Davos forum founder calls for collaborative innovation to unlock future

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Collaborative innovation is needed to unlock the future as the world is facing a variety of challenges, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, said on Wednesday.

"If finally we combine innovation and collaboration, we have the most powerful force to unlock the future in a constructive way," Schwab said in an opening address to a group of elite political and business leaders who, under the theme "the power of collaborative innovation", kicked off an annual meeting earlier Wednesday in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.

Schwab said in a world where the amount of information available doubles every three years to five years, strategic thinking and action has to be based on imagination, on innovation and less on the outdated patterns.

While in a world where mono-polar, hierarchical structures are replaced by multi-polar, "flat" networks, collaborative efforts are everywhere the key to success.

Schwab said the world has entered uncharted territory, warning irrational pessimism is as damaging as irrational exuberance.

"If we are prepared to collaborate on a global level and incorporating all stakeholders of society, and if we truly look for innovative solutions ... only then do we have the capability to bring the risks under control and to restore sound global growth conditions," he said.

A report released by the World Economic Forum two weeks ago showed the list of challenges at the beginning of 2008 is particularly extensive and pressing.

The report identified 26 global core risks, including financial risks, food security and high oil prices, each of which Schwab said is potentially threatening the world's future.

"Addressing all of them in a comprehensive effort is central to the functioning of the world economy and the well-being of global society," Schwab said.

Economists at the forum painted a gray picture of the global economic prospects, saying the U.S. economy, troubled by the financial turmoil, is all but certain to fall into recession, which could spill over to the whole world.