The SDG Disrupter Summit in Bermuda addresses local challenges through technology and social solutions

HAMILTON, BERMUDA, November 16, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The SDG Disrupter Summit exemplified a shift towards community, culture, and social impact that weaved together a blend of sport, innovation, creativity and community, as reflected by event organizer, Kevin Richards.

“Our objective for the event was to have meaningful discussions with public and private sector leaders. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) give us a common language that leaders can use to galvanize our community and align around common objectives. Once alignment is achieved, we can introduce disruptive technologies and economic models that allow us to build a circular economy rooted in regenerative finance; tailored to Bermuda’s strengths and building on decades of established culture and innovation,” said Kevin Richards, Managing Director of Bermuda Asset Management.

Hosted by the Bermuda Football Association, the Beyond Football thought leadership roundtable focused on establishing a distributed network of small-scale vertical farms at local football clubs in Bermuda to have a positive impact on local communities across the island by deploying innovative solutions directly into our communities. Local club Presidents were joined by representatives of the Bermuda Government, including the Minister of Tourism and Cabinet, Former Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Director of the Environment and Natural Resources. This robust discussion was enhanced by international guests from the US, Europe and Canada who brought global insights and expertise to the discussion.

Hosted at Ignite Bermuda’s Hub Space, the Blue Economy though leadership roundtable began with Bermuda Asset Management (BAM) sharing their 2022 journey, after traveling to Bahrain, the UAE, Greenland, New York and London speaking at climate and UN events on how to transform island ecosystems. The Blue Ocean Prosperity Program (BOPP) team then shared a video illustrating the draft plan (www.bermudaoceanprosperity.org) before the Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, spoke to attendees about the vision for Bermuda’s blue economy. Attendees then entered into 2-hours of Q&A and discussion focused on how the country can best leverage the 200 square mile economic exclusive zone around the island to build a sustainable blue economy, diversify job prospects and build resilience and sustainability to protect future generations.

Hosted by the Bermuda Health Council (BHC), the third and final thought leadership roundtable focused on Digital Health Transformation. Attendees were joined by the Bermuda Hospital Board (BHC), Bermuda First, Argus, BF&M, Data Innovation Labs (DIL), CariGenetics and MAPay, who led the roundtable discussions, showcasing technology solutions that could transform Bermuda’s health system.

The healthcare discussion addressed challenges that we face in transitioning to a data driven healthcare ecosystem and Sol Girouard, DIL CEO took a deep dive into how data science and artificial intelligence can help public and private stakeholders integrate with one another to create a dynamic population health ecosystem throughout Bermuda.

CariGenetics CEO, Carika Weldon shared insights on the inherent inequities in our system that stem from a lack of diversity and inclusion from a genetic research perspective and how that leads to problematic drug diagnosis and treatment options for non-caucasian populations locally and around the world.

The discussion explored multiple technologies that have been developed by Bermuda companies. MAPay's CEO Michael Dershem shared details of his blockchain technology solution enabling individual ownership of personal health data. This technology can empower people so that they can access their own health data and share it when traveling or changing physicians.

This was a dynamic multiple stakeholder discussion that showed the engagement and enthusiasm that the public and private sector have for pushing our healthcare forward by leveraging technology to bring efficiency to the system. It also illustrated the challenges facing insurance companies, the structural challenges facing the hospital and showed that work has already begun within the BHB and BHC to make Bermuda the leading jurisdiction for innovative healthcare deployment across an entire population and throughout society.

The first annual SDG Disrupter Summit concluded with a cocktail reception, hosted by the Bermuda Innovation & Technology Association (BITA), a new association focused on fostering and promoting an inclusive, robust and competitive technology and innovative ecosystem in Bermuda. Overall, the ground-breaking Summit addressed extremely important issues that impact Bermudians of every walk of life. The need for a multi stakeholder approach across the public and private sector was clear and the roundtable format gave attendees the platform to share their views and discuss solutions from local and international experts. “The SDG Disruptor Summit was a great opportunity for different stakeholders to collaborate and share insights on innovative new technologies to solve problems that will impact Blue Economy and Food Resilience” said BITA board member and Blockchain Triangle CEO, Darren Wolfberg.

The compelling roundtable discussions were enhanced by a cadre of international guests who brought global insights and expertise to the conversation. Three of these delegates were the innovative NFT disrupters from Meta License Plates (MLP), who flew in from Manchester UK, for the occasion.

“Meta License Plates (MLP) was excited to join Bermuda Asset Management, Let’s Disrupt Digital, and others on this important schedule of events, where tech innovators, civic leaders and SDG disruptors came together to share ideas and inspire each other to shape our future. “We felt the experience was phenomenal and we were ecstatic to be a part of this year's launch of the annual SDG Disruptor Summit in beautiful Bermuda," said Mikey Smith, Founder and Creative Director of MLP.

Partners and sponsors for the SDG Disrupter Summit included: Bermuda Asset Management, Ignite Bermuda, BITA, Let’s Disrupt Digital, Meta License Plates, Flor de Cana Rum, Ecoverse, CrossTower Bermuda, HLB Bermuda Advisory and Accounting, Pacific Rim Chamber of Commerce, TechBeach, PennyFly Entertainment, EatUp Events, Eden Magazine, among others. This annual event will return in October 2023, with a special (SDG 14) ocean-focused preview edition on June 8, in support of World Oceans Day.

For further information on the SDG Disruptor Summit: Kevin Richards, krichards@bermudaasset.bm

Kevin Richards
Bermuda Asset Management
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