Stiglitz, Kramer, Reich, Radjou, and Rifkin at the International Summit of Cooperatives
9 June 2016
For the third edition of the International Summit of Cooperatives, which will take place in Quebec City, Canada, from October 11 to 13, 2016, Joseph E. Stiglitz, eminent theoretician and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Mark R. Kramer, FSG co-founder and shared value advocate, and Robert Reich, influential economist and former Secretary of Labor under U.S. President Bill Clinton, will analyze the new global socioeconomic and geopolitical realities in order to identify potential solutions to key issues in the 21st century.
The talks given by these world-renowned speakers should be of interest to anyone in the business world who wants to promote sustainable economic development.
“We are delighted to welcome these distinguished economic thinkers to the 2016 International Summit of Cooperatives. Their participation speaks to the interest and credibility of the event as a forum for discussing business models and initiatives that can best serve global prosperity, including the cooperative option,” said Monique F. Leroux, President of the International Co-operative Alliance and co-host of the International Summit of Cooperatives.
Besides, the eminent innovation and leadership advisor Navi Radjou and the world-renowned economist, prospectivist and influential political advisor to many world governments Jeremy Rifkin will propose new growth strategies to mitigate the limitations of the traditional capitalist system.
The two world-famous speakers will present their vision of the impact of innovative technologies on the emergence of a new and more socially and environmentally responsible economic model. Their communications will captivate any player in the business community who is interested in alternate ways of creating value and sustainable economic development.
Joseph E. Stiglitz: Inequality – the global economic and geopolitical situation
Professor at Columbia University in the City of New York, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton, Chief Economist at the World Bank from 1997 to 2000, and author of the highly acclaimed book entitled The Price of Inequality, Mr. Stiglitz has long denounced the gap between the rich and the poor, a phenomenon exacerbated by the financial and economic crises. He presents ways to reverse this trend, which democratic societies have been unable to do despite the expectation that they should be moving in a direction with everyone’s interests in mind.
Mark R. Kramer: Contributing to both social progress and economic success – shared value
Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, Mark R. Kramer lives in Washington, D.C., and is the Founder and Managing Director of the FSG consulting firm. While advising businesses on strategies for adapting to social change, he noticed that they are increasingly aware that their success is inextricably tied to their social and environmental initiatives. He will explain how creating value for society overall promotes growth in a sustainable manner.
Robert Reich: In favour of restructuring the global economic and political system
Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley who had served under three U.S. administrations, Robert Reich has widely shared his thoughts about the importance of a prosperous middle class in his books and articles, and in his documentary entitled Inequality for All. According to him, only greater equality in the distribution of income can give the middle class back its purchasing power and stimulate growth. A look at essential restructuring as seen by one of the top U.S. opinion-makers.
Navi Radjou: Frugal Innovation: How to Do More with Less
Navi Radjou is a strategic consultant, based in Palo Alto in California’s Silicon Valley. A Fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School, he has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation and contributes to Harvard Business Review online. He won the 2013 Thinkers 50 Innovation Award for his frugal innovation strategy, which consists of addressing a well-defined need in the simplest and most efficient manner using minimum resources. Inspired by affordable solutions found by entrepreneurs from emerging countries, he explores the possibilities offered by this daring approach for Western countries, particularly for cooperatives.
Jeremy Rifkin: Towards a New Economic Model
An American prospective essayist and President of the Foundation on Economic Trends, based in Bethesda, Maryland, Jeremy Rifkin believes that the economic model resulting from the Second Industrial Revolution is no longer viable and that countries must redirect their economies to restore growth and employment. The author of The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism believes that new realities, such as the development of renewable energy, the technology and the emergence of an economy based on sharing of goods, spaces and tools, will soon overturn the ways things are done while drastically reducing the margin cost of production.
Over the next few years, innovation and technology will inevitably be at the heart of growth. In this spirit, the Summit will also discuss major issues, such as the culture of innovation, the work in the digital era and the use of big data. Conferences and forums will enlighten cooperatives and businesses about the most effective ways to adapt to these new realities.
About the International Summit of Cooperatives
The International Summit of Cooperatives is the world’s leading event for business development in the cooperative and mutual community. It offers managers, decision-makers and leaders of cooperative and mutual enterprises of all sizes and in all sectors, as well as anyone in the world of business, a unique venue for reflection, discussion, cooperation and training on major trends, as well as on current and future economic and financial issues. By demonstrating that cooperatives are one answer to the major socioeconomic issues of our times, the Summit aims to promote and foster the development of cooperative enterpries in all countries. The event attracts more than 3,000 participants from 93 countries.