Martin Luther King, Jr.
We are living in uncertain times: never before in the history of humanity have our moral, social and economic frameworks been so violently challenged so fast: we are furthermore facing an international financial crisis of unparalled magnitude, which has shaken the foundations of the "developed" world and is causing the "developing" world to teeter on the edge of the abyss. But we are, more than ever, convinced that, despite these massive challenges, development is a goal that is not merely necessary, but also achievable.
The first step will be to rebuild trust and confidence among stakeholders at all levels (financial institutions, implementing organizations, civil society, target populations…) in order to relaunch development programs and stablilize the economy.
At the same time, we need to carry out a thorough investigation, to determine the root causes of the crisis and identify avoidable errors, and above all to design practical, workable solutions. We, with in-country stakeholders, must develop new, functional models, adapted to the specific national context while still meeting universal standards of efficiency, effectiveness and value for money. Finally, we must ensure that the instruments of good governance, transparency and accountability are in place, and applied.
The "new" millenium is more than a decade old, and every day brings a new batch of amazing discoveries: most visibly – and spectacularly - in the fields of science and technology, but also in the ever-deepening understanding of our planet and its biological, environmental and human systems.
At zeGOgroup, our ambition is to create a "virtual laboratory" to generate shared visions, create connections, explore the possible and the wildly imaginative, from smartphone apps to smart molecules to traceable reporting via the Cloud, or even innovative ways to create wealth from waste and pollution...
We certainly aim to explore the myriad opportunities presented by this plethora of new technologies. More than that, we want our different networks and backgrounds – geographical, social and cultural – to generate positive synergies and a "constructive contagion" of ideas and approaches.
We firmly believe that we can only overcome the challenges of this new millenium by moving away from an outdated competitive paradigm towards a truly collaborative approach.
In light of this, we are actively seeking to create successful partnerships and establish a "treasury" of ongoing research and reflexion around themes and topics we all encounter, both on a daily basis and as members of the wider development community.
zeGOgroup aims to go beyond our narrow mandate of "expertise merchants" and create an open forum, to share experiences and points of view, and develop new ways to leverage the vast range of knowledge and experience "out there", for our clients' benefit.