealt with for the21st century – power transition from theWest to the East; strengthening of globalgovernance, institutions, and global prob -lems. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, formerPresident of the Republic of Latvia, andNina Angelovska, Former FinanceMinister, Macedonia, felt that the speed ofevolution has increased due to COVID 19.Francisco J. Sanchez, Founder Chair -man, CNS Global Consulting, added thattechnology will generate positive outcomes,in terms of nutrition and sustainability.

Bernardo Correa de Barros, President, Visit Cascais, Portugal,announcing the Horasis Global Meeting

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All panelists also agreed that technologywill alleviate the digital and economicdivide present between social classes.

Revitalizing Economic Growth

Martina Fuchs, Anchor, China GlobalTelevision Network (CGTN), UK openedthe conversation on Revitalising EconomicGrowth by introducing herself and panelist.Sujata Koirala, Former Deputy PrimeMinister, Nepal, mentioned that there is aforecast that the year 2021 would see par -tial economic recovery and that the recoveryperiod would depend upon the resumptionof healthcare facilities backed by adequate

resources. Oki Matsumoto, Chairman,Monex Group, Japan, mentioned that foreconomic recovery, it is important to collec -tively change the regulations to fit the post zenvironment. Francisco G. Dakila, DeputyGovernor, Central Bank of the Philippines,mentioned that the Philippines is workingto accelerate the digital use for paymentsand boost the domestic economy.

The Changing World of E-commerce

Tina Mani, CEO, Yfret, USA, started thediscussion by mentioning 2 major scena rios:1.Businesses going digital 2.The avail abi li tyof products has been hampered. Thus, thelocal stores in the areas were able to servecustomers better more than an onlinedelive ry business. Brendon Dennewill,CEO, Denamico Inc, USA added that B2Brelations have shifted to the digital modethus becoming disruptive. Sherry Roberts,Founder, and CEO, The Longest Stay, UKshared her experience of interior consul tingand creating shoppable hotels. �Sandi C̆eško,Co-founder, Studio Moderna, Sloveniamentioned that 30% of total retail is donevia e-commerce. Fahim Naim, Founder,eShopportunity, USA, concluded by tal kingabout how brands need to be aware of admechanisms on various digital platforms.

Futurist Panel – Are we at an Evolutionary Moment?

Sidharth Nath Singh, Minister for Export and Investment Promotion, Uttar Pradesh

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The Power of the Media and Influencers

Media is the most powerful sector of theeconomy but the majority of the media ishighly influenced and biased. The mainquestion which arises is how do we teachmedia literacy and who is responsible forthe circulation of false information. Thereis no standard of ethics for reporting. Asmedia has a global impact, we need to createan internationally accepted benchmark forethics that can get monitored and supportthis flow of information. Media alsodiminishes our capacity for reasoning andanalyzing. ‘People are learning how tointer pret the brief but not necessarily haveopinions about the brief,’ said Maxim Jago,Independent Filmmaker, UK. So, it comesdown to educating our community so thatthey can learn to dissect the information.

Pivoting your Businesses

The main focus of this discussion was poin -ting out the importance of how pivotingbusinesses should be on the digital infra -structure. All the speakers agreed to givethat the highest priority going forward. Theworld is becoming more mobile. Consideringthis, with the data-driven approach, thebusinesses should customize their customer

experience accordingly which would helpthem retain and gain new customers. Onthe flip side of digitizing, the empathyfactor is reducing due to lack of humantouch which happens to be the core ofcustomer experience. The companies whichcan remodel their customer experiencearound empathy would win in thisdigitizing world.

Future-proofing the Business

This discussion was on how to deal with thenew environment and new way of doingbusiness in every practical field. The panelwas moderated by Henry Shterenberg,CEO, Global Transformation Platform,Ukraine. The main discussion was on howpeople will change the way they do thingsand how one must execute human resources,given the current pandemic. Respondingto this, Meriem Kebiri, Founder,Mkonsult –Turnaround and Restructuring,Tunisia, spoke of 2 major criteria; Onebeing cash, i.e. how much cash one has andwhich industry they are in. On the otherhand, what matters is the financial situa tionof that person. She concluded by sayingthat everyone will have to be agile now.

Axel Threlfall, Editor-at-Large, Reuters, chairing the opening plenary

Panel ‘The Power of the Media and Influencers’

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Sustainable Brands in the Wake of COVID-19

The session, chaired by Thomas Eymond-Laritaz, CEO, Highgate, UK, mainly deba -ted on the survival of the sustainable brandsin the COVID and post-COVID era and theimpact of the crisis on them. COVID hasmajorly impacted the travel industry, butSonu Shivdasani, CEO, Soneva, Thai land,sees this as an opportunity for change. Hesaid that although people have found waysto compensate for the corporate trips byconducting virtual meetings, leisure travelis still something that won’t fade away in thefuture, especially for the travelers from theurban environment.

Vaccination Availability post-COVID

The panel started the discussion by refer -ring to trials that are coming out really fast.Phase 1 and 2 data results looked optimistic.The entire panel was cautiously optimisticabout the treatment in general. From aninvestment perspective, opportunities havedried up due to COVID, but a vaccinewould bring things back to normal swiftly.The healthcare ecosystem will have maturedwhen the COVID vaccine comes out. It willalso once again open doors for globaliza tion.The CDC advisory committee has been

holding open house sessions to discuss thedevelopments in this space and has beendiscussing the benefits of vaccination, alsoincorporating the principles of equity,justice, and fairness into the vaccine distri -bution process.

Celebrating Diversity, Spurring Innovation

The panelists all agreed that the worldpost-COVID should think about inclusionsrather than exclusions, potential rather thanlimitations, and appreciation rather thantolerance. Diversity was defined as a collec -tive mixture of differences and similaritiesand Inclusion was defined as the achieve mentof an environment in which all individualsare treated fairly and respectfully.Numerous studies have also shown that theReturn on Investment of diversity and in -clusion has been really high, but the realquestion is to not only look at figures butalso look at the productivity of employeeswhen an employer is open and willing tohave these principles imbibed in their values.The increase in productivity will directlylead to an increase in innovation.

Martina Fuchs, Anchor, China Global Television Network (CGTN) Shariar Alam, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh

Uwe Michel, Executive Vice President, Allianz, Germany

William Haseltine, Founder and Chairman, ACCESS Health International

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A Deepening of the Mental Health Crisis

The COVID lockdown has increased per -sonal and professional stress. The topic ofmental health as agreed by all the panelistsis very important to the context of theCOVID-19 pandemic. Lene Søvold,Clinical Psychologist, Norway, started off bygiving interesting statistics on the effect ofthe current pandemic on the mental health ofpeople. Anton Grech, Chairman, MentalHealth Services, Malta, followed up by ex -plaining why it has become an even biggercrisis in the current pandemic. He mentionedfactors like increased isolation, limiting thesocial network, etc. Anil Thapliyal, CEOHealthTRx, New Zealand, is the mostcomprehensive, and gave a 5 point actionplan to ensure better mental health.

Leveraging Technology for Social Impact

Technology is a driver of change but itneeds to serve the greater public good.Everyone lives in a hyper-connected anddigitized world. However, there are manyunderdeveloped places which can be boughtat par with the rest of the world using tech -nology. Communication and technology arekey for that to happen. Robotic and advan -

ced technology is creating unemploymentand closing economies. COVID 19 ensuredsmooth communication to keep the worldgoing. Panelist Mustafa Ergen, Founder,Ambeent, Turkey, said that the Internet andcommunication platforms will play a bigrole in keeping the world connected andcreating social impact. Easy access to simpletechnology (laptops, internet, smart phones,etc.) is a key for rapid development.

China and its New Economy

Uwe Michel, Executive VP, Allianz, Ger -many, opened the discussion talking aboutthe current challenges faced by the worlddue to the pandemic. He mentioned thatChina has a V shaped recovery, especially inthe manufacturing sector. Anthony Chan,Chairman, Gretchen, Hong Kong, said,‘China is moving towards advanced edu ca -tion and is providing a world-class educationto its students.’ Chen Tianmei, Founder,Cosmic Citizens, China, mentioned thatChina used the pandemic to pivot its busi -ness model and adapt to the new normal.Ikram Sehgal, Chairman, PathfinderGroup, Pakistan, said ‘the corridor thatChina has built via Pakistan into UAE andEurope is going to help China become asupreme power soon.’ Li Xu, Founder, LiXu International, USA, said, ‘China will bea market leader in the same space.’

Collapse or Regeneration of World Trade

The panel discussed the status of world tradeduring the pandemic and how countriescould prosper beyond pre-pandemic levels.Sidharth Nath Singh, Trade and ExportMinister, UP, India, felt that economic andtrade balances must be restored and weakereconomies are allowed to grow withoutjust a few countries dominating the world.Lisa McAuley, CEO, Global Trade Pro -fes sional Alliance, Australia, said, ‘Worldtrade recovery post-COVID will require

Panel ‘Leveraging Technology for Social Impact’

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innovative ways of thinking but so will re -storing and transforming it fundamentally,and that’s where WTO’s role will be vital.’Yonov Fred Agah, Deputy Director-Gene ral WTO, Switzerland, said that coun -tries must first handle the health effects ofCOVID-19. Later, international cooperationand multilateral approaches can be used tofind solutions for economic recovery.

Fair Taxation for All

Francis Wong, MD, Encounter Australia,commenced the discussion by introducingthe concepts of taxation. He also spokeabout the government stimulus providedglobally. Panelist Paul Tang, Member,European Parliament, EU, said that thefocus in the future is going to be on thepeople who pay and don’t pay the taxes.Gustavo L Ghory, Chairman, Smarter -chains, Switzerland, said that taxation playsan interesting role in establishing supplychains. Toshihiro Toyoshima, CEO,Mercuria Investment Co, Japan, spoke abouttax issues from the world bank. From thecorporate tax viewpoint, he spoke abouthaving a multi-jurisdiction.

Balancing Long- and Short-termism

Moderator Angela Beardsley, Founder,Resonate Together, UK opened the conver sa -tion on balancing long- and short-termism.Pamela Mar, Executive VP, Fung Academy,Hong Kong, highlighted a need to offerincentives to the powerful who can takedecisions related to carbon pricing, value-chain up-gradation and make industriesdigital-ready. Peter Armand, Founder andChief Financial Officer, RuGeeks, Russia,agreed that technology can minimize thelong- and short-term gap and promotesustainability. Felix Schubert, ExecutiveChairman, Infrontier, UK, highlighted theimportance of short term reporting sincegrowing companies need both close super -vision and support. John Cook, Chairman,

Rock Lake Partners, Switzerland mentionedthat, whether a goal, short or long term, de -pends upon perspectives. Sudhir Sharma,Chairman, Mitkat Advisory Services, India,mentioned that there is no dichotomybetween Long- and Short-termism.

Corporate Strategies in the Digital Pandemized Age

Goods are created and delivered via a digitalmesh of lean, fast associations of producers,logistics, and FinTech firms across the globeconnected in real-time each gaining valueadded income. All the speakers agreed thatthe pandemic is changing the outlook ofpeople and businesses. This situation isaffecting different industries differently.There is also a belief that the problemsarising from this situation will be solved in aphased manner. This will require businessesto change the way they manage risks. Busi -nesses can use the pandemic as an oppor tu -nity and move towards digitizing by usingthe latest technology like Virtual Reality tomove towards a borderless world.

Future Role of the Digital Leader

Business leaders need to think about digitalin the age of COVID-19. They must buildorganizations that embrace change and ma na -

Yonov Fred Agah, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO)

Kishore Mahbubani, Distinguished Fellow, AsiaResearch Institute, National University of Singapore

16

ge them effectively. The world is be co minga digital economy. Though digitization isleaving many jobless, it is creating new kindsof jobs. Hence, it is necessary for modernleaders to have new qualities for becominga digital leader. The panelist emphasizedon a few key traits important: 1) Digitalliteracy, 2) Communication, 3) Culturalawareness, 4) Adaptability and Agility, and5) Decisiveness. The Speakers also men -tioned that the world will start investingheavily on Robotics and AI integrationhenceforth that might weaken the social sideof people. Thus, an emphasis on empathybecomes imperative.

Owning Your Data Is Owning Your Future

In this discussion, the speakers talked aboutthe relationship between people and data,and data management. Patrick Lynch,Clinical Assistant Professor of Analytics andLeadership, Thunderbird School of GlobalManagement, USA, said that one must lookat all data as personal data and only providedata to companies that they truly trust.USA, Europe and China are considered thethree big data universals. Interesting pointswere made on how trust is a perception andpeople want to protect data in differentways. The moderator, Stan Stalnaker,

Founding Director, Hub Culture, UK endedthe discussion by talking about the transpa -rency of data ownership and privacy.

Family Business: How to Shape thenext Chapter post-COVID?

In this discussion, the panelist spoke abouthow, by the 3rd generation, the majority ofa family’s wealth gets lost, as younger ge -nerations’ values disintegrate, lack the all-important work ethic or seek to imple mentnew non-traditional investment strategies;strategies that are more aligned with millen -nials mindsets. As a result of the crisis, theusers have become more sensitive towardssustainable brands and practices and are in cli -ned towards ensuring that their actions havelesser negative impacts on the environment.

Equitable Development of South-East Asia

The discussion highlighted the fact that, inthe wake of the Coronavirus pandemic,brands need to be even more prepared withtheir crisis management strategies to surviveand secure themselves. This, however, notjust applies to the COVID situation, butalso to the ever-changing world. The mostimportant thing that’ll help brands sustain inthe future and keep themselves rooted to

Jane Wurwand, Founder,Dermalogica, USA

Helen Clark, Former UNDP Administrator, Former Prime Minister, New Zealand

Family Business – How to Shape the next Chapter post-COVID

17

sustainable practice would be to understandtheir purpose of existence and make it moremeaningful.

Progress on global UN commitments

During the discussion on ‘Progress on globalUN commitments’, the panel opined thatthis COVID pandemic should be utilized bycountries to work on sustainable develop -ment goals. The private sectors should beready to collaborate with governments inthese times. There are some great leadersin the world that care about humanity andUN commitments but the changes need tocome at scale. The Paris Agreement needs tobe aligned with the world’s carbon neu tra li -ty goal by 2050. COVID-19 had temporarilyreduced the number of emissions in theworld, but various reports suggest thatthese numbers have started rebounding.Countries have to find synergies and startacting as one world, post COVID, to sus -tainably achieve goals at the global level.

The Development of New Tech in a COVID world

Technology has always been developed byfirms geographically dispersed. The impacton business during COVID times can be

bucketed into 4 main groups – the firstgroup really accelerated, the second groupboomed but stabilized to continue the stag -nant phase, the third group is undergoing a‘V’ shape rebound, and the last group isundergoing a ‘U’ shape rebound. Overall,the online habit, across all industries, hasaccelerated by 1-2 years. Traditional com -pa nies had to become more nimble duringthe pandemic times, to foster new tech andinnovation. Some limitations of developingnew technology in these times include well-designed schemes for individual contributorsto showcase their skills. Open innovation isa situation since collaboration is a challenge,even though the engagement levels could bekept high.

Developing an entrepreneurial spirit

This discussion began with all the panelistsand the moderator mentioning the role theyare playing in the entrepreneurial ecosystemand how they are connected to it. They thenfurther went on to discuss how in deve lo -ping countries there is a need for greateraccess to capital and change in culture. Thesession ended with everyone giving theirclosing remarks. The panelists unanimouslyagreed that there is a need to build higherentrepreneurial capabilities.

Eva-Lotta Sjöstedt, Member of theSupervisory Board, Metro, Germany

The Development of New Tech in a COVID World Abdullah Sahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs,Maldives

Esko Aho, Former Prime Minister of Finland

18

Water: The Innovation Imperative

Sundeep Waslekar, President, StrategicForesight Group, India, started the dis cus -sion by speaking about the growing concernof water scarcity in the world. VedikaBhandarkar, Chief Global Impact Officer,water.org, USA, explained how her orga -ni zation provides financial solutions tohouseholds to build their water facility.Nicholas Parker, Chairman, ParkerManagement Venture Inc, Canada said thatwater has underperformed in getting in vest -ment unlike other clean energy sources andthat one must focus on embedded water andmonitor their consumption. Ravi Sewak,Director, Safe Water Network, India, addedthat after the water facility is built, it mustbe maintained by locals to avoid disruptionin supply. He adds that technology like AImust be deployed to understand trends andfor preventive maintenance.

Everywhere entrepreneurship

In this discussion, the panelists opined thatthe world needs more resilient entrepre -neurs for sustainable development, especiallyin developing countries. There is a gendergap globally in the leadership structure forthe many organizations which need to bebridged. Talking about gender parity,

Laura Walker Lee, Founder, MadreVentures, USA, emphasized on the need formore CSR to increase awareness and havemore women in the pool to have morewomen-focused solutions. Madan Padaki,Co-founder, GAME, India, said his mission isto create a mass entrepreneurs’ move ment inIndia and globally. He believes that this canhappen only with a collaborative approach.Mass entrepreneurship, mentoring, peer topeer learning, and bridging the gender gapwere the essence of the discussion.

Competing in leaderless world

The panel discussed leadership, its chal len -ges and how to combat them. MarianaTodorova, Founder CEO, DG-Agora 2.0,Bulgaria, felt that there is a need for apara digm shift in terms of leadership andgovernance, including decentralization, de -mo cratization and digitalization. Mu Qiao,Founder, WANMU Education, China, wasof the opinion that technology helped thebusinesses stay competitive with employeesbeing autonomous during these challengingtimes. It was inferred that there is a need forvisionary leaders who can stand up duringtimes of crisis. Bo Inge Anderson, Pre -sident, Yazaki Europe and Africa, North andCentral America, said that close coordi na -tion and cooperation with employees,

Nik Gowing, Founder and Director, Thinking the UnthinkableMohamed Amersi, Founder, Amersi Foundation, UK,chairing a panel

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Former President of Somalia

19

customers, governments could set apartsuccessful leaders.

Developing Digital Prowess

The panel discussion focused on the impor -tance of digital transformation in today’sworld and how despite COVID, businessescould be inter-connected and how strategicpartnerships can be built. The panelistscovered important points like the signifi -cance of technology in keeping businessesgoing and the strong role it’s playing inmaking key advancements. As SilvanoColetti, CEO, Chelonia Applied Science,Switzerland, mentioned, ‘Today, we areable to screen 500 bln molecules in a fewhours because of AI and supercomputers.This would have otherwise taken months,if not years. Thus, digital revolution will

be at the core of the next business wave.’The panel concluded with acknowledgingthat cybersecurity and availability of humanresources were the key risks in pursuing adigital strategy.

Nurturing inclusive leadership

The discussion was opened by Nik Gowing,Founder, Thinking the Unthinkable, UK,asking, ‘What is inclusive leadership?’ Thepanelists had varied views with Rania AlMashat, Minister of International Coope -ra tion, Egypt, emphasizing that inclusiveleadership is about being aware and takingcare of all stakeholders who, today, want tobe part of the narrative. Interestingly, aninclusive leader works on the principles ofthe 4Cs- Competence, Connections, Con -fidence, and Charm. António Vitorino,Director General, International Organiza -tion for Migration (IOM), Switzerlandconcluded that there is a need for leadershipthat fosters cooperation and to not becomplacent.

The Arts Supporting Leadership Transformations

Alistair Hicks, Writer and Art Curator,UK opened the discussion speaking abouthow COVID-19 has instilled fear in all and

Michelle Nunn, President and Chief Executive Officer, CARE, USA

Anto�nio Vitorino, Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Ernest Bai Koroma, Former President of Sierra Leone

20

has been feeding the content for the media.Carla Riggi, Founder, BandDjinni, USA,spoke about how their plan of promotinglocal music through small concerts andbusiness events was hampered due to thepandemic and how musicians ran out ofbusiness. This led to the creation of a webcommunity similar for local music. NeilLawson-May, Joint Chief Executive,Palatium Investment Management, UK,speaking about his experience of building asculpture park in Birmingham said that thepublic arts there is traditional. ZhuolinHuang, Founder, Pusihui – Female Entre -pre neur Organization, China, spoke aboutthe challenges women entrepreneurs inChina faced during the pandemic.

Family Offices: Investing in Face of Pandemic Risk

Ian Morgan, Head of Transactions,iWestcore Europe, UK, began by speakingabout his background in private equity andreal estate. Asher Noor, CIO, Al TouqGroup, Saudi Arabia, spoke about his ex -periences in handling private equity of asecond-generation family business. PeterAylwin, Director, Aetos Limited, UK,spoke about his tenure at CITI bank.Aitua O Ekhaese, Managing Partner,North Hill Advisory Partners, UK, spoke

about how family businesses are beingopportunistic and aware of uncertainties.Asher Noor said that investments havealways been uncertain irrespective of thepandemic. George Kanaan, CEO, ArabBankers Association, UK said that the issueof uncertainty is far deeper because of Brexitand the political breakdown in the USA.

The Benefits of ManagedPhilanthropy

Philanthropy is like any other business, itsapplication and results must be measuredand judged. This need is greater than everpost-COVID. The purpose of philanthropyhas always been to improve the wellbeingof humankind. COVID-19 has driven thissector to rise to community based rapidresponse funds and development of diag -nostics and vaccines. Philanthropy has beenshowing up to flatten the curve for short termand address the equities over the long term.‘We can involve embassies not for theirmoney but for their influence to encouragethe private sectors to be involved in thischarity programs’ said Grace Sabandar,CEO, Global Business Services, Indonesia.Managed philanthropy has the ability to driveinnovation and longevity of the organization.

Where are we at? Where are we going?

Richard Lister, Writer and Broadcaster,UK, opened the conversation by intro du cinghimself and the panelist. Jacob Sotiriadis,Chief Futurist, United States Air Force, USAmentioned that there is need to evaluatehow different future scenarios will play outin case of pandemic disruption and howthinking and analysis would impact nationalsecurity strategies. Nikhil Seth, Exe cu ti -ve Director, United Nations Institute forTraining and Research, Switzerland men -tio ned that we are responding and antici -pating things in relation to the pandemiccrisis and we should be prepared for

Anto�nio Vitorino, Director General, IOM; Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation,Egypt with session chair Nik Gowing

21

uncertainty. Ranil Wickremesinghe,Former Prime Minister, Sri Lanka com men -ted that the disconnect between economicglobalization and global political order whichhas been fast-tracked by COVID-19 needsto be tackled first since every person in theglobe is being impacted.

Millennials and Generation-Z:Shaping the Far Future

The Millennials and Gen-Z will soon com -prise two-thirds of the global workforce,but their COVID-caused loss of educationand employment will reduce their potential.To support and inspire the Millennials andthe Gen Z(MGZ), the current leadersmust understand the minds of MGZ. Thespeakers mentioned that the MGZ havegrown up with choice, adapt quickly, loveto learn new things; which means theyconstantly look for challenges and give a lotof importance to sustainability. However, notmany like to lead. To tackle this, the modernleaders must change their leadership styleaccording to the MGZs. Finally, the speakersmentioned the main traits of Compassion,Unity, Collaboration and Empathy, for aleader to inspire the MGZs.

Austerity or Plenty – Weatheringthe Economic Crisis

Across the globe, central banks are pressingcash into their economies to support theeconomic downturn caused by COVID.The speakers said that the GDP of manycountries has been set back by 10-20 years.The banks and financial institutions havealso lost their market value by almost halfduring this pandemic. Thus it is importantfor the governments to intervene. It is notjust about injecting money into the economybut governments must provide the moneyto the people actually in need and ensurethat the banks fund the sectors like tourism,that need money to get back on its feet.Furthermore, the governments should alsoadjust the tax regime so as to ensure equalimpact sector-wise.

Global Solidarity: Impact ofSports

While individuals steer uprisings, it is sportsthat emphasize it by its immediacy world -wide. This discussion on the ‘Impact ofSports’ was moderated by Niraj Sharan,CEO, Aura, India. Niraj asked AbhinavBindra, Olympic Gold Medalist, India,how sports helped to shape his characterover time. He replied saying that sports

Annette Nijs, Former CabinetMinister for Education, Scienceand Culture, The Netherlands

Nikhil Seth, Executive Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, SwitzerlandRanil Wickremesinghe, Former Prime Minister, Sri Lanka

22

taught him how to win and how to lose. It taught him how to play by the rules, towork hard with integrity and honesty, andto chase a goal. Niraj said that in today’stime everybody is stressed and went on todiscuss the pains athletes experience duringthis pandemic. The speakers then spokeabout the Olympic games that have beenpostponed to 2021.

Artificial Intelligence as a Force for Good

Artificial Intelligence alone cannot completediverse tasks. It has to be trained in a specificaction domain and its training is subject tohuman bias. Gurvinder Ahluwalia,CEO, Digital Twin Labs, USA began bydiscussing some positive and negative pro -vo cations, like the impact on jobs due toautomation, the impact of taxes on differentjob sectors, and also the criminal injustice,that are a result of AI. The speakers high -lighted how voice recognition, health carereports, cybersecurity, and facial expressionsrecognition are used to make automated de ci -sions in different industries. They opined thatAI is improving and becoming more human-like but is still in the developing phase andneeds to improve further to make it un biasedfor making ethically fair decisions.

The New Unicorn Ventures

The ‘Unicorn’ concept is still young, even ina post-COVID world. The panel discussedhow we are living in an era of innovationthat requires businesses to rethink theirbusiness models which in turn creates lotsof new opportunities for the general public.We need to look at such companies thatachieve the ‘unicorn’ status because of theinherent nature of business. COVID has hadmixed results on new age unicorn ventures.It has helped drive digital megatrends andon the other hand also taken down a lot ofcompanies which faced consumption levelchallenges. The goal for any venture shouldbe to keep improving the core productoffering to really address a core problemand improve the lives of others.

Stronger Together as Us not Them

Too often we have a divisive us/them pittedagainst each other, but we are strongerwhen we unite and work together. Theunfortunate trend in the last few years hasbeen to look inward rather than outwardfor all problem-solving. This trend seems tocontinue post-COVID. The speakers of thepanel agreed to the fact that a pandemic ofsuch sorts should be tackled with help fromall the countries together. We are living in

Harry Hui, Founder and ManagingPartner, ClearVue Partners, China

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCL Corporation Ltd., IndiaHans-Peter Friedrich, Vice-President, German Bundestag, Germany

Sanjay Poonen, Chief Operating Officer, VMware, USA

23

a time where people have to focus both onindividual and group reflections. Today, allissues have become political in nature,which has superseded the root cause of theproblems. Leaders must realize that now isthe time to support each other.

The Greater Caspian Region:Spearheading Shared Leadership

The Greater Caspian Region has alwaysbeen at the crossroads of geopolitical andeconomic interests of a number of majorpowers. Murat Seitnepesov, Chairman,Caspian Week, Switzerland, started the ses -sion by explaining what the Greater CaspianRegion refers to. Vladimir Kotenev,Managing Director, Eurusian StrategicConsulting, Germany, started talking aboutthe relationship between Uzbekistan andthe Caspian region. He also mentioned theliberalization and market economic prin -cip les that his country has been adopting.Matthew Bryza, Senior Fellow, FormerDeputy Assistant Secretary of State, AtlanticCouncil, USA, talked about the geo politi calactivities in the region. He holds a positiveoutlook towards the region. The discussionended with a panelist mentioning that therelationship with the South Asian region isincreasing and the need for the same.

Reconstructing our Supply Chains

Our supply chains have been broken by theCOVID pandemic, by the de-globalizationefforts of populist actions, and by conflictedglobal leadership – we must again rebuild.The session started with all of the panelistsbriefly mentioning about their back groundsand how they are related to the SupplyChain world. Then the discussion startedwith focusing on what if Supply chains arebroken in the context of the current normal.The broad consensus was that supply chainsare constantly evolving and are bendingrather than being broken. The discussionended with panelists discussing issues forthe SMEs in the constantly evolving world.

Being Competitive breedsEconomic Leadership

Being a leader comes from a sense of com -petitiveness and following through newideas offering better economic values. Allthe panelists were of the belief that in timesof crisis, leaders must show empathy andevery person must be heard. During thepandemic female leaders have done a greatjob. They all believed that to overcome thechallenges of the pandemic, public andprivate partnerships must be strengthened.Politicians have also shown great leadershipduring COVID-19. All speakers opined that

Panel ‘Covid Pandemic and the Force of Impact Investing’Murat Seitnepesov, Chairman, Caspian Week, making a point

24

developed nations and developing nationsmust work together to overcome the viruswhich has bought the entire world to theirknees. Technology will play a key role to re -vamp all the economic and business models.

COVID Pandemic and the Force of Impact Investing

The lockdown chaos has altered the invest -ment landscape but impact investmentcontinues. Opening the discussion, LeonToh, Executive Director, Damsen Capital,Singapore said, ‘Impact investing, today, isabout standing up for something instead ofagainst, to enable change and empower -ment.’ ‘There is a need for an overhaul ofeconomic and investment models to survivepandemics such as COVID 19, with a globalESG standards benchmark for impact in -vesting. Also, aside from the regular impactinvestors, religious entities are becoming akey investor segment’, said Ben Banerjee,President and Co-Founder, SIIA, Switzer -land. Finally, all panelists agreed that thereis enough supply of funds to meet thedemand for impact investments and tocreate a level playing field and encourageimpact investments.

Business Toughness During COVID-19

Strategic management is being tested duringthe unique COVID pandemic, and manyfirms demand more cash to be available tomake their regular activities more resilient.The panel focused on how businesses havecoped with disruption brought about byCOVID 19. The panelists agreed that it wasimportant for companies to instill a senseof safety and security amongst employeeswhilst working closely with their customers.The discussion on the role of governmentsin supporting businesses revealed thatgovern ments have tried to respond activelyto the situation with policies and reforms.However, there is a need to do more.

Tariq Ahmed Nizami, Founder & CEO,CEO Clubs Network Worldwide,UAE,rightfully concluded, ‘COVID 19 has been awakeup call which required us to go back tothe drawing board and rethink our strategies.’

The Potentials for South Asia

All nations across South Asia have beenbattered by the COVID-19 pandemic as wellas by geopolitical tension. Nevertheless, theyoffer hope for the world if they succeed inmutually beneficial growth. COVID-19 hasspared no one, not even nations’ organi -sations such as SAARC, affecting people’slife and government policies both. Withover 3 decades after formation of SAARC,the growth has been abysmal considering thepopulation this region amasses. Collectivelycooperation from friends, and belief in ourown people is required to look for collectivegood. With channels like communicationand transportations that need to be builtfaster, many unrealised potentials will bringprosperity by boosting many sectors such asenergy, agriculture, and people’s happiness.

Developing leadership and inspiration

Global leaders are reluctant to inspire othersto join in mutually beneficial ven tures: na -tio nalism and protectionism. The panelistsstarted by pointing out that the bigger dis -cussions should happen around a country’s

J. D. Gordon, Former PentagonSpokesperson, USA

Navroop Sahdev, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Digital Economist

Amos Sawyer, Former President of Liberia

Tariq Ahmed Nizami, Founder & CEO, CEO Clubs Network Worldwide, UAE

25

economy and not politics. Politics shouldenable people to make the right decisionsfor any country’s economy. The develop -ment would happen through eco no mics,bringing people together, and making lifeeasier. Politicians generally put nationalismin front of other issues to cover up pooreconomic facts and development. However,people should understand these cues andwork upon it. Global leaders should focuson priorities for the economy and leaveout politics from the play to reap the bestpossible fruits for the citizens of the world.

Plenary: The Global Imperative – How to Achieve the SDGs ?

The UN Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) were adopted to protect the planetand mankind. Rosalind Mathieson,Execu tive Editor, International Govern -ment, Bloomberg News, UK opened theconversa tion by mentioning how countriesglobally are tackling SDG(s) during thepandemic. Carmelo Abela, MinisterWithin the Office of the Prime Minister,Malta mentioned that solutions for issueslike job creation ,socio-economic growth,and implementation of SDG should go handin hand. Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou,Special Advisor to the President of Niger,Niger mentioned that they are focussed onleveraging technology to optimise resources

and create synergies in addressing SDG(s).Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General,United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzer -land mentioned that pandemic was a wake upcall and that we need SDG(s) more than ever.

Plenary: Why we Must Think as Citizens

Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commen -tator, UK, began by saying, ‘I believe in thepower of markets in economic globalizationand in the western legacy of democracy.There has been a rise in populism andterrorism even in the core western coun -tries and this is in no way independent of theeffect on our economies.’ He further addedthat the response to any economic crisis,will always unjustly bail out the financiallystrong and leave behind the rest to suffer.‘In thinking of ourselves or companiessolely from a profits’ point of view, theunderlying values of a shared civic life willcollapse. Thus we must think of ourselvesas citizens and make wiser decisions for thewelfare of our society.’

Global Coordination to Conquerthe Effects of COVID

This discussion was held to understandhow the globe is coordinating during thepande mic and what needs to improve.

Keynote by Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times

Binod K. Chaudhary, Chairman, Chaudhary Group,Nepal, chairing the plenary on South Asia

Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva

26

Vicente Abad, CEO, Romantic Capital,Spain, informed that there is a lack of globalcoordination. Leaders must effectively handlethe healthcare and the economic crisis, andcome up with sustainable solutions thatbenefit the entire world. Jayesh Ranjan,Principal Secretary, Government ofTelangana, India spoke about the immuni sa -tion and distribution strategy of the vaccine.Hedwige Nuyens, MD of the Internatio -nal Banking Federation UK, spoke about howthe banking industry is playing a positive role,especially after shifting to digital platforms.Christoph Stueckelberger, Founder,Globethics.net Foundation, Switzer land,highlighted how the UN and other globalinstitutions failed to protect economiesduring the pandemic.

Social Investment for CompetitiveGreen Economies

Senida Mesi, Member of Parliament,Albania began talking about how we as asociety must contribute to the recovery ofthe world. Governments too invest in peopleskills and improve communities intellec tu ally.Green economies are a huge opportunityand governments should invest more in suchprojects. Ingrid Rodriguez, Founder,Eikonic, Australia, said that the world shouldget back to an economy which is greener

and socially inclusive and build an ecosystemwhere health is kept paramount. MridulaRamesh, Founder, Sundaram Climate In -sti tute, India, said we need to act locally tochange globally. Sein-Way Tan, Chairman,Green World City, Australia spoke abouthow he advises governments around theworld to conduct green initiatives like pre -serving biodiversity or sustainably usingthe land.

Building Peace

Ahmad Wali Masoud, Chairman,Massoud Foundation, Afghanistan, openedthe discussion highlighting the importanceof peace. He said that, due to politicalrivalry, Afghanistan hasn’t had peace sinceyears. However with the help of the worldcommunity, he believes peace will settle.Canon Sarah Snyder, Archbishop ofCanterbury’s Adviser for Reconciliation,UK, suggested we must accept peopleunder going disruptive times, understandtheir differences and devise collaborativestrategies to attain sustainable peace.Sekai Holland, Chairperson of Board ofTrustees, Zimbabwe Peacebuilding Initia -tive, Zimbabwe, stated that in Zimbabwe,the impact of COVID-19 has resulted inconducting peace-builder programs.Faisal Bin Muaammar, Secretary Ge ne ral,

Manish Kothari, President, SRI International

Rosalind Mathieson, Executive Editor,International Government, Bloomberg News, chairing a plenary panel

Senida Mesi, Deputy Chair European Integration Committee of Parliament, Former Deputy Prime Minister, Albania

Carmelo Abela, Minister Within the Office of the Prime Minister, Malta

27

KAICIID Dialogue Centre, Austria, expres -sed that peace should be a lifestyle whichcan be established by believing that peaceis good for humanity.

COVID-19: The Elephants in the Room

New strategic analyses are needed to copewith unknowns, or events with ‘Elephantsin the Room’ having consequences that areimagined but suppressed. The COVID pan -demic had demonstrated the interconnectednature of our world. This situation showedus how the leaders across the world havefailed us in the time of pandemic and high -lighted the flaws of our system. Due tolockdown small businesses and the economyhave been affected. ‘This pandemic hasturned out to be the biggest unknown,’ saidShailendra Goswami, Chairman,Pushkaraj Group, India. These times havealso shown us how the existing capital systemdoes not work. People need to take thisopportunity to reconstruct our society sothat we don’t make the same mistakes.

Deriving Ideas for Start-ups

Pre-pandemic, startups were really a faceto face activity. Ben Costantini, CEO,Startup Sesame, France, opined that startups

can really pivot quickly. He said that start -ups are really like any other business but withnewer business models and technologies.Liesbet Peeters, Managing Partner, VoltaCapital, UK, mentioned that in addition tovirtual happy hours and team moments,being able to build in deliberate momentsthroughout the workday is important. Ivy Ruth Inogada, Founder, SynergisticTechnologies, The Philippines, spoke abouthow businesses and startups in thePhilippines are trying to move online.Yoshiki Sasaki, CEO, Japan StrategicCapital, Japan, said that the businessenviron ment in Japan has been traditional.Nevertheless he believes that it will pushJapanese people to turn to digital modes ofworking.

Digitalization for the Economic Recovery

Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, 5F World,India, opened the discussion speaking aboutdigital transformation. Lorenz Granrath,Coordinator, National Institute of AdvancedIndustrial Science and Technology (AIST),Japan, mentioned that digitalisation willchange the whole process of conductingactivities. He also mentioned that digitali sa -tion will help tackle global warming andfluctuations in renewable energy. Usama

Courtney Fingar, Editor-in-chiefFDI, NS Media Group, United Kingdom

Ó� lafur Ragnar Gri�msson, Former President of Iceland, chairing the plenary Transforming a New Global Awareness

Faisal Bin Muaammar, Secretary General,KAICIID Dialogue Centre, Austria

Rt Hon The Lord Barker of Battle, ExecutiveChairman, En+ Group

28

Fayyad, CEO, Open Insights, USA,mentio ned that the pandemic has showncompanies how digitalisation can aid them.Challenges related to internal interactiontoo are being solved digitally. Rob Leslie,Founder, Sedicii, Ireland, mentioned thatCOVID-19 has compelled organizations tothink about what they need to do together ascustomers and citizens to move into fullydigital capabilities. Mohit Joshi, President,Infosys, UK mentioned that investment intechnology and digitalisation has risen.

Regeneration or Evolution of Cities

Catherine Carlton, Council Member,Menlo Park, USA, began the session byexpressing her thoughts on the importanceof thinking about the positive impacts ofCOVID in cities around the world. The mo -de rator, Sergio A. Fernández, Chair man,P3SmartCity & PVBLIC Foundation, USA,asked the panelists how they feel COVIDhas affected different cities. Interestingresponses were received, from commentsabout climate change, digitalization andeducation. Digitalization has helped com -pa nies make major progress. ‘Smart living’is perhaps the new future and individualshave to be self aware. The most severesituations have been in the bigger cities.

UK: Brainstorming on the Future,post-Brexit

The Brexit process, which began in 2016 willend by December 2020. In this discussion,David Lidington, Former Minister forthe Cabinet Office, UK, asked the speakerswhere they think the UK currently stands.Baroness Susan Kramer, Member of theHouse of Lords, UK, said it can be possibleto invest in jobs. Globally customers wantthe quality of European countries, in thecontext of trade industry. Lord KaranBilimoria, President, Confederation ofBritish Industry, UK, said security benefitsare good and the UK is a global power.‘Change in Britain is a challenge which wealways had’, said Jeffries Briginshaw,CEO, Transatlantic Business Britain, UK.Mike Butcher, Editor-at-large, TechCrunch,UK, added that investments in the UK mustbe exponential.

Advancing Armenia’s Knowledge-based Economy

The discussion was moderated by Mr. Adi Ignatius, Editor-in-Chief, HarvardBusiness Review, USA, who briefed thepanel about Armenia’s GDP growth in 2019which was at 8% and had it not been forthe pandemic, Armenia’s GDP would have

Lord Karan Bilimoria, President, Confederation of British IndustryAdi Ignatius, Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Business Review, chairing the panel in Armenia

29

grown again. The focus in Armenia is tohelp teenagers be on top of learning andtechnology. Currently, over 40,000 studentsare being trained to use high technology toachieve sustainability, help the economygrow and invent for the future. ArmenSarkissian, President of Armenia, saidthat Armenia’s future will lie in the handsof the young generation.

Sustainable Development: UnlikelyCollaborators and Innovators

Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy,City College of New York, USA, commen -ced the discussion by asking the speakershow their organisations have been forgingunlikely collaborations in the light of thepandemic or how they have explored newdimensions of the existing collaborations fora much needed sustainable develop ment ofthe society. Various speakers pondered uponthe importance of collaborations with smallbusiness, investments in individual entre -pre neurs to ensure their survival. The rapiddigitisation due to the pandemic has alsobeen helping in providing access andaffordability of good products to the ruralareas. Participation of this sector in the de -velopment of the economy is key and thesecannot be left behind for a holistic growth.

Inspirational Leadership through and beyond COVID-19

An inspirational leader serves the needs ofhis/her employees, listens, and developstrust. People want world leaders to beauthentic. Panellist Emma Arakelyan,Co-founder, Orion Worldwide Innova tions,USA, mentioned that learnings create goodleadership potential. Inspirational leadershave to make decisions responsibly andleadership is a lifestyle, more than aposition of responsibility. In COVID times,inspira tio nal leaders are the ones that areresponsible, change agents, and positivethought leaders. They should inspire bydriving the change. During the pandemictimes, leaders have understood corestrengths and weaknesses of their team andhave supported them through the times.Inspirational leadership doesn’t necessarilymean driving big changes but means moreof driving small changes with consistency,integrity and grit.

An Avenue for Peace, Security andSustainable Development: TheAfrican Peace Engineering Corps

Over the past decade, Africa has seen an en -couraging shift in global narrative. However,and in spite of the overall progress, there arestill significant challenges related to peace

William Hobbs, Chief Investment Officer, Barclays Investment Solutions

Franya E. Cabral-Ruiz, President, Solid Investments Group, Portugal,chairing the panel on the African Peace Engineering Corps

Cliff Prior, Chief Executive Officer, GlobalSteering Group for Impact Investment (GSG)

Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister of Economy, Portugal

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and security. The panel talks about the broadtopic of Collective African Develop mentand the role of African Peace EngineeringCorps in the same. Some interesting thoughtswere mentioned in the discussion that,African countries are more and more in -vested in peacekeeping than they had beensome years before. The panellists discussedthe collective way forward and how a jointeffort could bring prosperity to Africa as awhole.

Strengthening Foreign Direct Investment

Even before the COVID pandemic, globalGDP was falling and thus the appetite forForeign Direct Investment (FDI). The dis -cussion on ‘Strengthening FDI’ started withBindu Dalmia, National Chair person,Committee for Financial Inclusion, NitiAayog, India, giving a glaring forecast that40% of future FDI in the medium term isexpected to be lost which was supposed tocome to the developing countries otherwise.Then the panel continued to discuss thechal lenges faced by /expected by the de -veloped and developing countries. The panelalso discussed how the countries couldovercome the challenges and manage aneffective re-calibration of the society andits value chains.

We are Living Longer

In the 1900s global life-expectancy wasonly 31 years, now it exceeds 72 years.The discussion on ‘We are Living Longer’started with Kenji Yokoyama, President,Association of Asia Pacific Business Schools,Japan, giving a brief about the topics indiscussion. He elaborated on basic facts suchas the highest life expectancy of people inany country across the world. The discus -sion was carried on by Gary M. Phillips,CEO, OrphoMed Inc, USA, talking aboutrisks of longevity. Tina Woods, DirectorGeneral, All Party Parliamentary Group forLongevity, UK, talked about non commu -nicable chronic diseases and to be able to beshielded from that. The discussion con clu dedwith Tanya König, Journalist, Switzerland,reiterating the need for a better socialsecurity system across the world.

Rekindling Education Post-COVID

Education has seen unprecedented changeduring the COVID 19 pandemic. Institutionshave tried to digitise their curriculum.Mediums such as zoom, google classroomshave become mediums of delivery. Digitaltransformation strategy is a must to enablea smooth transition into this new normal.Marklen Konurbaev, Professor,Moscow State University, Russia, suggested

Barbara Ann Bernard, Chief Executive Officer,Wincrest Capital, Bahamas

HH Princess Ma�rtha Louise of NorwayChris Morris, Senior, Correspondent, BBC News

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that tra ditional institutions must focus on aniche group of students and colleges, andvocational institutes on others. This will helpbuild better quality candidates. India hasframed a new education policy and it isrevolutionary. A lot of emphasis is put onproject based learning. However, in acountry like India it poses several challenges.But the intent of the policy is excellent.

Lunch Plenary: Climate ChangeCommitments have not Receded

Spriha Srivastava, Executive Editor forEurope, Business Insider, UK commencedthe discussion by playing a video messagefrom Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General,World Meteorological Organization,Switzer land. Kirla Echegaray, Ministerof Environment, Peru mentioned thatPeru has been taking firm steps to tackleclimate change and has executed 154implementation and adaptation measuresidentified by NDC. A higher levelcommission for climate change too, hasbeen put in place he said. Diego Mesa,Minister of Mines and Energy, Colombiamentioned that Columbia has framed apolicy matrix to include un con ven tionalsources of renewable energy. He alsomentioned that they are promo tio nalsustainable mobility. He stated that

COVID-19 has helped in climate changeinitiatives since people are more consciousabout impact of their activities on climate

Plenary: Special Address by Ulisses Correia e Silva

Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister,Cape Verde, spoke about Cape Verde whichis a small developing state that has a vastdiaspora in the USA, Europe and Africa.He mentioned that it is an attractive statefor tourists and investors. Investors have ahuge confidence in the foreign policy of thestate due to its location it benefits fromthe neighbouring countries. Its currency ispegged to the euro.They have a strongstrategic partnership with Europe and areworking on building the relationship further.Prior to COVID-19 their economy grew at5% majority due to private investment.Also the state spent huge amount of timeand money to build human capital. This hasled to the constant grow in the economy

Plenary: Special Address by Juan Guaidó

Speaker Juan Guaido, Interim Presidentof Venezuela; President of the NationalAssembly of Venezuela, said COVID-19brought with it a new normal and exacer -

Special Address by Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cape VerdeSpriha Srivastava, Executive Editor for Europe, Business Insider,charing the plenary on Climate Change Commitments

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ba ted the friction existing between thedeveloped and developing nations of theworld. He said the pandemic has revealedthe weaknesses prevalent in the world. Hebelieves one can overcome many challengesonly by understanding what lies in front. Hecontinued to say that lack of basic amenitieshas made it very difficult for the workersto perform their job correctly. Hence thegovernment is trying to handle this crisisso the work can be carried out properlyand save Venezuela. More than one millioncitizens have left the country due to thecrimes against humanity.

Plenary: Special Address by Iliana Iotova

During this session, Iliana Iotova, VP ofBulgaria, Bulgaria, said that, ‘Unite’ ‘Inspire’and ‘Create’ are the three main things we asa community must do to overcome the pan -demic crisis.The reason for the protest forCOVID is the lack of trust and we do nothave much information.The crisis providedan X Ray view on the fragility of the inter -na tional organisation. A clear lack of leader -ship was demonstrated among the globalelite. Inequalities and gaps grew due to thevirus. However, at present, stability of thestate, guarantor of human rights, securityand defending the public interest is ofmost importance.

Plenary: Celebrating UN 75 –Multilateralism in Times of COVID

To mark its 75th anniversary the UnitedNation is conducting a global conversationacross borders. The onset of COVID hasbrought a new urgency to this conversation,highlighting even more benefits of multi -lateralism. The world stands at pivot pointas COVID 19 continues to challenge us onour health system, society and economy.Meanwhile the impact of climate change iscausing slower but greater damage to ourworld. Social inequalities and impact ofdigital technology are disrupting and testingthe capacity of our institution. These globalchallenges require global solutions. Inter -na tio nal cooperation is vital for this globalchallenge. Tackling immediate health chal -lenges and long-term new challenges ofclimate environment, cyber, nuclear andinternational terrorism is a key role forbetter future.

Plenary Keynote: The Signifi canceof the Abraham Accords

This session recognized the importance ofmaintaining and strengthening peace in theMiddle-East. Brian Hook, Senior Advisorto the US Secretary of State, USA, spokeabout the region’s developments and itsrelevance.The US President’s visit to Riyadh

Special Address by Iliana Iotova, Vice President of Bulgaria Ibrahim AlHusseini, Founder, FullCylce, USA

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in 2019 was focused on countering extremeIslamism, countering Iran, and defeatingISIS; a terrorist army placed in the heart ofthe Middle East. In addition to these threats,the Middle East was looking to invest intheir people. He concluded the session bystating that focusing on shared interestsand standing up to the threats and workingtowards harmony is the way forward toensure people in the middle east reap thebenefits of peace like the rest of the world.

Catalyzing Capitalism throughPublic-Private Partnerships

Highlighting the reasons behind the globalinfrastructure deficit, Teresa Ribeiro,Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs andCooperation, Portugal, started the discus -sion by stating the importance of publicand private investments to create a robustrecovery fund. Alan Lau, President, AngloEuro Energi Indonesia, Indonesia, said thatthe present practice of PPP for infrastruc -ture practices mainly stresses on the valuefor money factor. Nico Anten, ExecutiveChairman, Connekt, Netherlands, said thatpost-lockdown, even after 95% of infra -structure usage was resumed, there was notraffic. This indicated behavioural change inpeople. Peter McGill, Contributing Editor,The Banker, UK, suggested that ideas bystart-ups must be used to create sustainableprojects.

Developing Emotional and CulturalIntelligence during the Pandemic

Maxim Kiselev, Professor, SkolkovoInstitute of Science and Technology, Russia,started the discussion by highlighting thesignificance of emotional and cultural intelli -gence and its correlation with one’s successand ability to cope with the struggles onefaces, especially during the challenging timesof pandemic. Carolyn Buck, Co-founderof Imaginal Labs, USA, added courage is thecritical link between emotional and culturalintelligence that enables us to progress infearful times. Elizabeth Markle, Execu -tive Director, Open Source Wellness, USA,emphasized the interpersonal and intra -personal components in emotional andcultural intelligence and how it transpiresin our workplaces. Long Viet Nguyen,Deputy CEO, Becamex IDC, Vietnam, saidthat the pandemic gave people the oppor tu -nity to reflect on their personal relationshipsand rekindle them.

Strategic Infrastructure Investment

The coronavirus pandemic is triggering a reshuffling of investment priorities forgovernments around the globe, forcingleaders to make critical decisions aboutwhether to divert funds from long standinginfrastructure projects. As budgets are

Ziad Alexandre Hayek, Vice Chair -man, United Nations Working Partyon Private Public Partnerships

Brian Hook, Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of State, speaking about the Abraham Accords

Session ‘Catalyzing Capitalism through Public-Private Partnerships’

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stretched to serve emergency medical needs,governments are having to find new ways tomake sure essential infrastructure projectscan keep going, from the restoration ofcrumbling bridges to the renovation of run-down public schools. ‘In terms of leader -ship, we should encourage public privatediscus sion, public people and private peoplediscussion’ said Michael Wilson, Mana -ging Partner, The Migson Group, Ghana.Private-public partnerships and targetedfederal funding will play a key role indevelopment of infrastructure.

Inflection Points: Profit andPurpose in a Pandemic

Ryan Villanueva, Co-Founder, BestDelegate, USA opened the conversation.Nikhil Hirdaramani, Director,Hirdaramani Group, Sri Lanka said thatCOVID-19 has made sustainability para -mount for businesses. Marsha Ralls,Founder, The Phoenix Wellness Retreat,USA, mentioned that COVID-19 hascreated opportunities for businesses.Cristina Calvo, Founding Partner,ASUAire.com, Costa Rica, stated thatthough the pandemic affected the travelindustry the most, it helped them pivottheir conversations from an earning per -spec tive. Ai Ling Wong, Founder, The

Decorateur, Malaysia, said that given thechange in political landscape in the country,they were well prepared with precautio narymeasures beforehand. Alan Young, CEO,Armor Concepts, USA, mentioned thatCOVID-19 helped his business exploitopportunities. Amer Nasereddin, Co-founder, Primus, Jordan mentioned thatCOVID-19 is the new normal now.

United Nations: The Next 75 years...for our Children and Grandchildren

The topic of discussion revolved aroundmigration, job creations, minority andwomen. In the next 75 years, children andgrandchildren of today’s generation willstruggle for jobs. Peter Samuels, CEO,PhilmCo Media LLC, USA asked SimonLevy, Chairman, The Ideasia Fund, Mexico,on how humans will create value, newsources of labour, and understand the logicof investments widened over the world.Fabrizio Hochschild, Under-SecretaryGeneral, United Nations, US, said we needto regain trust and ask how children aregoing to innovate in future. Peter Samuelsspoke positively of sustainable living andmindful expenditure to make sure theupcoming generations are paid back whatwe spend now.

Susan Rockefeller, Founder,Musings, USA

Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General,World Meteorological Organization

Teresa Ribeiro, Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Portugal

Gabriel Quijandria, Vice Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources, Peru

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Business Transformation toChampion Social Change

This panel consisted of members who havededicated their efforts to reduce carbonemissions and control the drastic climatechange. The discussion revolved around thepaper written by Karan Girotra, Professorof Management, Cornell Johnson Collegeof Business, USA, ‘Business Transfor ma tionto Champion Social Change’, which definesmethods on how businesses can transform toreduce their negative impacts on society.Some of the methods include taking a stepas early as possible, acknowledging theenvironmental impacts of their actions,doing an externalities audit to understandthe impacts and to experiment and explorewith new models within the house. This wayleaders will be able to better understandtheir responsibilities, and enable their orga -ni zations to respond to them authenticallythrough holistic transformation.

Preparing for an EntrepreneurialGale Post-COVID

Innovation is necessary for competitivesurvival using new ideas, models or services,however, many companies have failed be cau seof external dependencies. David Dorr,Co-Founder, Coro Global Inc, USA, statedthat COVID has removed the stigma of WFHand distributed teams, and the individualproductivity has boosted because of betterwork-life balance. Tris Dyson, Founder andManaging Director, Nesta Challenges, UK,mentioned how the entrepreneurial com -munity has come together to support eachother and innovators are pivoting to neweropportunities. Adriaan Ligtenberg,Founder and Chairman, SparkHealth,Netherlands, said that a flexible workforce iscore to a successful organization, and sinceCOVID is here to stay, the workforce shouldunderstand the scenario and abide by it fora conducive environment.

Spearheading South-SouthCooperation to overcome theCOVID Crisis

Borzou Dargahi, Correspondent, TheIndependent, UK, commenced the sessionhighlighting the mishandling of pandemicby the developed countries. He questionedthe panelists, ‘What can developing coun -tries learn from this failure of the developednations?’ José da Silva Goncalves, FormerMinister of Economy and Employment, CapeVerde, mentioned that rather than viewingneighbours as competitors, countries mustsupport them. Ajmal Shams, President,Afghan Social Democratic Party, Afgha nis -tan, spoke about efforts the US and theAfghanistan government are taking toreach a political settlement to bring peacein Afghanistan. Sérgio Sá Leitão, StateSec re tary of Culture, State of Sao Paulo,Brazil, spoke of Brazil’s role in improvingthe South-South situation. He laid impor tan -ce on cultural, diplomatic and economicrelations between under-deve