Globally Prominent Intellectuals Lecture for Ukrainians

In June, MIM-Kyiv launched the national educational project ReІnforceUA, which aimed at the encouragement of entrepreneurship, business support, and assistance to civilians who suffered from the war, and revival and reinforcement of the economy after the war.

Due to the project thousands of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, businesspeople, managers, civil activities, and statesmen have access to the best international intellectual resources.

Prominent intellectuals from all over the world deliver their lectures on the most current economic, societal, business and humanities issues every week. The lectures in English and with simultaneous Ukrainian translation are free.

ReІnforceUA project kicked off with a lecture on basic income by Guy Standing, the world-renowned British researcher. He is a professor of development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and a co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network. Prof. Standing is convinced that Ukrainians should have a basic income or regular payment of a modest amount right after the war. He believes that the taxation of Russian oligarchs can become a funding source for such payments. Feeling secure is the main reason for that because anxiety debilitates intellectual activities. In his opinion, removing worries about basic things such as food, accommodations, etc. is a good way to make people feel in control of their lives. Prof. Standing believes that basic income is the ultimate right of any individual. He has successful experience in implementing basic income in various countries. Basic income promotes labor productivity and gives people a chance to leave their abusive partners.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic delivered the “Тhe gap between the leaders we have and the leaders we need” presentation. Dr. Chamorro-Premuzic is a world-renowned organizational psychologist who works mostly in the areas of personality profiling, people analytics, talent identification, the interface between human and artificial intelligence, and leadership development. He thinks that effective cooperation is one of the markers of human civilization. Dr. Chamorro-Premusic mentions that we have many unqualified leaders because we select them based on their style or other things irrelevant to the leaders instead of looking at their ability to help people cooperate. However, it is difficult to make the right choice because leadership is manifested only when people have power. Artificial Intelligence and its growing role in today’s world was another focal point of his presentation. In particular, he talked about AI application to the selection of new employees by eliminating human error or bias.

Caryn Beck-Dudley, the CEO of AACSB presented her Transformational Leadership for Positive Societal Impact speech. He talked about the need for a new type of transparent and passionate leadership serving the needs of the community. She also mentioned that she believed in the new generation of leaders who will bring us into the future. High ethical standards, integrity, and managerial decision-making skills are truly important for leaders of today and tomorrow.

Navi Radjou, a French-American innovation and leadership scholar, and one of the Top 50 Thinkers discussed frugal innovations. His presentation “Frugal innovation: Rebuilding Ukraine better with fewer resources” discussed how to solve problems with limited resources. In his opinion, setting priorities and exercising resourcefulness. Sometimes, the resources’ value needs to be reconsidered. Clay refrigerators in India for keeping fruits and vegetables are a good example of low-tech innovation. Radiators that use the heat of the data centers’ data processing activities are a good example of high-tech innovations. Ukraine can use both of them!

Yuval Noah Harari, Israeli historian, philosopher, and one of the most influential intellectuals discussed talked about the danger of China to the future of Russia and the European future of Ukraine. He calls the Russian war against Ukraine senseless. Nowadays, territories do not define success. Russia looks like a mere petrol station compared to China which invested a lot into its economic development. Thus, the aggressor runs a risk of becoming a satellite of China. Besides, it is obsessed with the past and does not offer a vision of the future. Ukraine preferred democracy. It protested every time the tyranny jeopardized democracy. In Prof. Harari’s opinion, Ukraine will win the war and join the EU and thus secure its future.

John Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Human Rights. He is one of the 100 most influential people worldwide on the issue of eliminating modern-day slavery. In his presentation How Businesses Can Step Up for Human Rights During this Global Crisis, John Morrison said that human rights should become the part and parcel of the corporate culture. He mentioned that businesses and business practices should become the solutions to the problems rather than create new ones. He mentioned that problem solving can become a social license for businesses and secure access to the markets’ opportunities. He also stressed the importance of the rule of law for business. Zero tolerance for corruption and freedom of speech were other important drivers of the business.