Forum communities & initiatives
BT experts are actively involved in a number of the World Economic Forum communities and initiatives ranging from Technology Pioneers selection to Workplace Wellness. BT is actively involved in four Global Agenda Councils as well as numerous IT & Telecoms Industry projects.
Technology Pioneers
The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers programme has been running for over 11 years and continues to uncover exciting new technologies in the fields of Biotechnology/Health, Energy/Environment and Information Technology, Telecommunications or New Media.
BT partners with the Forum to select the Technology Pioneers that offer greatest potential for long-term impact on business and society. Jean-Marc Frangos, Managing Director of External Innovation at BT is on the Forum’s nomination and selection committee. Typically 30 Technology Pioneers are selected from over 200 innovative nominations.
To read more visit the Forum’s web site http://www.weforum.org/community/technology-pioneers.
Young Global Leaders
The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multi-stakeholder community of exceptional young leaders who share a commitment to shaping the global future. Each year the World Economic Forum identifies 200-300 extraordinary individuals, drawn from every region of the world. Together, they form a powerful international community that can dramatically impact the global future. BT's Chief Sustainability Officer Niall Dunne is a member of the Young Global Leaders community and is involved in a number of their initiatives.
Global Agenda Councils
BT experts have also been invited to join a number of the Forum’s Global Agenda Councils on topics such as: the Future of Government; Internet Security; Sustainable Consumption and Mental Health & Wellbeing – which is linked to BT’s exemplary role on the Forum-led Workplace Wellness Alliance. Each Council, of approximately 20 members, is tasked with advancing the global agenda on the issues faced per topic with multi-stakeholder action-oriented programmes.
Workplace Wellness
The Forum recognises health as an important part of long-term economic development and engages its members and other stakeholders to advocate health as an investment. BT is a member of the Forum-led Workplace Wellness Alliance and our Chief Medical Officer is actively engaged in a number of areas including Forum Reports such as 'Well-being Global Success' and 'The Workplace Wellness Alliance'.
Industry Projects
Last year BT continued its collaboration with the Forum on several industry-led projects including Cloud Computing, Smart Grids and Personal Data. The output and recommendations are summarised in several reports published by the Forum. Throughout 2012 BT is taking an active, high-level role in the Forum’s Risk & Responsibility in a Hyper-connected World initiative.
Risk & Responsibility in a Hyper-connected World
The Risk and Responsibility in a Hyperconnected World Initiative provides a platform for decision-makers to undertake coordinated action to set in place the risk evaluation, detection and response mechanisms necessary to protect networked communications and future growth in the online networked economy. BT is on the steering board and is a leading contributor to this project which kicked off less than one year ago.
To read more visit the Forum’s web site http://www.weforum.org/content/pages/risk-and-responsibility-hyperconnected-world.
Rethinking Data
Launched in 2010, the Rethinking Personal Data project is a multi-year project intended to bring together private companies, public sector representatives, end-user privacy and rights groups, academics and topic experts to deepen the collective understanding of how a principled, collaborative and balanced personal data ecosystem can evolve.
In May 2012 a report on “Rethinking Data – Strengthening Trust” was issued from this initiative.