Erik Wetter to World Economic Forum Steering Group
The initiative is centered on the concept of Big Data, specifically on how rapidly expanding data sources (e.g. mobile data, satellite data, social media, financial data) can be leveraged to support positive economic development for the 5 billion people in the global south, while at the same time addressing the potential privacy and data integrity issues.
The initiative gathers stakeholders from different sectors, e.g. The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Brookings Institution, United Nations, Nielsen, Mastercard, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Microsoft.
“Big Data has evolved from a buzzword to a very tangible policy issue of significant relevance to both governments and companies. The World Economic Forum has unmatched convening power and it is an exciting opportunity to be invited to interact with the other members of the group, and also to be allowed to contribute to the analyses and outputs that the Forum will disseminate to global leaders and organisations” says Erik Wetter.
Other members of the Steering Group include e.g. professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland, co-founder of the MIT Media Lab, and Juliana Rotich, founder of Ushahidi.
