[Around the World in 80 Stories: A Global Shaper’s Reflections of World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions]

I am back from World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian (AMNC). Also called “Summer Davos”, the conclave is designed to bring together leaders from business, government, social sciences, arts, healthcare, technology, policy and philosophy on one platform to set the agenda for future and calibrate the progress made since the Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2017 (I was at Davos this year. Here are my reflections published by The Indian Express - https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/world-economic-forum-wef-zurich-davos-annual-meeting-4494959/)

Summer Davos opened my eyes to a whole new set of adventures and possibilities that can be unleashed when technology, empathy, policy and youth dance together – literally and metaphorically. 73 of us Global Shapers decided to give sleep some rest, sleeping for a grand total of an hour a day.

Our adventure began in the capital of China when the Shapers of the Beijing Hub hosted us for a 12 course, family-style dinner. Initially I was thrown off when I saw a fairly graphic picture of something called “Black Chicken” on the menu. With some encouragement from local Shapers, I put my skepticism aside and dove right into the meal. Chinese food hit the spot. It was flavorful, light and spicy – perfect segue into a series of meandering conversations that paused for a bit on a charming Beijing rooftop and reconvened a few hours later with the resolve to navigate the contours of the Great Wall of China. I will never forget that walk. Each set of steps was about exploring new stories about Fellow Shapers. Also, I decided to wear pointed shoes and full-sleeves to the hike in the peak of summer. What happened to my toes is a different story, but my sartorial choice was a contributing factor to the memorable walk. During the course of this adventure, there were rains, butterflies and umbrellas – little treasures that will make for an independent story soon.

The next few hours were about preparing for our train ride to Dalian. Incidentally our sub-group did not have a Chinese speaker. With our limited vocabulary of “ni hao” and “she she” (hi and thank you), we made every possible mistake in the book, including but not limited to carrying 25 kilo suitcases for half a kilometer, standing in a long queue, congratulating ourselves after an efficient security check only to discover that we were on the wrong station. We cut it close but we made it in time and felt adequately proud.

The Dalian adventure kickstarted with a “Pre-Davos” event organized by the incredibly driven Chinese Shapers who managed to get top leaders from academia, business and arts to participate in the discussions preceding the formal AMNC. I was part of the panel exploring the nuances of culture and collision in the 4th Industrial Revolution. 3 out of the 5 panelists spoke in Chinese. Thanks to real-time translation, an encouraging audience and a powerful audio-system, we were able to put forward the idea that the future is about building bridges, not walls; striving for cultural resonance, not cultural conquest; giving wings to multiple-dreams, not espousing convenient ones.

After the panel discussion, I looked at my watch. It was time for the Shaper orientation organized by the incredibly talented World Economic Forum team that had relentlessly worked towards making our experience special. Their detail-oriented, innovative approach helped each of us prepare for every aspect of AMNC. Just like Shapers, the Forum team is a phenomenal amalgamation of diversity of origin, thought, opinion and conviction. They designed interesting, forward-looking and action oriented sessions for us. Whether it was reimagining the world in 2030 or “3 Tribes, 1 Community”, their emphasis was on fostering collaboration for impact. My key takeaway from the Shaper orientation was the sheer volume of inspiring stories from Lebanon to London. I circumnavigated the globe in 80 stories (73 Shapers, 7 Forum Team Members), hence the title.

Next morning was the formal inauguration of the AMNC. My day began by brainstorming the future of production with illustrious leaders including the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Harvard Economics Professor, Tarun Khanna who is also a member of my peer mentoring platform, Network Capital. Unlike most other brainstorming sessions, the ones organized by the World Economic Forum have a clear sense of purpose and direction. As follow-up to the brainstorming, I will be soon be forming a sub-group of young professionals working in production so that they can contribute and give feedback to the Forum. If you are interested in shaping the future of production, please reach out to me.

The future is about co-creating moonshots and solving for world’s most pressing challenges around access, equity and dignity. In the opening plenary, Professor Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman proposed a powerful vision for such a future and emphasized the importance of agility stating that in the new world, it is not the big fish that eats the small fish but the fast fish which eats the slow fish. He was joined by the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang who passionately spoke about making the 4th Industrial Revolution inclusive by creating meaningful opportunities for the poor, the marginalized and the disenfranchised. This resonates with my personal mission.

I am part of the team that has built India’s first smart village in Harisal which now finds mention in the Prime Minister’s Book of Innovations. Later that afternoon, I presented the lessons, challenges and insights from my experience. The session was organized in the “Innovator Hub” and structured like an organic discussion. I was joined by Fellow Shapers, Young Global Leaders, Social Entrepreneurs, Health Minister of a country, CEO of a mid-sized bank and a few corporate leaders. The discussion was enriched by their inputs and I was invigorated to see the palpable enthusiasm about rural innovation in different parts of the world. One of my goals at AMNC was to help spark a movement of smart villages, a much needed complement to smart cities so that we can embrace tradition and modernity in the same breath.

After a long first day, the cultural soiree was what we needed. We donned our cultural attires and witnessed Chinese hospitality and charm with aplomb. Before June 27, 7:30 pm, I did not know what a Chinese Opera meant. By June 27, 9:30 pm, I was a fan. After the soiree, we assembled at our favorite lounge to play Werewolf. I have special talent for that game in that I manage to lose effortlessly and efficiently.

For me, the second day at AMNC was mostly about 1:1 meetings for scaling smart villages globally and taking concrete steps towards expanding Network Capital’s reach to provide quality mentoring and career guidance to everyone. Imagine a world where people from opposite spectrums of economic, social and political beliefs mentor each other! Imagine a world where children grow up eager to learn from and grow with children from across borders and boundaries! This sense of possibility keeps me energized. Network Capital has members from 89 countries. I see mentors and mentees from all parts of the world learn from each other every day. The diplomatic orientation of their countries has no role in their efficacy as mentors and mentees. They learn, they grow, they listen and they understand. That, in my opinion, should be the future of diplomacy. Let us call it Diplomacy 2.0 (Rather Diplomacy Youth Point 0).

Other charming vignettes of the day included attending presentations by Fellow Shapers (wish I could attend all but scheduling conflicts made that impossible), a Swiss startup pitch lab on the rooftop with the universe conspiring to create perfect weather for all of us, a linguistically challenging yet charming lunch with top Chinese Diplomats where the host assumed I speak fluent Mandarin and went on to regale the virtues of the Bollywood movie “Dangal” in fluent Mandarin.

With so much adventure packed on day 2, the universe conspired further. That night, we had three invitations for evening retreats. Some of us were a bit late and by the time we reached, the halls were dwindling. We settled in a corner, had conversations about the future of peace (Guilty as charged! Shapers discuss surprising things at parties!), toasted in different national styles (I am still trying to figure how we Indians say Cheers in our language) and found our “Little Mrs. Sunshine” – a charming 50 year old woman who taught us all Gangnam style dance moves and asked us all to spend 3 minute a day being grateful for what we have.

It was late but we wanted to dance a bit more. Just enough to enjoy ourselves and be ready for tomorrow. We had a group interaction with Professor Schwab in the morning, something every Shaper, YGL and Social Entrepreneur looks forward to. A few of us also had to lead sessions early morning. We came up with a three-pronged strategy – first, find SOHO; second, dance like there is no tomorrow in SOHO; third, leave SOHO at a semi-earthly hour.

I woke up fresh and ready to roll. The company of Shapers is such – no matter how tired you are, you will always have something to look forward to. And if you have something to look forward to, it is hard to be tired. We all made it to Professor Schwab’s session. As always, he was armed with ideas and painted a vision for an equitable, sustainable and sensitive future. I had to run towards the end of his session to make it to my panel on “Thriving under Uncertainty”. I was the discussion leader of this working panel, which included CEOs of several organizations, a Professor of a major university and the Minister of Science and Technology of a country. The discussion was productive and key takeaways will now be included in Forum’s initiative on “Mitigating Risks in the Innovation Economy.”

This brings me to one of the most captivating parts of AMNC – parting reflections by Fellow Shapers. It is hard to quantify or qualify everything we learned and shared during the conclave but together we explored pivotal questions that will shape the moral geography of our world. I think we will keep coming back to Paul Gauguin’s painting from 1897 which is as relevant today as it was back then - D'où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous (Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?)

P.S. I write this as we split into smaller groups and make our way back to our daily lives with a promise to meet again soon.

Post P.S. 1. I am overwhelmed by the love and warmth of Shapers from hubs in China. Words cannot capture how grateful I am for making us feel at home, helping us think through nuances of business and policy in China and for all the rooftop adventures on static and moving platforms.

A dear friend and shaper from Shanghai hub hosted me in Shanghai. When he found that two of my friends coming from Dalian were stranded, he opened his home to both of them. Last night 4 men and 2 cats slept in a studio apartment. There is very little one can’t accomplish with a small house and a large heart.

Post P.S 2. China is a bouquet of surprises. When in doubt or in need for celebration, reach out for Shaper Love.

A bientot!

Link: https://medium.com/@utkarsh_amitabh/around-the-world-in-80-stories-a-global-shapers-reflections-of-world-economic-forum-s-annual-5e11861718a