It provides an overview of risks as they are seen based on a
yearly repeated survey of of over 1000 experts from industry, government and academia. Severe
income disparities and chronic fiscal imbalance are considered the most
prevalent global risks, next to (consequences of) greenhouse gas emissions e.g.
for natural disasters.
The topic of ‘digital wildfires’ is scrutinized, including includes
various risks related to the hyperconnectivity of society nowadays, such as massive
digital misinformation and cyber attacks. For example, fake tweets have moved
markets and influenced elections. This calls for an responsibility and a healthy
skepticism of social media users. Obviously social media bring advantages as
well as challenges.
Several of our research projects, and the researchers and students
involved, aim at investigating and enhancing resilience, see www.crisiscommunication.com. Resilience can be seen on the level of
individuals, groups and societies. It relates to the potential to bounce back
and recover from crises. Resilience is considered especially needed where risks
are non-predictable.
An important resource for resilience is human capital, communities that
are able to self-organize. Flexibility and connections between institutions and
with public groups, creativity and innovation help create safety as a
co-production of social networks and governmental organizations. Communication
can contribute to resilience by facilitating such cooperation. This includes sharing
of information, e.g. by crowdsourcing. Monitoring social media is important,
but what then? We should get also a clearer picture of communication strategies
that facilitate this co-production and thus support resilience in various
situations. There is a lot to be investigated and developed!
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