So, Davos 2020 is behind us, but it identified six challenges ahead of humanity that have to be addressed, soon.
Here are the Top Six Topics prioritised in 2020’s Programme for the Annual Meeting at Davos, and a sample of some of the speakers who can talk about them with the authority, insight and talent to inform, spark debate and initiate lasting change.
Ecology: How to mobilise business to respond to the risks of climate change and ensure that measures to protect biodiversity reach forest floors and ocean beds.
It’s estimated that something between one-third and one-half of business activity on the planet relies on nature to be successful, be it clean, productive oceans, fertile soil or the humble bee which pollinates essential food crops. There’s also the very important issue of humanity’s reliance on the planet for its own health, physical and mental.
The problem can seem overwhelming to the point where people feel unsure of next steps, even paralysed, but the key is to start now and go from there. Our speakers instill confidence, share knowledge and spark action. Here are some our best:
Sue Garrard
Sir Bob Geldof
Marga Hoek
Economy: How to remove the long-term debt burden and keep the economy working at a pace that allows higher inclusion.
Long-term debt has a corrosive effect on any economy, undermining confidence and constraining innovation and progress.
David MacWilliams
Dan O’Brien
Technology: How to create a global consensus on deployment of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and avoid a ‘technology war’.
The technology sector is naturally – and some say, blindly – optimistic about the benefits of technological progress, but is it all as rosy as they say? Our speakers look at the nuts and bolts of the issue, identify the weak spots and offer solutions to the problems and doubts that face us.
Ben Hammersley
David Rowan
Society: How to re-skill and upskill a billion people in the next decade.
Demographics are changing due to factors such as climate change (forced migration), an ageing population that is growing fast, falling birth rates, rapidly growing urbanisation and, not least, the exclusion caused by technology when people are left behind. This puts huge pressure on all our systems, from transport to housing and, of course, employment. With so much changing so fast, how can we ensure no-one is excluded from the workplace?
Caroline Casey
Margaret Heffernan
Geopolitics: How the ‘spirit of Davos’ can create bridges to resolve conflicts in global hotspots. Informal meetings to set kickstart conciliation.
Politics and the conversation around it is growing increasingly polarised. We need a return to a belief in empirical proof and the expertise of scientists and specialists, rational debate, greater understanding and a determination to listen, carefully, to people whose views we do not share.
Dambisa Moyo
Fintan O’Toole
Industry: How to help business create the models necessary to drive enterprise in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Our speakers can advise how to navigate an enterprise in a world exposed to political tensions and driven by exponential technological change as well as increasing expectations from all stakeholders.
Terence Mauri
Clare Dillon
If you would like to learn more about any of these or our other speakers and how they can contribute to your event, please email joanne@personallyspeakingbureau.com or call us on 01 475 0360
