8 | INNOVATORS MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2024
WORLD FUTURE FORUM
A conversation
that will define
tomorrow’s
world
t was my great pleasure to
welcome the first-ever World
Future Forum to Lisbon and to do
so in the beautuful building which
houses the Portuguese Minister
for Environment and Energy.
I want to give a special thanks
to Roland Strauss for organising
this internationally important event
in Lisbon. I have a long history of
cooperation with Roland, co-founder
of the Knowledge4Innovation Forum
(K4I) in the European Parliament. I was
the head of the MEPs group of K4I until
April, when I left the parliament, and I
am delighted to see the momentum
contiunuing to build with these events
that bring together top level European
executives, European Commissioners,
Director Generals, MEPs from different
political groups, academics, business
people, and civil society.
The impact of the K4I ecosystem is felt
across Europe. It was our discussions,
dare I say, that laid the seeds for what
would become the European Institution
of Innovation and Technology (the
EIT), a game-changing institution for
the continent, which we will always
support and help to grow.
In my ministerial position in Portugal,
working on a portfolio covering areas
like water, air quality, climate change,
energy, biodiversity, and the restoration
of nature; and in my support for the
significance of this Forum, it is always
about making sure that everything
we do has a positive impact, not just
in helping to meet our climate goals,
but also in terms of creating economic
growth, attracting investments and
improving the lives of people.
The World Future Forum choosing
Lisbon as its home is going to be make
the city an international capital at the
heart of the global transition to a better
and more sustainable world for all - and
I look forward to supporting the Forum
in its mission to transform our future.
Maria da Graça Carvalho – Minister for Environment & Energy
Maria da Graça Carvalho