Welcome
INNOVATORS MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2024 | 01
INSIDE
Forewords
A European innovation
story
Reflections
10
Dubai Stopover
16
Global alliance targets
green revolution
20
Innovators Magazine
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Humanity is edging along a tightrope that is in danger of
becoming the noose that strangles it out of existence. Right now,
at least 20 wars or conflicts are ending lives and destroying
countless futures worldwide. Up to 780 million people around
the planet are going hungry, according to UN figures released in
2023. Weather extremes are becoming weather norms. And in the
midst of it all, the world is facing its biggest ever election year,
with 50%+ of the global population heading to the polls in 2023...
Happy New Year!
What in some parts of the world is called shit life syndrome,
when poverty and abuse destroy all semblance of hope in people,
threatens to morph into shit world syndrome, a collective loss
of hope in the idea that a better world is possible. It feels like a
spectrum of pain - and yet most people still believe that better
is possible. All the ingredients are there, and if we stop chucking
them all over the floor, turn them into what’s good for all of us,
we can perhaps renew some genuine hope in the future.
By investing in areas this magazine has long advocated for:
purpose-driven innovation, scalable solutions that can deliver
a just transition, and policies that are good for people and the
planet, we can make the segway.
And there are signs that these investments are being made, way
too slowly, but momentum is everything. Organisations like the
K4I Forum in the European Parliament, and the newly launched
global alliance: Allied4Future (AF4) are driving the momentum.
Inside this edition, we look at the impact these two organisations
are making and reveal their vision for a better future. Operating
at the heart of Europe’s innovation ecosystem, the K4I Forum’s
influence in creating milestones moments of progress, like
the adoption of the New European Innovation Agenda and the
advancement of the European Green Deal, is clear. What it, and
A4F, plan to do next promises to produce even bigger payoffs, not
just for Europe but the world.
Two landmark global events held in December also offer hope.
The European Innovation Area Summit, which took place in the
European Parliament and was led by the K4I Forum; and COP28
in Dubai, which was covered extensively by AF4, in partnership
with OnePoint5Media. These types of events are often dismissed
by the public as talking shops, junkets likely to achieve nothing.
But the pledges and commitments to take real action indicate that
the world might be wisening up and looking to step down from
the tightrope and onto a more verdant footing.
Iain Robertson
EDITOR