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MissionFuture: Emergency Session 4

Last wednesday evening we again attended the MissionFuture: Emergency Session 4 “What’s next? The crisis gives birth to tomorrow’s economy”. The speakers were
I really liked the presentations of Dr. Andreas Pratz and Daniel Überall. Dr. Pratz talked about “Disaster Recovery: Chances in the financial market crisis”. He gave an interesting overview about how the financial market crisis developed and showed us chances in the crisis, e.g. alternative business financing. Social lending websites like smava.de have great potential in times of crisis. These web sites offer a market place for credits where consumer or entrepreneurs can invest or lend money to others without dealing with a bank. Here are some social lending web sites: Dr. Pratz also pointed out that innovations and new products/services are not only the key to entrepreneurial success but also the key to survive in times of crisis.

Another very interesting presentation was held by Daniel Überall about “Utopia at work: Change the world through strategical consumption”. Utopia.de is a online consumer portal for strategical consumption and sustainable lifestyle. Utopia users (called “Utopisten”) can rate products, brands and enterprises, exchange experiences, contribute and comment on articles. The Utopia community consists of scientists, environmental experts, journalists, entrepreneurs, consumers, media people, politicians etc. The goal of the Utopia community is to change the thinking and action of people who exploit natural resources with their lifestyle. Utopia aims to be the place for consumer to get all the necessary information for the purchase of sustainable products and set impulses across retailers and industry. They believes that the money we all spend is our ballot paper about what we buy and what should be (re)produced by the industry. Today, we need to buy more consciously in order to save our nature (strategical consumption or consumer 2.0).

Overall it was an interesting evening with great and thought-provoking presentations. The next MissionFuture: Emergency Session event will take place on Dec. 17th, 2008 in Munich.

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