Mrs Maria Bondestam, Chair of The Eva Ahlström Foundation, participated in the World Economic Forum in Davos 2019. The initial invitation came from The Rockefeller Foundation and Co-Impact, to whom she was recommended as a potential guest by the UBS-philanthropy group aka The Optimus foundation.

Her key takeaways from the seminars are;

• The concept of Co-Impact https://www.co-impact.io/ is very similar to the HAPPY and YHDESSÄ initiatives, that the Eva Ahlström foundation initiated, co-founded and chaired. To have a greater impact we need to collaborate and use existing data to scale up solutions that are proven to work. “Do not invent the wheel again and don’t work in silos”. It is harder and more work to collaborate, but the results are bigger.
• There is a globally pronounced need for Collaboration and System Change seen through a Gender Empowerment Lens. The problems we face cannot be tackled by anyone alone – we need a total change and a collaboration over sectors.

EAS also argue that the world needs a change in how we perceive philanthropy or “charity/doing good”. We need to recognize and appreciate, that when life blesses you with treasures and talent you have a responsibility to use those gifts as well and as wisely as you possibly can.