 |
| WAVE Website / Courtesy of KCCI |
By Kim Hyun-bin
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) established a collective intelligence platform "WAVE" to attempt to solve problems of all mankind such as climate change, environmental degradation, and human rights failings.
At "thewave.net," ideas from people all over the world are gathered to solve various problems facing the globe.
While Korea is stepping up its efforts to host World Expo 2030 in the city of Busan, WAVE's purpose is to realize the Expo through a digital platform where all human problems are contemplated and communicated together.
"Wave is an attempt to get away from gathering tourists by constructing a nice building like the existing Expos and creating a national pavilion for each country to exhibit for six months," an official from the KCCI explained.
The KCCI earlier had a test operation of WAVE, where discussions sought solutions to around 30 issues such as marine debris and mangrove forest restoration projects. The solutions have been scheduled for implementation.
There was a question on what to do with over 5 million tons of food waste produced annually in Korea and how it could be reduced.
A Korean Startup Nuvilab provided an answer: "How about food scanning? Scan your food tray; it tells you the nutrient and calories of the food on the tray. It will induce a person to take only as much food as they can eat."
A local organization adopted food scanning following the suggestion, and it reduced its daily food waste by 45 kg.
It is easy to participate in WAVE. Anyone can write and make a comment. One can choose from 10 topics, including environment, climate change, eco-friendly energy, education, medical/sanitation, disabled/children, urban/social infrastructure, technological innovation, and poverty/hunger. An automatic translation is also provided to overcome the language barrier.
"We seek a global community where global stakeholders, from governments and companies to citizens and NGOs, work together to address problems faced by humanity. I wish that all people in the business sector promote the world that WAVE creates," Woo Tae-hee, Vice Chairman of the KCCI said.
"World Expo 2030 in Busan will be a first step toward building a sustainable expo. We will present the successful expo by WAVE and pass it on to the next host country to make it a bigger wave carrying hope to future generations."
