Wednesday 17 October 2012

OpenForum Europe - summit and academy conference

A clear highlight of all the travels I recently had to do was the OpenForum Europe (OFE) summit end of September - together with the OpenForum Academy (OFA) Fellows' workshop the preceding day. The topic discussed on both days was open innovation - a key paradigm for collaborative innovation and growth these days.

 There were great speakers providing some very, very good and thought provoking ideas and perspectives on the topic. And it all took place in the wonderful atmosphere of the Bibliotheque Solvay in the centre of Brussel's political district. Congratulations to the OFE team for getting this summit set up. It clearly has become an institution in Brussels to which people look forward to every year.

For those who missed the event or who wish to review the speeches and presentations I recommend the OFE channels - on the OFE website and the youtube channel. The links - plus some pictures - are given on the OFE website.

For a deeper dive into the topic of Open Innovation I'd like to particularly recommend the Proceedings from the OFA conference. They contain a number of papers produced by some of the OFA Fellows - all addressing different aspects of open innovation.

I was given the honour of summing up the discussion the OFA Fellow's had and presenting it at the OFE summit. Both the presentation and my talk are now available to look at and watch online - the presentation on the OFE summit website, the talk on OFE's youtube channel.

Friday 12 October 2012

EU gets Nobel Peace Prize 2012

Interesting news... The EU is this years winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. See the announcement on the Nobel Prize committee web site.

As a European I feel a bit proud about that, I dare to admit. Indeed, the EU is a highly successful project for bringing peace, common understanding and wealth to the people in Europe.

It is true that the EU currently undergoes quite a stress test given the difficult financial situation. The Nobe Prize may also be an encouragement for European, for politicians and the people, not to give up but move on solving the issues.

Does the EU have some potential beyond Europe. Perhaps yes, perhaps it can be a model for other regions in the world for bringing peoples and different cultures together within a common framework. Who knows....