World Class Cooking for Solving Global Challenges

Reparadigming Societal Innovation

Eunika Mercier-Laurent, Leif Edvinsson

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781838671242
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Sustainable Development
• Index: Economics

When faced with new global challenges propelled by social, financial, economic, health and environmental crisis, the leaders of today need alternative answers to those posed by traditional policies. In this book, Mercier-Laurent and Edvinsson consider a cutting-edge thought methodology for solving global challenges - by looking at societal innovation through the lens of an analogy to cooking. How might we apply the power of cooking to connect imagination, knowledge, know-how and pleasure to real-world problems?
Envisioning an ecosystem dynamic which connects various components, and requires multiple resources with the aim of securing sustainable well-being, the authors showcase initiatives for societal innovation which involve the use of diverse talents, evolving behaviours, thinking differently, adapting to the use of technology and close attention to human purpose. Demonstrating that the possibilities of technology are underused for solving critical problems because of the continual perpetuation of the same cognitive approaches, time and time again, this book makes a crucial intervention by serving up a new perspective on obtaining a sustainable and prosperous future that traditional approaches have so far not reached.
By presenting a broad range of promising experiments from around the world, the authors inspire readers to re-imagine their idea of how societal innovation might be achieved. In this book they provide the first of many new recipes for successful global change-making.

Chapter 1

Emerging Landscape, Paradoxes, and Challenges

1.1. Introduction

Globalization, Internet, and development of transportation changed progressively our society and life conditions. It has produced positive and negative effects as well.

In the developed countries as a result of relocation – out for cheaper workforce, globalization has generated unemployment, progressive disappearing of specific know–how, and transformation of the skills from creative ones to salespersons.

Immigration, loss of jobs, and decrease of “purchasing power” triggered Brexit and other social movements.

Greedy economic system influences new purchasing behaviors and contributes to planet disaster. Digitalization creates new opportunities, but requires evolution of the skills and professions. Internet and social networks opened the easy access to many and have modified human behaviors. Harassed by ubiquitous advertisements, people want more without wondering if they need it, even how is the impact of such attitude on planet and life conditions. Social networks have produced “digital influencers” and related trend of “have and show-up,” artificial beauty and gradual lying out of values.

The recent third hype of artificial intelligence and pervasiveness of Internet of Things (IoT) modify behaviors, objectives, and rise fears about the life conditions and future (EUAI, 2020).

The climate change accelerated by increasing populations and activities contribute to amplifying of natural disasters. Goods and people traveling around the globe affect the global warming and the quality of air and water what impacts biodiversity.

Deforestation and burning forests for business purpose decrease the CO₂ absorption capacity and degrade living conditions for people living there and animals (Vahedifard & Aghakouchak, 2018).

Killing animals for ivory or just for pleasure has become entertainment, which leads to vanishing of species.

Bad attitude remains trendy. In many cases, bad actions are either not, or late and weakly, punished. The “bad” is spread by advertisements (stealing Kinder Bueno, lying to try Peugeot 208, wear Darth Vader). Moral principles are evolving which is not without impact on society.

All these interconnected elements influence the values and motivation of people.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), one person dies due to suicide every 40 seconds in the world (WHO, 2019), despite the prevention actions.

In search of better life conditions, revolts break out in many countries around the globe.

We can observe the rebellions around the world – in Hong Kong, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia (Printemps arabe), North of India, Iraq, Catalonia, Chile, Haiti, etc. Among the triggers are the rise of the price of gas, transportation, taxes or social inequalities, corruption, power usurpation … some demand resignation of government. Some suffer from corruption. Planet is burning because of criminal action or because of greedy business (clean to plant, ex-biofuel or clean to build for benefit):

But how to “cook new society” with existing old ingredients?

How to orchestrate immune defense both for pandemics like COVID 19 as well as political threats?

How to build a positive future (de Bono, 1980) if the “bad” is growing around us?

How societal innovation can change the game (power flow)?

What are the recipe and conditions for success?

How to “cook” the world after COVID crisis?

This chapter provides the readers with the quick overview of some events aiming in changing the life conditions and discusses the interrelated causes of the current societal crisis and disruption by COVID 19.

1.2. Planet in Boiling

Creation of the European Union inspired by models of the United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a good idea. Having common money (accepted by 19 member countries) and possibility of traveling without visa is comfortable for the EU citizens. EU funds for research have provided lot of interesting discoveries and results, not enough yet explored.

English became common language, which can be perceived as Russian in USSR republics.

Europe is composed of 27 countries having various economic levels and expectations from EU.

Increasing immigration and globalization effects triggers various crisis and revolts.

However, this connection in practice revealed some strengths and weaknesses. Some examples below demonstrate the need for societal innovation.

Greece

According to Ref. http://www.greekcrisis.net/,

the introduction of a common currency, the euro, in 1999 proved to be Europe’s riskiest step. A decade after the euro was introduced, an unforeseen financial crisis engulfed Europe. It came in the form of a global financial shock that started in the United States after the failure of Lehman Brothers. Major European banks and economies suffered.

Greece, plunged into virtual bankruptcy. In 2015, its leaders threatened to exit the euro. That step might have unraveled the common currency altogether and undermined the “European project,” which took decades to build. The debate over Greece’s threat revived long-dormant nationalist tensions throughout Europe.

Today Greece’s economy has stabilized and is slowly recovering. But the huge debts owed by Greece to the rest of the euro area cast a shadow over its future and the future of the European project. The Greek populace has suffered painful budget cuts, tax increases, high unemployment, and shrunken living standards and social services. Many still fear their future.

Belgium

The population is still divided and talking two languages. Belgium political crisis begun after Belgian general election in June 2010. At origin, tensions had risen between the Flemish and the Walloons: Flanders accuses the Walloon region of being dependent on economic subsidies from the Flemish region. The Walloon population accuses the Flemish of being segregationist with the language policy in the Flemish region. The election produced a very fragmented political landscape, with 11 parties elected to the Chamber of Representatives, none of which won more than 20% of the seats. The Flemish-Nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the largest party in Flanders and the country as a whole, controlled 27 of 150 seats in the lower chamber. The Francophone Socialist Party (PS), the largest in Wallonia, controlled 26 seats. Cabinet negotiations continued for a long time. On June 1, 2011, Belgium matched the record for time taken to form a new democratic government after an election, at 353 days, held until then by Cambodia in 2003–2004. On October 11, 2011, the final agreement for institutional reform was presented to the media. A government coalition was named on December 5, 2011 and sworn in after a total of 541 days of negotiations and formation on December 6, 2011, and 589 days without an elected government.

Spain

Similar situation is in Spain, composed of two main populations Spanish and Catalonian. Catalonia is a region in Northeastern Spain, known for the beach resorts of Costa Brava and the Pyrenees Mountains. Starting with its location, it feels distinctly different from the rest of Spain. Catalan is the co-official language of Catalonia, which is actually not a subset of Spanish. Catalans are seen as more business minded and hardworking, while Spanish people are seen as more fun-loving. They don’t consider themselves as a part of Spain, and have wanted to split from Spain.

The Catalan independence movement to have started in 1922, when Francesc Macia founded the Estat Catalan. In 1931, the Republican Left of Catalonia was formed and won in the municipal elections that year. Macia proclaimed a Catalan Republic, but after negotiations with the Spanish Republic, accepted autonomy within the Spanish state. General Francisco Franco abolished autonomy after the Spanish Civil War in 1938, and after Franco’s death in 1975, authorities focused on autonomy rather than independence.

The independence movement resurged in 2010 when the 2006 Statute of Autonomy was challenged in the Spanish High Court of Justice, which ruled that there is no legal basis for recognizing Catalonia as a nation within Spain. Protests led to demands for independence, especially since Catalonians believed that affluent Barcelona was “propping up” a financially unstable Spain. To put this into perspective, consider the fact that Barcelona accounts for 18.8% of GDP, while Madrid accounts for 17.6%. In 2014, the Catalan government held a referendum on the question of statehood. They held an informal poll that asked Catalans if they wanted independence and the answer was a resounding yes (80%). However, only 2.2 million people voted, out of 5.4 million, and the Spanish government and Constitutional Court considered the decision as illegal. Criminal charges were filed against Artur Mas, the President of Catalonia, who authorized going ahead with the vote. They followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling, changed the vote to a “process of citizen participation,” and announced that it would be supervised by volunteers. The Spanish government appealed again to the Constitutional Court, which suspended the process pending the appeal – but the vote went ahead.

Mas was banned from hold...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Prologue
• Chapter 1. Emerging Landscape, Paradoxes, and Challenges
• Chapter 2. French Cuisine: Combining Technology, Imagination, Vision, and Ambition
• Chapter 3. Prototyping Societal Innovation
• Chapter 4. Cooking Future Society
• Epilogue
• Appendix
• References
• Index