Yesterday, over 100 journalists from more than 30 different countries came to the Swedish pavilion to attend the three-day Ericsson Business Innovation Forum. The forum is a global event where experts come to discuss and learn about innovation in business. Ericsson hosted the event in Stockholm for the first time last year.
This time it was natural for them to host the event at the Swedish pavilion:
“Here, journalists have a chance to meet us and also visit the Expo at the same time” Ola Rembe, director of media relations at Ericsson said. But the main reason that Ericsson chose the venue was their previous engagement in the Swedish pavilion, as well as China’s importance for the telecom industry.
Some of the journalists where guided through the pavilion by pavilion guide Erik Bergenholtz. Kashminder Singh, editor of Malaysian Mobile World Magazine was impressed by the pavilion: “It reinforced my impression of Sweden; I’ve always thought of them as creative and innovative”. He especially liked that the pavilion gives examples on how to solve our environmental problems, and all the showcased innovations: “I didn’t know that the original Coca-Cola bottle was Swedish.” His only regret was that he didn’t get to try the slide this time.
For the first day of the forum, the focus was on China’s economic development. Renowned Chinese economist Dr Fan Gang was one of the many speakers. He told the audience that when he grew up, his family did have a phone, but it was disconnected during the Cultural revolution. It wasn’t until 1981 or 1982 that it they could actually use it. “And today, everyone has got a a cellphone. That reflects China’s economic development” he said.
