Club of Amsterdam Journal – Special Issue, January 2005, Issue 40

Content

Club of Amsterdam Summit for the Future

Speakers at the Summit

Quotes from the Summit

Exhibitions

Music at the Opening Event

Live Music

Club of Amsterdam Open Business Club

Upcoming Events

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Quotes from the Summit for the Future 2005

Kevin Dean, Managing Director – Public Sector Healthcare, Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco Systems, Inc.: “The potential of e-health is therefore huge. At one point e-health touches active surgical intervention, with surgeons controlling robots over an IP (Internet Protocol) network to perform specialist operations on patients far away, thus scaling the specialist’s ability to provide care beyond their own hospital. At another point, e-health involves providing potentially millions of health professionals with ongoing education via online learning through video-on-demand and web-based interactive teaching. Still further are the use of smartcards, home monitoring and tele-consultations within the world of healthcare provision.”

Tamsin Rose, General Secretary, European Public Health Alliance: “Europe’s population is older, but not healthier. Our lives involve living long periods with health conditions and illnesses. We depend heavily on pharmaceuticals and medical devices to survive, we pay 25 % of our income for healthcare costs. Mental health problems are widespread, suicide levels are high. Socio-economic inequalities reflect starkly in differences in longevity patterns. Scientists are in a permanent race to respond to mutating viruses and emerging new diseases. Mental health problems affect the majority of the population. – How likely is this scenario? What current trends were used to predict this situtation and what can we change?”

Vladimir Petrovskiy, former Director-General of the UN in Geneva: “Promotion of the knowledge-based societies which should be conceives as plural, variable and open to democratic choices makes it necessary to answer the questions what is to be done and how. The European experience should be used together with the recommendation of the UN, UNESCO, ILO and other international bodies. Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are of particular importance.”

Mathijs van Zutphen, philosopher, educator, artist and creator of VISH: “It is important to understand that our reality is constantly changing. The elements of success today may be the causes of failure tomorrow. We have to evolve as life itself does.”

Thomas Schael , Management Consultant with Butera e Partners: “We have to understand that the traditional face-to-face work practice is decreasing. New ways of social interaction have to be put into place. Communities of practice become more important than before, allthough we cannot design and manage them like research teams in the laboratory. Mobility and cross-site teams generate new requirements for support technology.”

Graham May, Futures Skills: “As we know from experience assuming that the future will be like the past is just that, an assumption; that may or may not be true. The negotiations over GATS make it abundantly clear that both the interpretations and the expectations of “free and fair” diverge significantly.”

Natalie Yacheistova , Head of the Russian Trade Representation in The Netherlands: “Taking in mind the core role of innovation for the economic development and competitiveness, additional efforts shall be paid in Russia to the creation and well-functioning of high-tech technologies and knowledge society. But how, by which means can this goal be achieved?
When analyzing the international experience in this area, it may be seen that the countries with the more effective knowledge sector – Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Japan, Denmark – have at the same time the highest international competitiveness. These countries are marked through high amounts paid for research, while the most part of these expenses is taken upon themselves by private companies.”

Pascal Kerneis, Managing Director, European Services Forum: “EU Member States, companies and citizens (consumers and workers) must embrace the Internal “Single” Market to increase the cross-border supply of services between the 25 countries. The recent Proposal for a Directive on Services in the Internal Market encourages the EU member states cut “red tape” and facilitate the cross-border provision of services. Europe will certainly benefit from increased competition in the professional services. Mutual recognition of diplomas and qualifications and eliminating of corporatist rules should aid in this. We expect improvement in all aspects of business-related services (ICT, consulting, after-sale services, advertising, etc.) for its own sake and also for the knock-on effects these sectors add to the economy at large.”

Tom Lambert, Chief Executive, Centre for Consulting Excellence: “People can be generous, but the total aid given by the rich part of the world to our poorer neighbours totals some $50bn annually. A considerable sum, but with 5 billion people living in the countries receiving this support this amounts to just ten bucks per person each year. It is hardly enough to make a difference. Trade can make that difference.”

Valeri Souchkov, Director, ICG Training & Consulting: “The processes of automating of manufacturing and global outsourcing push European enterprises to seek new ways to sustain and increase their value and increase competitiveness rather than increasing production volumes and implementing cost cutting programs. It becomes clear that the future will be defined by those companies that would be capable of not only product manufacturing, but capitalize on creating and distributing Intellectual Property (IP). With strong historical and cultural traditions in science and technology, Europe still has a chance to become the world-leading “brain centre” which will focus on massive creation of high-quality IP in every branch of business.”