Bright Simons is a Ghanian technologist, consumer rights activist and the founder and president of mPedigree, a platform that verifies the authenticity of medication via text message. The admirable cause for which he advocates affects the lives of patients, farmers, chefs, artists and other key demographics that benefit from the initiative and open-mindedness that characterize Bright’s solution-driven technology. His work to provide traceable, reliable goods to consumers in the developing world is widely recognized, with his global outlook stemming largely from the time he spent at the Salzburg Global Seminar in 2011.

“Connecting with stakeholders from all around the world, other activists, I began to sense that our problems are fairly similar, and we were working in the area of trust, the lack of trust,” Bright said. “In this case, trusting markets by consumers is a global problem. The perspective that I gained of solution providers of a global community, of activists working for the betterment of society around the world encouraged me to reach beyond Africa and to try and replicate our solutions in India and China.”

Rather than concentrate solely on Ghana or other African nations, Bright was stirred by his exposure to Salzburg Global Fellows experiencing similar consumer rights challenges across the global supply chain. This motivated him to improve his authentication technology and more efficiently identify the source of fabricated goods, rather than only address its byproducts. A decade later, these solutions continue to thrive in international markets, evolving into critical planks of the global agenda to offer safety and convenience to consumers in any part of the world.

When asked about the importance of global partnerships, Bright says they cannot be understated. In a world that continues to draw partisan lines and retract from international cooperation, the need for vocal supporters of cross-border and cross-cultural relationships is ever greater.

“In such a world, you need the passion that comes from connections across different cultures to move from just being in the realm of ideas and ideals into the realm of action,” Bright said. “I feel that the Salzburg Global Seminar has much more to give the world, much more to provide the world, not merely in terms of inspiration, but in terms of the output of our actions as a much more concerted force for good in the world.”

The next 75 years are crucial to making Bright’s words a reality. Passion, community and systems transformation were the three words he used to describe the seminar, representing key elements of effectively enabling and sustaining global change. Bright proudly donates to Salzburg Global, with the hope that the world he has invested in building will not succumb to isolationist ideologies but continue on a cooperative path.

“I believe that the next 75 years of the Salzburg Global Seminar’s journey will be shaped and defined by moving beyond the illustrative power of our example towards a great and titanic struggle,” Bright said.  “It will be between those who wish to roll back the world into an age where it was defined by tribes, fiefdoms and interests, and those who are genuinely committed to creating a new world where we have truly shared goals and ambitions as a global, single, and planetary community.”