We had the opportunity to collaborate with ULI, Fastighetsnytt and Business Arena talks for the Nordics’ leading annual real estate event, Dragons’ Den.

Draknästet is an annual initiative with the aim of highlighting young talents and innovative ideas in the community building sector linked to a selected socially topical topic. Young talents present their ideas to “dragons” who assess their potential and a winner is chosen directly in the broadcast. Draknästet is presented by ULI Young Leaders Sweden and sponsored by Pembroke.

Caroline Arehult, incoming CEO of Akademiska Hus Anna Nyman, Chief of Staff, Division of Crisis Preparedness and Civil Defense at MSB By Holknekt, serieentreprenör

How should the community building sector act to strengthen Sweden’s crisis preparedness?

The corona pandemic has been described as a black swan: a sudden and unexpected event that worries, affects and changes at all levels of society. Others argue that, on the contrary, the pandemic was predictable and something we should have seen coming: a white swan.

Whatever the background, the pandemic has developed into one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our time and it has made it clear that our preparedness, technology and infrastructure are not sufficiently crisis-proof. In order to ensure civil preparedness, strong measures are required in terms of flexibility, cooperation, logistics and redundancy, which need to be coordinated at all levels of society and between public and private actors.

How should the real estate and community building industry act to adapt and build long-term resilience to ensure its own survival as well as our most important societal functions in future crises?

This year’s challenge sought creative ideas on how the real estate industry can contribute to a societal, social and economic preparedness that takes care of both the primary and secondary effects of a possible crisis. The solutions must be visionary, feasible and respond to the UN’s global goals for sustainable development.