At the Women Economic Forum in April 2018, there was a session on “Empowering the Social Good: Vibrant Civil Societies”, where women spoke about how social good can be empowered, and how vibrant civil societies can be created.
Emanuela Donetti, Co-founder, Urbano Creativo srl, Italy, said, “When I started to work in smart cities, I wondered, who is the clever one in the city? Who is smart? I would like to ask you all how many changes you have had in your life in the past ten years. Technology changes every day. We are now in a life where citizens have to be smart because technology moves fast. Boccioni was one of the first people who used Physics and Chemistry to work with paint. The spectrum of colors in painting was used by him. How can we be smart? Are we a liquid society? Our connections and networking with our families and communities are based on likes and dislikes. Things change, but the world is changing too. We know about climate change, the economic crisis. What are the change drivers in a smart city? We have nomadic working. We have virtual offices, wifi, IoT, technology everywhere. We need to have innovations in mobility, where we can share cars.” She also went on to add, “How do we change the way we move? We have user experience and design. Can we change the sanctity of what we did before and what we do now? Technology is changing the way we live. Hyperloop will change the way trains work. The idea of knowledge has been changed. We have tools to learn everything. We need to think about who is smart in the smart city."
“I have an 11-year-old dog. Looking at the picture of the dog, you smile and feel relaxed and oxytocin is released. A bond is a force or feeling that unites people or a common motion or interest. There are emotional and psychological benefits of having a dog. This dog saved my life when I lost my mother. My life has completely changed since the dog came. I became a member of Space for Us, where Us is a relationship. I am talking about pet therapy. Pet therapy comes from zoo-anthropology, a 10 years discipline based on growing together. It is powerful as pets insist on being noticed without judgement. Dogs can truly heal. There are 3 kinds of therapy, Animal Assisted Therapies, Animal Assisted Activities and Animal Assisted Education," said Elena Castellini, Account Director, PR Agency, Italy.
Lina Anllo, CEO, Anllo Abogados, Argentina, said, “Globalization to us meant that the world and Latin America asked for businesses which were more transparent. In Latin America, there has been a rise of people being intolerant to corruption. The effects of corruption are it trumps a sustainable world, it is corrosive to growth, it generates a lot of scepticism, it makes it harder to rebuild capital, it drives away foreign capital, and it erodes loyal competitiveness. 5% of GDP is lost as an effect of corruption. The effects of corruption break social contract of the citizens and the government, it breaks institutions and negates regulator efficiency of the government. What happened in Argentina particularly? Was that a law was passed for all businesses to have compliance standards to negate corruption? We are trying to make sure businesses are accountable that they follow these compliance standards. Goal number 10 of SDGs is anti-corruption, there are 16 companies who have instituted these compliance standards. This is the first time that Argentina hosts the G20 and the B20 which is a meeting for businesses, which is pivotal in Latin America." She also added, “I have been invited by the B20 to discuss the framework for transparency and corruption. We have another law in Argentina which allows citizens to get any information from the government, it was just enacted last year. As a lawyer, it is my responsibility that companies render accounts to their citizens in light of transparency, anti-corruption and access to information. I am a part member of the World Compliance Alliance that ensures compliance standards are met. Is our society vibrant? Do they ask the government to be ethical? There should be transparency and efficiency in the work being done. Civil society and individuals ask for more access to information than NGOs."