The environment in which we live is becoming more and more complex, global and interconnected. This transformation, in fact, is accelerating and will continue to bring dramatic change to our world in the coming years. The future will not only bring huge social challenges, but also politic, economic and technological challenges. How will we meet the growing demand for energy, water or food in the face of resource scarcity? What will life be like in 2050? How will we coexist if the global population continues to grow as it has in the last few years? These and similar questions raise issues of great concern for the human race. There are many questions and, at the same time, many different attempts to answer those questions.
Innovation offers solutions for some of the future’s key challenges
Innovations can provide solutions to many of tomorrow’s most pressing issues and challenges. They can have many facets and go beyond technological breakthroughs or scientific discoveries. Social innovations, for example, or political innovations, can also serve as important catalysts for change. Particularly exciting are the innovations that lead to truly fundamental change and help improve the status quo. The accidental discovery of penicillin, for example, was a milestone in the history of medicine. Economic globalization, as we know it today, would not have been possible without the invention of the standard freight container in the 1950’s.
Innovation is not driven by scientists alone. More and more, the private sector is also being called upon to play a role in the development of innovative solutions, large or small. As the world’s leading mail and logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL sees itself as an engine for innovation. At the same time, today’s innovations have an impact on our business, which is why we, along with our entire industry, are constantly innovating – to be prepared for tomorrow’s challenges. Deutsche Post DHL has created a public space dedicated to innovation: the DHL Innovation Center in Troisdorf, near the company’s headquarters in Bonn. The Innovation Center exhibits prototypes, for example, that have been developed in laboratories together with external partners. Visitors can also experience innovations such as the SmartTruck. With its RFID and navigation technology, SmartTruck represents the intelligent delivery technology of tomorrow.
Innovation still underrepresented in the public discourse
With all the effort that goes into innovation, an important aspect is often lacking: the public dialogue on the subject. Social innovations should be discussed just as intensively as developments in science, technology, or the automobile industry. The Deutscher Preis für Innovationsjournalismus (German prize for innovation journalism), hosted by the Bonn-Rhein Sieg University of Applied Sciences with support from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Deutsche Post DHL, gives innovation an “intellectual home” and, over the course of the week, recognizes journalists whose choice of innovation topic – and quality of work – has helped bring public attention to the subject of innovation. “Rundumdenken” is the motto of the prize, a word that aptly emphasizes the importance of considering an issue from all perspectives. This is exactly the approach needed to highlight innovation and analyze developments as early as possible.