Happy 125th Birthday Allianz!

Last Wednesday, 4th of February 2015, all of our ESMT Allianz Scholars have been invited to attend Allianz 125th Anniversary and its public dialog regarding “Social and Demographic Change in the 21st Century”. On February 5th, 1890, Allianz was entered into the trade register in Berlin. So!

The Event

As a summary, the event started with the speech from the CEO of Allianz SE, Michael Diekmann, who introduced the major demographic changes in this era. He mentioned: “Our societies are undergoing profound change as they get older and digital technology becomes more widespread. This will alter the face of tomorrow’s society completely”. The idea was then related directly to the speech from Wolfgang Schäuble, German Federal Minister of Finance. He explained how important sustainable public finances are when it comes to mastering the challenges of demographic change. Followed up was the keynote from the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Jan Eliasson, who acknowledged the change.

There was also a forum where academics from across the globe took part in a panel discussion to talk about key demographic trends and their impact on both individuals and society as a whole from the perspective of the younger generation. Two of our Allianz Scholars: Tida and Bar were in the discussion as well.

Our Participation & Contribution

To celebrate and related to its 125th anniversary, Allianz SE is providing 125 scholarships to ESMT students to be awarded in course of five years for degree program candidates. Among these, 35 scholarships for the MIM and full-time MBA programs are earmarked for Kofi Annan Business Schools Foundation Fellows.

Here, I would like to introduce our current Allianz Scholars. We were presented by Allianz CEO, and prior to that we have been asked to talk about our views about demographic changes and the video is recorded and played in both public dialog events in Berlin & Munich.

Personal Reflection & Experience

All in all, it was a wonderful event. The keynotes and forum were very interesting and gave a lot of fruits for thoughts. Personally, coming from South East Asia, this event gave a lot of information about welfare in European societies. The gap in demographic change readiness is obviously there. We had a chance to talk to Jan Eliasson and other important figures in Allianz as well. There was also this quote that Tida gracefully concluded during the panel discussion that keeps us all in awe. It was about the philosophy of Ubuntu – a Nguni philosophy which, in English, translates to ‘I am because WE are’.

We were supported, we were involved, and we were given an opportunity to be a part of the Allianz circle. To me – it meant so much. Thank you Allianz!