Mission Davos: Wishlist for working together towards a sustainable future for all

World Economic Forum's annual meeting is convening at the cusp of the most consequential geopolitical and geo-economic moment in the past few decades. This mega gathering of corporate heads, industrialists, and thought leaders from all over the world will address the urgent humanitarian and security challenges. Here's a wish list to make the most of this event

Updated: May 24, 2022 07:20:19 PM UTC
WEF-Davos-2022-CP-Gurnani
The World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in progress at Davos on May 23, 2022. Image: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

It’s been over two years since the outbreak of the pandemic. During this time, the world fought valiantly and collectively to survive. The pandemic exposed many vulnerabilities in our systems and institutions. However, it also offered a chance to build back better. Today, as we are embracing the new normal, and stepping out to gather in Davos to contemplate a strategy for growth that is sustainable and inclusive, we are looking forward to exchanging ideas with the melange of minds to shape the post-pandemic world.

This year, the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting is convening at the cusp of the most consequential geopolitical and geo-economic moment in the past few decades. This mega gathering of corporate heads, industrialists, and thought leaders from all over the world will address the urgent humanitarian and security challenges that are in front of all of us today.

Here’s a wish list to make the most of this event.

Embracing the tech revolution collectively and responsibly 

Though devastating in nature, the pandemic has played a key role in accelerating the adoption of digital technologies. It has given a new meaning to the concept of entrepreneurship and self-reliance. Many small and new businesses have embraced the digital route post the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now is the time to firm up the progress made on the digital front and embrace the technology revolution collectively and responsibly. For that, the discussion around 5G networks must continue to evolve between all key stakeholders. With plenty of use cases across the healthcare, energy, entertainment, telecommunications, and education industry, 5G is envisaged to be the catalyst that will help in fulfilling India’s ‘digital dream’. Let’s not forget that 5G will also help enhancing services in smart cities with better-aligned networks.

Technologies such as IoT can help with everything: Social distancing, enhancing security solutions, and maintaining productivity in industries that have been disrupted by the pandemic. Also, cloud computing is another promising technology that can aid businesses by reducing operational costs, replacing ageing back-office applications, and providing the chance to capitalise on far greater computational resources.

Leveraging 2T’sTechnology and Teamworkfor inclusive and sustainable growth of society

Technology is best when it brings people together. A blend of technology and teamwork is the secret concoction for ensuring long-term sustainable growth. It is a universal truth that collaboration and co-creation between economies can lead to shaping the society’s collective destiny. Thus, we need a collaboration with tech at its core to ensure a speedy, equitable, and sustainable economic recovery from the pandemic. 

As wealthier countries continue to make enormous strides in technological advancements (incredible rise of telemedicine, remote working and learning environments, drones, 3D printers, self-driving vehicles, and so on), we have to think about how we can share all these innovations with the rest of the world so that developing nations can also benefit and bolster their economies.

What we save will save us 

With the pandemic exposing the harsh reality and fragility of human lives, it is important to adopt the green route to maintain a balance between people, planet, and profits. Therefore, it will be interesting to see some action around the Sustainable Development Goals, CSR, Green Financing, and incentivisation of the implementation and adoption of the three R's—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—and preservation of natural resources. While respective governments can play a huge role in this, cross-country collaboration and individual social responsibility (ISR, which thrives on individuals becoming more responsible in their actions) would also prove to be a huge bet in crafting a better world for all.

Prioritising health: It is still the greatest wealth

The pandemic has taught us a lot. Amidst all the social distancing, hand sanitising, and lockdown, we can safely conclude that “health is wealth”! Thus, steps towards ensuring better healthcare facilities should be up on the annual growth agenda for the year 2022 and beyond. While vaccine manufacturing and availability are still the topmost priorities, all other healthcare and community welfare initiatives should also be carefully planned. We cannot undermine the role of technology. Health information technology presents numerous opportunities for improving and transforming healthcare, including reducing human errors, improving clinical outcomes, facilitating care coordination, improving practice efficiencies, and tracking data over time.

Collaborative approach to rise 

One must never stop learning! Everyone must commit to a lifetime of learning. Knowledge equips us with ways to rise above all challenges. We need to function as a collective entity to survive any unforeseen challenges and thrive under all circumstances.

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much

Covid-19 pandemic has provided a clear picture of the issues that need our immediate attention. Now, it is upon us to soak in the learnings and explore ways to work together to deliver better results. With great expectations, I look forward to attending the annual thought exchange at the WEF Annual Meeting 2022.

The writer is MD & CEO of Tech Mahindra.

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.

Check out our end of season subscription discounts with a Moneycontrol pro subscription absolutely free. Use code EOSO2021. Click here for details.

Post Your Comment
Required
Required, will not be published
All comments are moderated