Leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind as we whisk you off on an exquisite culinary journey. Chef Stefan Jäckel and his team will surprise you with refined, seasonal creations and innovatively interpreted classics directly from the trolley – perfect for a family get-together, meal with friends or business lunch.
LEGAL NOTICE. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form—except brief excerpts for the purpose of review—without written consent from the publisher and authors. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication; however, the authors, Diplomatic Courier, and Medauras Global make no warranties, express or implied, in regards to the information and disclaim all liability for any loss, damages, errors, or omissions.
EDITORIAL. The content represents the views of their authors and do not reflect those of the editors and the publishers. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication, however, Medauras Global and the Diplomatic Courier make no warranties, express or implied in regards to the information, and disclaim all liability for any loss, damages, errors, or omissions.
CITATIONS & SOURCES. All articles in this special edition have already been or will be published on the Diplomatic Courier website, including relevant hyperlink citations.
PERMISSIONS. This publication cannot be reproduced without the permission of the authors and the publisher. For permissions please email: info@medauras.com with your written request.
ARTWORK. Cover design via Adobe Stock. Artwork and design by Marc Garfield for Diplomatic Courier.
Welcome
Shane Szarkowski Editor-in-Chief
Finding Common Ground to Fuel Uncommon Collaboration
To meet the challenges of this polycrisis, we need to take full advantage of the tools we have on offer with the advent of the Intelligent Age. Yet many of those polycrisis challenges are brought about or worsened by the very innovations underlying the Intelligent Age. Solving for how best to use technology in effective and equitable ways requires bona fide collaboration—hence the theme for this year’s WEF, “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.” But to collaborate, we must operate from a position of common ground that all stakeholders recognize and respect, and that’s tricky.
Finding common ground requires we rebuild trust. Following a 2024 that saw an unprecedented number of elections, the results of which resulted in changes of government far more than the norm, it is clear that people want something different. The world is complex and dangerous and scary, and our trust—in our governments and in each other—is fraying. Yet our commonalities still far outweigh our differences. Regardless of our political views, background, or other identity, the vast majority of us—at a certain
level of abstraction—agree on what is good, what is right, and what we want. A great first step to rebuilding trust, then, is (re)discovering all those things we agree on, and from there rethink how we talk about ways to get there that reflect the concerns of all stakeholders.
When we have trust in a sense of shared common ground and thus common goals, you set the stage for uncommon collaboration. With the onset of the Intelligent Age, we have the most powerful tools humanity has ever enjoyed access to. Making sure those tools are used in the most effective and just way to confront the polycrisis and to ensure a future of humancentric thriving means it can’t just be experts in one sector, or from one region, collaborating for the future. Instead, it requires we recognize common ground among stakeholders the world over, cutting across sectoral, ethnic, and other identity factors. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned at Diplomatic Courier, it’s that when you get a group of truly diverse, motivated people together to talk about shared problems, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll learn about solutions.
#CiscoCDA #SwissCDA
Davos, Switzerland. Image via Adobe Stock.
What to expect at the 2025 World Economic Forum
By Stephanie Gull
Image by Steffen Lemmerzahl via Unsplash.
The 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Annual Meeting in Switzerland focuses on the so–called ‘Intelligent Age’ and how global society can best harness rapid technological development. The Intelligent Age is an era marked by the fast, ever–evolving development of technology—especially AI, quantum computing, and blockchain. In this era, society could harness these technological advancements to greatly improve life, provided we can successfully position society to work with constantly evolving technologies rather than letting the technology disrupt. The Intelligent Age calls for global cooperation in creating regulations, infrastructure, and large databases to best harness the power of this new era. To better examine challenges with the advent of the Intelligent Age and thereby better ways to meet them, this year’s theme is broken down into five thematic sub–themes. Diplomatic Courier is reviewing these ahead of WEF to give you an idea what conversations may be happening.
Rebuilding Trust: “How can stakeholders find new ways to collaborate on solutions internationally and within societies?”
The central theme from last year’s WEF was “Rebuilding Trust,” so its presence as a sub–theme this year is telling. As humanity grapples with an increasingly complex, rapidly changing, and often dangerous world, people seek to reaffirm their identities. In the Intelligent Age where neighborhoods don’t necessarily equate to neighbors, societal fragmentation is both a problem in its own right but also a hindrance to collaborations, internationally and within societies. Cooperation can help rebuild trust, and trust is vital to spurring cooperation, so one challenge at WEF will be looking for ways ‘in’ to break the cycle.
From how city governments can encourage trust and collaboration among local start–up ecosystems or community–based approaches for tackling climate change to initiatives for better data
EVEN SOME FAILING INDUSTRIES LIKE THE TAXI INDUSTRY COULD SEE A RESURGENCE WITH THE INTELLIGENT AGE, AS TAXI COMPANIES COULD BECOME A HALLMARK OF RESILIENCE IF THEIR ADAPTATION FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABILITY.
sharing globally, there are some exciting ideas for what collaboration can look like in the Intelligent Age. But at a time when an unhealthy digital information ecosystem makes it seem the world is divided into ever more fractious tribes, the challenge will be finding ways to connect with those we disagree with about the fundamental, and important, things we do agree on.
Reimagining Growth: “How can we identify the new sources of growth in this new global economy?”
Growth will look different in the Intelligent Age. It’s an age of rapid innovation, which will spur growth across sectors both familiar and new, and these innovations will be central to not only recovery of the global economy but building in resilience to future disruptions. To successfully manage this, we must reimagine growth. But where will we find new sources of growth in this changing economy?
One area for growth could be the space industry, with a forecasted global growth of $1.8 trillion by 2035. Many countries have already begun using space to improve their societies, like Peru’s use of space technology to expand internet access to rural areas, Ukraine’s focus on the
THE
WORLD IS
NOT ON TRACK TO MEET
TARGETS FOR FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE,
BUT TOOLS MADE AVAILABLE BY THE ADVENT OF THE INTELLIGENT AGE COULD HELP US TURN AROUND.
potential of space technology to impact geopolitical crises, and Saudi Arabia’s harnessing of technological growth to fuel its economy. The healthcare industry will also see massive change as AI and growing databases will be used to improve the quality of care. Notably, a value–driven healthcare system would rely on global cooperation and a unified databank. Even some failing industries like the taxi industry could see a resurgence with the Intelligent Age, as taxi companies could become a hallmark of resilience if their adaptation focuses on sustainability, technologically secured data, and inclusivity in their solutions.
Investing in People: “How can the public and private sectors invest in human capital development and good jobs that contribute to developing a modern and resilient society?”
As technology transforms industries, so must people adapt alongside it. In the Intelligent Age, investing in people gains new urgency, as both professional and personal life increasingly require new skills to navigate successfully. Successful investment in our workforce of the future requires a multistakeholder approach where companies, academia, civil society, and governments work together to encourage collaboration, create job displacement safety nets, better match employers to employees, and focus on employee growth rather than simply success. Similarly, leadership will need
to evolve to exemplify the resilience, growth–mindset, and innovation necessary to successfully create a sustainable workforce. Investing in people today needs to be more tailored to modern needs, as well. For instance, investment in the care economy would not only improve lives but would also bring the caregiving sector more accurately into GDP and other economic calculations.
Safeguarding the planet: “How can we catalyze energy, climate and nature action through innovative partnerships, increased financing and the deployment of frontier technologies?”
The world is not on track to meet targets for fighting climate change, but tools made available by the advent of the Intelligent Age could help us turn around. One of the core difficulties involved in the energy transition is the so–called “energy trilemma”—how to ensure energy supplies that are affordable, secure, and sustainable. But technology on the market today is already capable of getting us a long way toward our global emissions reductions goals, while also helping build climate change resilience and protect our ecosystems.
Cities have been a big part of resilience building. Beijing can serve as a case study for how effective climate action can benefit the economy. By drastically cutting air pollution, Beijing fostered technological innovation while improving public transportation and air–monitoring systems, and increasing regulation. San Francisco, meanwhile, has successfully worked to restore urban biodiversity. By preserving and restoring ecosystems, San Francisco drastically increased green space, benefiting mental health during the pandemic and fostering a sense of community to continue to protect these ecosystems. Similarly, San Francisco’s focus on urban biodiversity highlights the success of finding natural solutions to combatting the climate crisis. In recent years, space has entered into the sustainability conversation. As society continues to develop space technology, global unified action will be necessary to create
AS SOCIETY CONTINUES TO DEVELOP SPACE TECHNOLOGY, GLOBAL UNIFIED ACTION WILL BE NECESSARY TO CREATE REGULATIONS AND A DATABANK TO SAFEGUARD OUR PLANET AND BEYOND.
regulations and a databank to safeguard our planet and beyond.
Industries in the Intelligent Age: “How can business leaders strike a balance between the short–term goals and long–term imperatives in transforming their industries?”
For industries in the Intelligent Age to thrive, they need to be more adaptive and resilient to rapid change than ever. Companies and industries must stop retroactively addressing concerns like adoption of AI or addressing climate change and instead develop long–term solutions to foster growth and sustainability. Data sharing and collaboration are necessary to do so, allowing businesses to improve their decision–making processes. Alongside data sharing, global regulations, such as global extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations, must
be created. In the short–term, this would prove more costly, but looking forward to the future, becoming sustainable will address the climate crisis and improve the economy. However, global cooperation is necessary to prevent manufacturers from simply changing their location to circumvent regulations and to allow developing countries the financing to improve waste management. Ultimately, businesses, industries, and society face complete disruption in the Intelligent Age if they cannot become resilient and adaptive. But by understanding global megatrends, fostering innovation, and relying on collaboration, this era could welcome a healthy, resilient world.
About the author: Stephanie Gull is a Diplomatic Courier staff writer.
Image via AdobeStock.
Finding common ground in the Intelligent Age
By Stephanie Gull
Image by Rúben Gál via Pixabay.
Welcoming the Intelligent Age, marked by rapid technological development and innovation, requires resilience, an adaptive mindset, and global collaboration. Global collaboration is essential for growth, innovation, and resilience across industries and societies. The WEF’s five key sub–themes for the 2025 Annual Meeting—rebuilding trust, reimagining growth, investing in people, safeguarding the planet, and industries in the Intelligent Age—depend on identifying common ground on which to form the basis of collaboration. Finding common ground and common purpose is essential, especially in the promulgation of regulations and management around rapidly developing technologies like AI, quantum computing, and blockchain. Core to finding that common ground is an imperative for efficacy, ethics, and trust. These technologies must work for people, must be in their interest, and must be transparent and trustworthy—developing standards that work for everybody requires inclusion of all stakeholders. Given these technologies are at the core of the Intelligent Age, finding common ground when it comes to how these technologies should be used is critical to success in all WEF’s sub–themes.
AI technology is already being used for global crisis management and prevention. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is currently using AI to improve real–time crisis assessment, staff deployment, and digital assistance while also investing in early warning systems and creating learning experiences to better manage crises in the future. However, even as this developing technology is becoming critical in addressing humanitarian concerns, global regulations are essential to protect privacy and ensure the ethical usage of AI. One possible means of addressing these concerns is using composite AI, which is itself intrinsically collaborative, consisting of systems built from multiple specialized AI models working together to solve complex problems. Similarly, the AI Governance Alliance serves as
a case study for prioritizing collaboration and shared knowledge to mitigate the risks that AI poses.
Quantum technologies will become instrumental in business development and government innovation in the Intelligent Age, and is particularly exciting for the financial sector. But quantum technology brings with it genuine cybersecurity concerns. Cyber resilience is becoming more important than cyber security as cyberattacks become more adaptive to changing technology. To best develop cyber resilience, the WEF created a Quantum Economy Blueprint, emphasizing the need for global collaboration to create value in quantum technologies while preventing a “quantum divide” that allows only certain countries and regions to take advantage of the technology. Common ground again becomes essential for developing regulations and placing nations on equitable footing to best use this evolving technology.
Blockchain will become essential to all developing technology in the Intelligent Age as unified global databases become crucial tools for improving healthcare and combating the climate crisis. Like AI and quantum technology, global cooperation and regulations are essential to protect privacy, ensure ethical usage, and promote cyber resilience.
Ultimately, society must also embrace its humanity to navigate the disruption of rapidly developing technology. Art and travel are two key ways of maintaining this needed humanity among our increasingly data–oriented world. Art and travel rely on finding humanity through shared common ground, even amidst unique experiences and differing cultures. Thus, in the Intelligent Age, society can perhaps best find resiliency through our humanity by prioritizing finding our common ground.
About the author: Stephanie Gull is a Diplomatic Courier staff writer.
Embrace pragmatism to drive change
By Marian Salzman
Image by Kristjan via Pixabay.
As a global society, we are at a crossroads. We have lost faith in institutions at a time when the challenges we face feel all but insurmountable. Having entered the new millennium with at least tempered hope for a better tomorrow, we have instead been subjected to a quarter century of chaos and catastrophe. The rise of terrorism, extremism, and ill–intentioned misinformation. The existential threat of climate change and increasingly ubiquitous extreme weather events. Displaced populations. Entrenched poverty and inequity. A global pandemic that has killed more than seven million people. All against a backdrop of intensified polarization.
Humankind might be forgiven for lapsing into despair. And yet, the trends taking shape as we move into 2025 tell a different story. People are exhausted from conflict and uncertainty. But rather than giving up, more of them appear resolved to do something about it. They’re no longer waiting for governments and multinationals to act. Some of the changes individuals are embracing are small and highly personal: getting serious about reducing their carbon footprints, investing in “climate–proofing” their homes and communities, rushing to preserve the world’s rapidly disappearing languages, cultures, and craft traditions, and actively seeking out moments of delight to do what they can to offset the angst that has blanketed so much of the world.
People are hungry for progress, and that is boosting support for pragmatism over ideology. Sure, we can still talk about lofty ideals and the utopian world to which many aspire (however they define that), but we’ve waited far too long for measurable progress—for some sort of deus ex machina to swoop in and save us from ourselves. We want to see positive change today, even if it’s incremental and falls far short of all we envision. In a world that feels to many as though it’s moving backward, even baby steps in the right direction are a welcome relief.
PEOPLE ARE EXHAUSTED FROM CONFLICT AND UNCERTAINTY. BUT RATHER THAN GIVING UP, MORE OF THEM APPEAR RESOLVED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
This raises questions for governments, multinational corporations, and NGOs. How can they support—and harness— this urgent push for change among the world’s peoples? What steps can they take in 2025 and beyond to empower people to contribute to solutions to our most pernicious challenges? Climate change, poverty, immigration, extremism, health care, and the trafficking of drugs and people are just some of the issues that require cooperation across institutions and borders. Citizens cannot hope to solve them alone.
An essential avenue for progress will involve improved transparency and open dialogue. What can Italy teach other parts of the world about preserving cultural heritage? What lessons can we take from Norway and Chile on implementing robust and effective climate policies? How can other nations adapt Japan’s early warning systems and resilient infrastructure to limit the risks of natural disasters? What can countries grappling with high rates of cigarette smoking learn from Sweden, which has managed to achieve one of the lowest smoking prevalences globally?
Real world solutions are out there. They’re just geographically limited and inadequate to meet current needs.
There is a way to solve this. What if more people—from all social strata and geographies—were empowered to participate directly in driving solutions? Current digital tools and rapid advances in artificial
PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR PROGRESS, AND THAT IS BOOSTING SUPPORT FOR PRAGMATISM OVER IDEOLOGY.
intelligence make this far more feasible today than at any other time in history. And after decades of frustration and uncertainty, people are primed to respond.
The challenge will be to flatten decision–making hierarchies and remove barriers restricting the free flow of information and ideas. Doing so will help supercharge our collective drive towards faster, more effective action—and ensure that this action involves people across political and socioeconomic spectrums. Do the existential threats we face as a global society require some sort of United Nations for citizen activism—an apolitical, transnational force that holds open dialogues, educates, and takes advantage of crowdsourcing to implement immediate solutions?
The world’s citizens are desperate for change and eager to feel they’re contributing to it. What can leaders in business and government do in 2025 and beyond to make this happen?
The world awaits.
About the author: Marian Salzman is Senior Vice President, Special Projects, U.S. at Philip Morris International and author of “The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption.”
At Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, we believe that relationships among individuals and institutions—globally and locally—are what generate new knowledge that sparks solutions to global challenges. Learn more at buffett.northwestern.edu.
Creating an intelligent data fabric for society
By Nikos Acuña
Image by Aditya Wardhana via Unsplash.
As industries face rapid advancements in AI, quantum computing, and blockchain, these capabilities no longer stand as isolated feats of engineering. Together, they are coalescing to form an intelligent fabric woven through every layer of our lives. Since the world is now deeply rooted in software, a new fabric is reshaping every industry. It consists of knowledge graphs and a new information architecture. This enriches our understanding of complex systems and reveals how they interconnect—economically, socially, and environmentally.
Within this intelligent fabric, knowledge graphs serve as dynamic, evolving maps of meaning, linking data from diverse sources and domains. By structuring information semantically, these data objects give leaders a holistic lens on the forces reshaping their industries: resource flows, consumer behaviors, geopolitical dynamics, and ecological conditions. Such clarity helps business and government leaders strike a balance between short–term gains and long–term imperatives, ensuring that their decisions advance inclusive growth, respect planetary boundaries, and nurture trustworthy relationships with stakeholders.
As energy consumption from the tech sector surges toward an estimated 1,000 TWh by 2026, the urgency to create sustainable, data–driven frameworks intensifies. A global project of artists, technologists, policymakers, and citizens called Humanity 2.0 envisions a Universal Operating System (UOS) as the fabric that binds—a protocol–rich infrastructure integrating digital rights, privacy, and social responsibility at a fundamental level. In this UOS, knowledge graphs form the connective tissue, enabling an ecosystem in which software, data, and policy converge seamlessly to reimagine industrial operations, supply chains, and human–machine modalities.
This intelligent fabric sets the stage for “protocol as praxis,” embedding ethical standards directly into infrastructural code. By layering semantic frameworks atop traditional networks, we fuse soft infrastructures (policies, cultural norms) with hard infrastructures
WITHIN THIS INTELLIGENT FABRIC, KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS SERVE AS DYNAMIC, EVOLVING MAPS OF MEANING, LINKING DATA FROM DIVERSE SOURCES AND DOMAINS.
(digital, physical systems). This holistic approach empowers communities to navigate complexity through shared meaning and clear context, transforming industries with harmonized relational models. Digital economies can then evolve into trust-based ecosystems, where individuals fully own and benefit from their data across the entities that harness it.
Moreover, industries can repurpose existing infrastructures: communication networks become environmental sensing platforms, while financial systems shift into equitable value exchanges. Knowledge graphs and semantic interfaces help stakeholders identify patterns, anticipate challenges, and unlock opportunities that transcend any single market or sector. This helps us achieve a more concise vision for collective intelligence.
By weaving these elements into a unified fabric, we establish a resilient foundation for global prosperity. In the Intelligent Age, technology collaborates autonomously. It amplifies knowledge, fosters transparency, and aligns diverse actors toward common aims. Within this new landscape, industries can grow intelligently—grounded in data driven ethics and enriched by the wealth of global collaboration. This is the vision of a world made more humane, adaptive, and vibrant, where semantic insight and shared understanding sow the seeds of a prospering society.
About the author: Nikos Acuña is the co-founder of Dialin and Lyrical AI.
Young people, education core to collaboration for the Intelligent Age
By Euan Wilmshurst
Image by Rene Bernal via Unsplash.
As we step into the Intelligent Age, driven by AI, quantum computing, and blockchain, the central question is how we will work together to shape a future that benefits everyone. The World Economic Forum’s ‘Investing in People’ theme highlights the urgent need to reskill and upskill for a world transformed by technology. But collaboration—the heart of this transformation —cannot thrive without placing young people and education at the center of these discussions.
Reimagining Education for Collaboration
Collaboration demands skills that today’s education systems fail to prioritize: adaptability, teamwork, and critical thinking. Yet education systems, designed for the industrial era, focus on rote learning and individual achievement. To prepare for a connected world, we must reimagine education as the foundation of lifelong learning.
But how many discussions at Davos will focus on education as the engine of collaboration? Without transforming these systems, reskilling and collaboration risk becoming privileges for the few. Education system transformation must be central to the ‘Investing in People’ agenda.
Young People at the Table
Young people are not just participants in the Intelligent Age—they are its architects. Yet, how many young people will be at the decision–making tables in Davos? What will the average age be on the mountain in January? Without their voices shaping policies, discussions on collaboration remain incomplete.
Intergenerational Collaboration
True collaboration requires intergenerational partnerships. Young people bring fresh perspectives and creativity; older generations bring institutional knowledge. Together, they can co–create solutions for a connected future.
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT JUST PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTELLIGENT AGE— THEY ARE ITS ARCHITECTS. YET, HOW MANY YOUNG PEOPLE WILL BE AT THE DECISION–MAKING TABLES IN DAVOS?
Bridging the Divide
Collaboration is meaningless if billions remain excluded from the process. Many young people, especially in underserved regions, lack access to digital infrastructure and quality education. Bridging this divide must be a shared priority.
Collaboration Starts with Education
Education systems must evolve to reflect the demands of the Intelligent Age. Without fostering collaboration and innovation skills, investments in human capital will fall short. Education is the foundation of collaboration and must be prioritised.
The Intelligent Age is about people working together to shape a shared future. Transforming education and fostering intergenerational collaboration are critical to ensuring the benefits of this era are shared widely, not reserved for the privileged few. We must invest in people from the very beginning of their lives, wherever they happen to be born.
About the author: Euan Wilmshurst is a board–level strategic advisor and Non–Executive Director with experience spanning a 30–year career, working at the intersections of education, climate, and philanthropy.
Public–private partnerships to drive growth in the Intelligent Age
By Stacey Rolland
AI-generated image via Adobe Stock.
Athriving ecosystem of exponential technologies requires a regulatory approach that is flexible and responsive to emerging risks, without stifling progress. A “wild west” approach with minimal regulation is inadequate, as businesses need certainty and predictability, while consumer trust is paramount. As nations across the globe race to lead on exponential technologies, governments cannot ask industries to slow down so regulators can catch up. For growth to be equitable and sustained in the Intelligent Age, all partners and stakeholders in the AI race must be at pace.
How can government AND business leaders, as equal stakeholders in the global race for exponential tech leadership, strike a balance between short–term goals of rapid growth in innovation capabilities and long–term imperatives of global leadership in standard setting and the transformation of their industries in the Intelligent Age?
One promising solution lies in leveraging public–private partnerships, particularly the symbiosis between self–regulatory organizations (SROs) and independent risk, governance, and audit entities. These quasi–government partnerships can bridge the gap between rapid innovation and government oversight. They possess the cutting-edge technical expertise and industry knowledge too often lacking in government regulators, while maintaining crucial independence from the companies they oversee.
The concept of “shared responsibility” between the public and private sectors is crucial for balancing speed and strength in innovation.
Overly strict, top–down regulation risks regulatory capture, where established players can use complex rules to maintain their market dominance. This not only stifles competition but also slows the pace of innovation, ultimately harming consumers and the economy at large.
SROs have a proven track record in highly regulated sectors, establishing standards
THE CONCEPT OF “SHARED RESPONSIBILITY” BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS IS CRUCIAL FOR BALANCING SPEED AND STRENGTH IN INNOVATION.
and norms around transparency, fairness, privacy, and accuracy. An AI–focused SRO could create guidelines addressing critical issues around accountability, responsibility, competition, data, and ecosystem resources. This collaborative approach can lead to more effective and widely-adopted standards than top-down quickly–outdated government mandates alone.
Independent risk, governance, and audit entities offer another vital layer of oversight. These experts can identify potential vulnerabilities and concerns before they become real world problems.
A thoughtful system of third–party oversight can complement rather than replace government regulation. By working in tandem with existing sectoral regulatory bodies, these entities can provide the agility and technical know-how needed to keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies.
To win the global race for exponential tech leadership, it’s clear that our approach to regulation must evolve. By balancing shared responsibility, encouraging competitive innovation, and leveraging independent expertise, we can create a framework that promotes progress while safeguarding our future.
About the author: Stacey Rolland is a leading expert in emerging technology policy and strategy in Washington, DC.
Transform education to safeguard the planet
By Jane Mann
AI-generated image via Adobe Stock.
To safeguard our planet, we must connect the dots between education, climate action, and partnerships. SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 13 (climate action), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) are deeply linked. Together, they hold the key to a sustainable future.
Education is the foundation of this transformation. Future generations won’t be equipped to protect the environment or tackle the ‘energy trilemma’ unless we reform education to provide them with the skills, knowledge, and values they need.
Partnerships are essential to making this happen. Governments, businesses, and international organizations must work together to ensure that education prepares young people for the challenges of the future.
We must break down silos and coordinate activity. Governments have committed to ambitious climate and education goals through recent COP agreements, UNESCO’s Transforming Education Summit, and the broader 2030 UN SDG agenda. The opportunity now is to integrate these efforts. Integration and partnership mean we can do things on a bigger scale, and more efficiently.
Cambridge and ICESCO (the intergovernmental organization that brings together 53 Islamic countries) have launched a new framework designed to help governments “green” their education systems. Created by a team including Cambridge academics, this framework offers practical recommendations that can be adapted to governments’ existing plans. It’s built on our understanding from working with nations around the world, for example to develop a new Environmental Sciences subject in Oman that prepares students for the workforce of the future.
A holistic approach also helps increase equity in education. Research shows that providing universal education, especially for girls, is a powerful way
FUTURE GENERATIONS WON’T BE EQUIPPED TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT OR TACKLE THE ‘ENERGY TRILEMMA’ UNLESS WE REFORM EDUCATION TO PROVIDE THEM WITH THE SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND VALUES THEY NEED.
to combat climate change. Yet the number of out-of-school children continues to rise, and climate disasters are increasingly disrupting education. UNICEF estimates that nearly 40 million children each year experience interruptions to their schooling due to extreme weather.
If these trends continue, it could lead to a vicious cycle. Without education, young people will not have the skills needed to tackle climate issues and reduce further impacts. Governments and partners must work together to ensure education systems are built to withstand the impacts of climate change, enabling children to continue learning even in times of crisis.
To safeguard the planet, we need connected solutions. By aligning education transformation with climate action through partnerships, we can equip future generations to foster a more sustainable world. Education is not just part of the answer—it is the catalyst for change.
About the author: Jane Mann is Managing Director of the Partnership for Education and Director of Education in the International Education Group at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Making the dismal science more equitable to secure our future
By Adam Ratzlaff
Image by Nick Thomas via Unsplash.
Economics is sometimes referred to as the “dismal science.” While we often think of economics as the study of means of production, some definitions specifically refer to it as “the study of scarcity.” While the objective of economists may be to identify the ideal equilibrium for aggregate output, the reality is that as policies and the economy shift toward these equilibria, there are winners and losers. Society may be better off in the aggregate, but some sectors will be negatively impacted. The failure to recognize this reality has resulted in growing distrust of both experts and politicians. To address the most pressing challenges of the 21st century—from climate change to technological advan cement—policymakers must understand this reality and ensure that the benefits are shared more equitably and that those negatively impacted are provided with new opportunities in the new economy.
Trade liberalization has epitomized this challenge in the 21st century. Economists have long pointed to the benefits of free trade—noting increases in aggregate productivity, lower costs of goods, and increased profits and wages. However, while economic models highlight that these come from sectoral specialization, policymakers have not taken the necessary precautions to support sectors that suffer losses due to trade liberalization. Further complicating the issue is that while the benefits of trade are widespread and diffuse, some of the industries negatively impacted are geographically clustered—resulting in widespread harm to workers in these areas.
For instance, despite former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot warning of the “giant sucking sound” of automotive jobs leaving the country due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), efforts to ensure new opportunities for displaced workers were ignored. While NAFTA created opportunities for some sectors and helped integrate the
EVEN MORE THAN WITH TRADE, THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE GEOGRAPHICALLY SPECIFIC. LIKEWISE, NEW TECHNOLOGIES WILL REPLACE WIDE SWATHS OF THE LABOR MARKET.
economies of North America, its impacts on Detroit have been devastating.
The failure to account for these negative consequences has resulted in politicians and the public turning their backs on the free trade agenda and distrusting politicians and experts—or as the New York Times claimed, breaking American politics. While this backlash helps to explain the rise of Donald Trump, similar political phenomena are evident across the globe.
“… you say trust the experts, but those same experts for 40 years said that if we shipped our manufacturing base off… we’d get cheaper goods… it would make the middle class stronger. They were wrong about that… This has to stop. And we’re not going to stop it by listening to experts.” – JD Vance
While the failure to account for the distributional impacts of trade liberalization are still playing out, policymakers need to learn the lessons of this failure so that they can design more effective policies to confront future challenges. Addressing climate change through the “green transition” means shifting the economy away from fossil fuels and toward alternative energy. While the green transition will provide economic opportunities, it will have negative consequences for communities that rely on fossil fuel extraction— whether it is in West Virginia or the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Even more
POLICYMAKERS MUST CLEARLY ARTICULATE HOW THE BENEFITS OF ECONOMIC SHIFTS
BENEFIT WIDE SWATHS OF SOCIETY AND WHY HELPING THOSE LEFT BEHIND IS CRITICAL TO ENSURING THAT THE ECONOMIC GAINS ARE MAINTAINED AND EQUITABLE.
than with trade, the negative consequences will be geographically specific. Likewise, new technologies will replace wide swaths of the labor market. While it may drive down costs, those displaced will need to find new opportunities.
To ensure that the green transition and technological advances are not derailed by the backlash faced by those whose economic livelihoods are lost during these transitions, policymakers need to ensure that new opportunities are created for these populations. This can include investing in new industries in areas that are disproportionately affected. While this may not fully relieve the economic hardship, it helps to ensure there are new opportunities. Furthermore, policymakers must clearly articulate how the benefits of economic shifts benefit wide swaths of society and why helping those left behind is critical to ensuring that the economic gains are maintained and equitable.
Economists and other experts are not wrong about the need to reshape our
economy and improve aggregate welfare. The challenge is that these changes will have real distributional impacts and some sectors of society will feel hurt by them. To ensure that they are able to implement the necessary policies to prepare economies for the green transition and new technologies, policymakers need to focus on communicating why these changes are necessary and implement policies to protect those that are negatively impacted. If they don’t, they risk facing the same backlash as the free trade agenda and may just doom us all.
About the author: Adam Ratzlaff is a specialist and consultant in Inter–American affairs and member of the World in 2050 Brain Trust as well as a PhD candidate in International Relations at Florida International University.
