The 2023 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), organized in Davos, Switzerland, between January 16-20, 2023, set the scene for a groundbreaking move in digital technologies. The Forum launched the first global purpose-driven metaverse platform, the Global Collaboration Village (GCV), in cooperation with Accenture and Microsoft.
Sabancı Holding is a founding partner of the project along with the representatives of public institutions, civil society, and academia, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), MIT, and UNICEF as well as other global companies, each prominent in their respective fields. The only Turkish company on the list of 80 Founding Partners, Sabancı Holding scratches off yet another milestone in digital technologies with this project.
The project aims to remobilize and enhance international cooperation and provide immersive experiences to identify and develop solutions for global issues while encouraging interaction between key stakeholders in society.
The GCV includes five centers representing the main principles of the WEF, namely the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, “Industrial Transformation”, “Nature and Climate”, “New Economy and Society”, and “Regional and Global Cooperation.” Additionally, the project also includes five different ‘stakeholder campuses’ to represent different stakeholders as “Business World”, “Governments and International Organizations”, “Civil Society”, “Science” and “The Arts, Sports, and Entertainment.”
WE CEMENT OUR GAME AS THE QUARTERBACK
Commenting on the matter, Sabancı Holding CEO Cenk Alper underlined that they have been working to advance the “Sabancı of the World” vision with a focus on sustainability and going digital, and added, “Promoting sustainability, launching pioneering initiatives, and serving as a bridge between Turkey and the rest of the world are the three pillars of the Sabancı Group Commitment. In pursuit of this commitment, we focus on the new economy, which is trending globally, to strengthen our game as the quarterback in energy and climate technologies, advanced material technologies, and digital technologies. It is a major indicator for us to participate in the GCV, the world’s first purpose-driven metaverse platform, as the only Turkish Founding Partner.”
Cenk Alper also reminded that 75 percent of investments in the following five-year period at Sabancı Group will be allocated to the new economy and continued, “Our new-economy-oriented growth strategy is well aligned with the main principles of the World Economic Forum as well as the centers established within GCV. To this end, we will translate our competencies in metaverse creation and operation, which have started to grow in our Group as of 2022, into action at the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, ’Nature and Climate’, and ’New Economy and Society’ centers within the GCV. We will be actively participating in these centers throughout the year to cement our Sabancı of the World vision. We will share with all global stakeholders our Group’s new-economy-oriented investment plans and focus areas, particularly climate technologies and renewable energies.”
WE MOBILIZE OUR INTERNATIONAL KNOW-HOW FOR OUR COUNTRY
Cenk Alper also spoke about the last year’s leading metaverse projects by Sabancı Group companies — SabancıDX, Enerjisa, and Kordsa: “Our group companies strive to advance our Sabancı of the World vision. A crucial part of our vision is to mobilize our international know-how for social development in our country. We particularly aim to introduce new technologies to our country and to our people. This is an integral component of our Group Commitment. So, we consider it an innate responsibility to transfer our experience in leading digital technologies, like in the metaverse, to younger generations. As part of last year's Sabancı Republic Day Campaign, we organized metaverse training for high school students in various regions of Turkey. We will continue to empower more young people to advance technology, science, and innovation with our Group companies and Sabancı Volunteers.”