50
JANUARY 2023 / 07
IDEAS SHOWCASE
Ideas
Showcase
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity,”
is a quote often attributed to Albert
Einstein.
It could also quite easily be the slogan of
our times. The climate crisis, pandemic, and
political instability can sometimes appear
like all-consuming, intractable problems that
are pushing humanity to the brink. But in
the midst of all this chaos lies opportunity -
and in Europe we are grasping it with both
hands.
We can see this most vividly in the
innovative ideas we are producing, a
veritable conveyor belt of ingenuity that
views the future as something, not to fear,
but to be inspired by.
And I am very lucky to have a front row
seat to a lot of this activity, through the
impressive work being carried out by the
Knowledge4Innovation (K4I) Forum in the
European Parliament to catalyse some of
these big ideas.
One great example of this can be seen in
the amazing response we are getting to
our open call for actionable ideas that can
help give form to the eight focus areas,
of the European Innovation Areas (EIA)
Manifesto, developed by the Forum and
its extensive network of policymakers,
businesses, startups and academics.
The Manifesto, which European
Commissioner for Innovation, Mariya
Gabriel, said last year had been fully
integrated into the New European
Innovation Agenda, includes pillars
for capitalising on Europe’s deep tech
opportunities, regulating the more
questionable aspects of disruptive
technologies, financing new technologies,
moving from education to entrepreneurship,
and promoting women innovators.
It is a vision for the future of Europe that
is now coming to life through the limitless
ideas filtering through our open access
online EIA resource – some of which you
can learn more about in this magazine.
But you can do more than read about these
ideas, you can bring forward your own -
and take an active role in leading Europe
towards a climate-neutral future.
I trust the ideas on these pages - and the
many more online – will inspire you in the
same way they inspire me. Because what
they show is a Europe which understands
that “we can’t solve problems by using the
same kind of thinking we used when we
created them”, as Einstein opined.
Roland Strauss
Founder, Knowledge4Innovation (K4I)
See our website
for more