Europe makes strong pitch for the future

The road to net zero

Great minds discuss ideas

Welcome

Welcome to this special 4YFN and MWC Barcelona digital edition of Innovators Magazine, produced in partnership with the Knowledge4Innovation Forum of the European Parliament.

Following the launch last year of the EU’s New Innovation Agenda, which announced a bumper package of support for startups and innovators, we look at some of the headline promises that were made and point you to the halls and stands inside 4YFN where you can find out more about these opportunities.

And as a new open access platform created by the K4I Forum attracts ideas that could catapult Europe towards its goal of becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050, we share some solutions from the platform to help inspire your own innovation journey.

Ideas like these are a reminder that it’s up to us to create a better future. Which is also something of a rallying call and one we wanted to communicate through our coverage from COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. On #ACopHalfFull tour of the conference Marc Buckley, our editor-at-large, along with the Inside Ideas podcast producer, Paula Maultasch, asked decisionmakers and changemakers what gave them a sense of optimism about the future, as they shifted the narrative towards the amazing potential that exists for transformative change. For #ACopHalfFull dose of this optimism check out our highlights video from Egypt inside.

Finally, I want to wish you all an inspiring and fruitful 4YFN and MWC in Barcelona.

IAIN ROBERTSON EDITOR

50 Big

How would you describe yourself to a young person keen to understand who you are and what’s important to you?

I have been a professional observer in politics, economics, culture and ecology for my entire adult life. First as a television cameraman and producer for several international news networks, then as a researcher and documentary filmmaker focused on ecology and ecological restoration of degraded landscapes.

Now at 70 years old I’ve learned to observe, analyze and use scientific method to determine logical and ethical choices for actions to ensure human survival. I’ve also realized that as an individual there is only so much that I can do and I have been working for many years now to engage more and more people in “The Great Work of Our Time”, to restore all degraded lands on the Earth.

The complexity of living systems and the degree of difficulty in restoring them can be daunting. Success requires that we all learn to collaborate with one another and to work together as a species on a planetary scale. This is also the way forward for peace, for ending poverty, for full employment, equality and freedom.

In pursuing your goals, what are the biggest lessons you have learned?

I have learned to be grateful for all the wonder, beauty and grace in the world. This all emerges from a central fact that every moment of life is precious. I have learned to have faith in others who share the same values and who are working for the good of all.

What psychological tools and mindsets do you call upon to stay committed?

Being light hearted, joyful and forgiving helps me to see the good in life and enjoy the moments, days, weeks, years and decades of amazing and miraculous life. Realizing what a blessing it is to know love, to love and be loved is the greatest aid to remaining positive and engaged.

What books have changed your life and why?

Candide by Voltaire, explained that time is not what we might first image it to be. Voltaire also helped me to see