1st Editorial Board Meeting

As this report is being published, the world is going through unprecedented times. COVID-19, a term that did not exist when this study was being undertaken over 2019, is now ubiquitous, even though the scale and nature of its global impact will not be known for months to come. As of the second quarter of 2020, a third of the global population has been under a lockdown, with over 200 countries affected by health and economic burdens in diverse ways. Businesses, governments and citizens across the world want to leave the humanitarian and economic crisis behind as soon as possible. To successfully navigate through the COVID crisis and a post-COVID world, a premium will be placed on innovation, the willingness of organizations to disrupt themselves, and active collaboration. In the context of this seismic change, the World Economic Forum Platform for Shaping the Future of Consumption aims to accelerate the responsible transformation of the consumption landscape by enabling consumer well-being, environmental sustainability, inclusive growth models, and trust and transparency among all stakeholders. The mission and transformation goals of the Future of Consumption platform developed three years ago are now more relevant than ever to ensure positive benefits for business and society, across developed and emerging markets. It is an imperative that we advance progress with speed to build a prosperous future for all. In a post-COVID era over the next decade, accelerated shifts in global forces, more than 1 billion first-time consumers and the Fourth Industrial Revolution will continue to change the landscape of consumption in the fast-growth consumer markets of China, India and the ASEAN region. Both business and political leaders will be required to adapt their strategies to the changing needs and demands of connected and empowered consumers. The Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Markets, a multi-year project, has focused on the evolution of consumption in emerging markets that comprise more than 40% of the world’s population. Critical foresights on drivers of growth and levers of inclusivity can benefit global leaders as they grapple with similar issues.

While media consumption has accelerated during the pandemic, the main currency used for media monetization – advertising spend – has been pulled back across many channels, due to both economic and social concerns. Recently, many brands have halted their spending on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. While the advertising revenue of such platforms is driven largely by small and medium enterprises, events of late may signal a larger shift in focus to the role that one’s business decisions play in driving societal change. For media companies with significant reach and influence over consumers, this responsibility is even more crucial. We assessed how media organizations responded to COVID-19 and addressed their societal responsibility. In this second paper, we focus on the near-term and medium-term actions that can be taken to improve the financial viability, resilience and sustainability of the industry. We focus on four key areas: Creating a stronger media ecosystem across content creation, distribution and consumption innovation. We identified five key areas to drive a stronger media ecosystem: enhanced trust and transparency, better alignment of value with investments, media pluralism, a global community of creators and viewers, and renewed consumer focus. We examined the demonetization of harmful content through initiatives such as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, in partnership with the Forum’s “Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment and Culture” platform. Accelerating digital transformation to drive innovation. Digital distribution is no longer a choice – companies must decide whether to build, buy or partner to increase their digital capabilities.–New digital production methods have created lower-cost and more authentic content – companies should consider how they adopt end-to-end cloud production tools to capture, edit, finalize and distribute content in a single workflow from start to finish. Notable innovation in the use of data-driven tools for revenue projections, content curation and moderation, and user experience will present new decisions for businesses. With a significant increase in cyber threats during the COVID era, businesses need to take practical steps to increase their cyber resilience. Adapting the workforce and ways of working to support the next phase of industry growth. Work has transitioned to home-office settings with varying degrees of effectiveness – businesses should consider what capabilities are needed to operate in a hybrid work model in the future. Worker profiles in demand will be in big data, analytics and revenue-related functions, as well as in security and data privacy, but the industry is unlikely to go back to pre-COVID employment levels. With heavy reliance on freelance and contract work, there is an opportunity to revisit the industry’s duty of care to its workers and reset on its representation of minorities. In addition, employers will need to find new ways to protect employees’ safety and mental health. Supporting responsible business through global sustainable development goals (SDGs) –The urgency to act as responsible media businesses has never been higher, with three-quarters of media chief executive officers recognizing the critical role1 of businesses in society and three out of five consumers claiming to avoid brands that do not demonstrate progress against the goals affecting our society and planet. Businesses should evaluate their impact in terms of environmental and social considerations and reset their activities in line with the SDGs. Responsible leadership is a critical enabler of sustainable governance. Top leaders exhibit five elements of responsible leadership: 1) stakeholder inclusion; 2) emotion and intuition; 3) mission and purpose; 4) technology and innovation; and 5) intellect and insight. At the end of this paper, we identify actions that companies can take immediately, such as reviewing their media investment strategies, employing new brand safety tools, implementing new ways to create an engaged workforce and many others. A number of the companies engaged for this report have already committed to such actions, and we encourage other companies for which these steps are relevant to carry them out within their own businesses. In the final paper of this series, we will highlight the lasting industry shifts that will result from the current crisis and the long-term plans that various parts of the media ecosystem should consider when developing their strategies.

China is the EU’s second biggest agri-food exports market. It is also the second destination for the export of EU products protected by geographical indications (GI), accounting for 9% of its value, including wines, agri-food and spirits. The EU-China Agreement on the Protection of Geographical Indications, concluded in November 2019, is expected to realise higher potential for exporting EU GIs to the country since market access is now guaranteed. But the US-China Economic and Trade Agreement, signed in January 2020, has set down a couple of precautionary measures, including a consultation mechanism with China before new GIs can be recognised for protection in the Chinese market because of international trade agreements. As a result, EU GIs could be brought under tighter US scrutiny before being recognised for protection in China. Analysis reveals, however, that only a handful of EU GIs may be affected by the latter Agreement, if at all.

The annual cost of conflict is a trillion dollars, according to calculations by the Institute of Economics and Peace 2017. Clearly wars pose various challenges to business operations and profitability, whilst elusive political stability makes investors hesitant. It is therefore not surprising that private sector actors are increasingly intentional in trying to make a contribution to immediate and long-term peace. Private sector activity in support of peace has met with mixed success, which yields lessons about the potential for business to play a role in peace processes. As international organizations and governments test and improve models for collaboration with the private sector, these lessons are useful in deciding what we can do better together. The following report, authored by a team of researchers from the Graduate Institute Geneva tackles this question: Based on previous involvements of the private sector in peacebuilding, which of its activities can contribute positively to peacebuilding and what lessons can be applied to future interventions?

How people and goods get around our cities is undergoing considerable change. As new mobility options are introduced, cities and communities are trying to lower emissions, improve safety and increase affordability and accessibility of transport networks. Cities, mobility partners, and communities are taking a systems perspective to rethink the movement of people and goods. Developed by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Mobility, the Guidelines for City Mobility: Steering towards collaboration reflect shared goals for liveable and just transport networks and cities. This document provides eight practical guidelines – from data-sharing to multimodal integration – that help establish, develop and strengthen partnerships between cities and mobility partners. These guidelines are intended to serve as a blueprint for collaborations, including existing, new and future partnerships. Each guideline is intended to complement the operating authority of cities with the creativity and innovation of the private sector. It is our hope that cities and mobility partners around the world will deploy these guidelines in their work. We invite cities and mobility partners to confirm the guidelines that resonate for their context, adapt them as necessary and apply them consistently with all stakeholders.

The fable of the boiling frog provides a salutary lesson for business leaders. In this apocryphal story, a frog placed in cold water remains in the water as the temperature is gradually increased to boiling. In failing to notice the gradual but real change in its circumstances, the frog dooms itself to a catastrophic ending. Although frogs do not behave this way in real life, humans often do. Neurobiologically conditioned, as we are, to pay attention to stark contrasts and sudden changes, we often overlook slow moving changes in our environments that may herald disastrous consequences.The evolution of infectious disease risk is one such change. As this report explains, the number and diversity of infectious disease outbreaks are gradually but inexorably increasing, as is their capacity to send shocks through our global economic systems. As we travel, trade and communicate across an increasingly hyperconnected global economy, more and more companies will find themselves exposed to the effects of outbreaks that begin thousands of miles away.

Incorporating the most recent labour market information available, Global Employment Trends for Youth sets out the youth labour market situation around the world. It shows where progress has or has not been made, updates world and regional youth labour market indicators, and gives detailed analyses of medium-term trends in youth population, labour force, employment and unemployment. The 2020 edition discusses the implications of technological change for the nature of jobs available to young people. It focuses on shifts in job characteristics, sectors and skills, as well as examining the impact of technological change on inequalities in youth labour markets.