by Alice Lin (Net Impact Guelph Executive: Co-President 2012-2013)
There has been a growing number of complex challenges and issues with our environment, political systems, and our communities in the past half century or so. These challenges have occurred alongside the shift in the role of major key players in governance such as our state, the market, and civil society. Furthermore, globalization also changed the trade and free market system, which has also resulted in the exploitation and degradation of our natural environment. This subsequently posed some very serious impacts leading to issues pertaining to pollution, adverse health effects, loss of biodiversity, worldwide epidemics, and more. By now, we know that these global crisis cannot be attributed to a particular group of people, in fact, they are a result of our entire population. However, the apparent trend is certainly emphasized on the importance of of collaborative governance. Although this is certainly not new, it is indeed gaining prominence. For example, non-governmental organizations, and even businesses are breaking their traditional structures and creating new partnerships with one another in order to redesign the system to address these complex challenges and issues we face today. No single group or affiliation can be responsible for the issues and challenges we are faced now, in fact, this it is impossible. We all live and depend on the same planet, so it is without a doubt that we cannot work alone by ourselves to create this change.
There has been a growing number of complex challenges and issues with our environment, political systems, and our communities in the past half century or so. These challenges have occurred alongside the shift in the role of major key players in governance such as our state, the market, and civil society. Furthermore, globalization also changed the trade and free market system, which has also resulted in the exploitation and degradation of our natural environment. This subsequently posed some very serious impacts leading to issues pertaining to pollution, adverse health effects, loss of biodiversity, worldwide epidemics, and more. By now, we know that these global crisis cannot be attributed to a particular group of people, in fact, they are a result of our entire population. However, the apparent trend is certainly emphasized on the importance of of collaborative governance. Although this is certainly not new, it is indeed gaining prominence. For example, non-governmental organizations, and even businesses are breaking their traditional structures and creating new partnerships with one another in order to redesign the system to address these complex challenges and issues we face today. No single group or affiliation can be responsible for the issues and challenges we are faced now, in fact, this it is impossible. We all live and depend on the same planet, so it is without a doubt that we cannot work alone by ourselves to create this change.
