Supporting and Celebrating Innovation
Next week, we’re heading over to Davos, Switzerland to hear from some of the world’s most influential change makers at next week’s World Economic Forum. Check back throughout the week for all things Davos. In the meantime, have a great weekend!
Friday, January 18, 2013
More on the topic of social innovation: One of the “Global Shapers” attending Davos is Jeronimo Calderon, a Swiss-Bolivian entrepreneur and the founder of Euforia, a platform for youth activism. The company started “with six crazy people and a bottle of whiskey,” plus the understanding that young people have the desire — but not the resources — to effect change. Calderon says 70% of young people want to get involved in social or environmental projects, but only 12% actually are. Anything that could help narrow that gap stands to make a big difference.
Monday, January 30, 2012
One of the World Economic Forum’s young “Global Shapers,” Nicole Heim is the 29-year-old CEO of Young Enterprise Switzerland. Her organization develops entrepreneurial education programs for students, setting them up to run their own businesses for a year. Beyond heading up such an interesting initiative, Heim also speaks eloquently about the importance of entrepreneurial education for young people. She’s also got a unique perspective on one of the big issues preoccupying not just WEF, but many of the world’s leaders and thinkers: a global generation of jobless, increasingly disaffected youths.
Monday, January 30, 2012
It’s no surprise given its place among the world’s movers and shakers, but Davos is famously heavy on elder statesmen. However, this year, the younger generation is shaking things up: 70 individuals — all of them under the age of 30, high achievers in fields from journalism to social activism — are attending the forum as part of the Global Shapers program. They’re very much involved in the proceedings, even attending a Q&A session with Davos founder Klaus Schwab, where they were peppered with inquiries about what they see as the world’s most pressing issues. For an introduction to these up-and-comers, check out the video above. For more insight, the Washington Post’s own Emi Kolawole — who runs Ideas@Innovation, a favorite read around here — is posting dispatches.
Later this afternoon, we’ll shine a spotlight on a couple of these impressive millenials. And going forward, in the spirit of this program, we’ll be regularly featuring interesting young innovators here at the NASDAQ Tumblr.
Monday, January 30, 2012
The World Economic Forum in Davos has drawn to a close, which makes today a good time to reflect on the issues discussed and their significance for the rest of us. Social innovation in particular was on attendees’ minds, with 30 social entrepreneurs (among them: Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp) present to discuss common challenges and solutions. And they were speaking to a receptive audience: The gap between the world’s richest and poorest has been a major topic of conversation.
Monday, January 30, 2012
