10 Break-Out Sessions
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Envisioning the future through the past – Anniversary Session of the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award
To mark the occasion, the 30th Anniversary of the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award was celebrated with a very special session hosted by our conferencier and three time winner of our essay competition, Jason George (US). Not three but four prizes were awarded, five former winners were back on stage many years after their participation in the St. Gallen Symposium and Steve Forbes had a sneak peak at some future Forbes 30 Under 30.
The evening started off with the top finalists’ presentation of their essays under the scrutiny of the Award Jury constituted of Professor Stephan Chambers (GB), Director, The Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship, London School of Economics, Thebe Ikalafeng (ZA), Founder & Chairman, Brand Leadership Group Ltd, and Elena Kvochko (US), Cybersecurity Expert & Technology Executive. João Abreu (BR), Dominik Geissler (CH), Janis Goldschmidt (DE), Antoine Levy (FR), and Nat Ware (AU) proudly defended their ideas and inspired the participants to wonder what the future of work might resemble.
In order not to hinder the jury’s impartibility, the winners were this year selected prior to the symposium. Nat Ware, University of Oxford, took the trophy home for the second consecutive year. Janis Goldschmidt, University of Potsdam, and João Abreu, Harvard University, respectively won the 2nd and 3rd place. But the grand prize of the public was to be awarded at the end of the ceremony to the best presenter. And here again, the young Australian’s impeccable presentation and stimulating answers convinced the participants, making him the big winner of the night.
The essayists and the participants had then the chance of hearing inspiring stories on the impact their idea can have in the future. To commemorate the milestone that is 30 years of essays, 3 former winners were invited back to St. Gallen to show how the successfully implemented their ideas in their community and the widening influence they are having. Learn more about Franklin Cudjoe’s, Ashwini Natajara Vanishree’s, and Jagdish Kharel’s stories here.
To wrap up this Anniversary session, the symposium had the immense pleasure of welcoming Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media as a keynote speaker. Who could better motivate students and young entrepreneurs to overcome their fear and go beyond their limits than the man who could add them to the list of the Forbes 30 Under 30? He gave an empowering speech on the future of work stating that once the fear and anxiety towards the future are overcome, work in the future will fit the people’s particular needs. Talent will play a major role in choosing career paths and education will be centred around the endorsement of creativity and specific needs. Illustrating his statements with lively examples, he depicted a hopeful vision of work run by the young generation. He concluded with a witty comment on tariffs standing in the way of progress and innovation.
The session was followed by a very special night on campus where the participants hopped on the orient express for a culinary journey all the way from Paris to Istanbul. After enjoying delighting food, the participants enjoyed a night cap session with Mona Mourshed (EG/US), President & Chief Executive of Generation moderated by Nina dos Santos (GB), Europe Editor of CNN International.
