Disruptive Solutions For Global Challenges Critical To Sustainable Progress, Say Experts At World Government Summit 2018

Global challenges require governments, institutions and corporations to embrace new ways of thinking and adopt disruptive solutions, according to leading innovators on day one of the sixth World Government Summit (WGS 2018) in Dubai.

The ‘Disruptive Solutions for Global Challenges’ series featured talks by Dr Charity Wayua, Research Manager at IBM Research Africa and World Bank Top Reformer 2017, Eric Giler, CEO of revolutionary internet technology company Speedy Packets, and Kees Aarts, founder of insect farming business Protix.

The distinguished speakers emphasized the need for governments to reexamine traditional approaches to effectively address some of the world’s biggest challenges. They focused on engaging with the growing youth demographic, changing connectivity realities and sustainable global food production.

During her presentation entitled ‘Young Minds to Governments: Solutions Driven by Youth’, Dr Wayua said: “Youth are so important to our future progress, and the question to us is: What should ‘we’ be doing as individuals and as governments? We have to put the right measures in place to prepare them for the future in terms of skills and competence through education, as well as think about what young people need to be successful in their chosen careers and as leaders.”

She added: “Clear strategies are needed to provide an environment that matches up to their requirements. Education and skill development will prepare the youth to meaningfully participate in terms of involvement in the community, in the workplace and in building the nation.”

In his session entitled ‘Living in a Wireless World’, Eric Giler said: “We all live in a wireless world, but not all digital societies are operating at the same level. What is important is that governments around the world, especially in developing countries, enable a leapfrog to happen, which is taking digitalization to the next level. In underdeveloped countries, the focus is on facilitating basic access to the internet despite the associated high costs. In the developed world, focus is more likely to be on the speed and performance of that internet access. What would be great to see is further collaboration between governments to ensure a more equal landscape in terms of connectivity around the world.”