Dear Friends
I have just returned from an eight day trip to Israel, and suffering the effects of jet lag, am putting down in writing a few reflections.
I travelled with a group of 45 Chileans from the public, private and academic sectors that wanted to learn how has Israel managed to address innovation and entrepreneurship so successfully in a short period of time, and what lessons could we bring back home to speed up economic growth and improve the quality of life of many Chileans.
It was an enlightening and fascinating trip. A travel back in history, religion, conflicts, humanity and geopolitics, and a look into the future in search of peace, modern business models, science , trends and world in which individuals and organizations are organizing themselves and working together to address change.
Highlights of the visit included a private audience with President Simon Peres, who delivered an outstanding presentation. So did the highly respected economist Stanley Fisher, who now heads the Central Bank of Israel. Lectures with professors from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Ben Gurion, Weismann Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Education and entrepreneurs and start up companies toured us through politics, government and private initiatives, the challenges and developments around water and energy and sustainability, among others. A large desalination plant and a Solar thermal tower were just a few of the examples we visited. We learned about the emphasis on science, education, innovation and technology.
We concluded that Chile has all the elements to move further forward in innovation, that innovation must be addressed by companies and individuals not as an option but a must in order to survive and that it requires passion and long term determination.
There was time as well for sightseeing, of course! Spent several hours at the Golden city of Jerusalem, walked up the Via Dolorosa, Holy Sepulchre, the Wailing Wall, the Mount of the Olives, etc etc. Religion is present everywhere, with Jews, Muslims, Christians sharing spaces among thousands of visitors from all over the world. We also visited Bethlehem, TheDead Sea and Masada and the fortress built by King Herod ( and Peter O´Tole´s movie!)
I encourage those that have not visited yet to go. It is a must, it opens up your mind, it encourages you to learn more and to realize that difficult problems need new kinds of thinking in order to solve them.
And lastly, of course I prayed for all of us!
Shalom!
Charles Kimber