In early July, Mitch Barns, ceo for Nielsen, a global consumer research company, participated in a panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival dealing with the topic, “Global trends that will affect us all.” In addressing the various cultural, political, demographic and technological shifts affecting our world, the panelists remained optimistic, despite acknowledging the real challenges and continuing regional crises.
When asked why, Barns explained in his blog that “Here is where the theme of innovation fueled by collaboration emerged… In the recent past, the world has collaborated to make significant and lasting strides in global health and poverty, succeeding by making these challenges an absolute priority. We — governments, business, NGOs, academia — need to band together again, as we did in taking on health and poverty, and take advantage of a time of substantial change to create an ecosystem that will move us towards a healthier society.