The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting has proved its power time after time in setting the global agenda, identifying emerging issues and challenges, and engaging leaders from all walks of life in dialogue, initiative and action. In the same way, Global Agenda seeks to lead opinion and debate on all the key issues facing the world. It aims to be thought-provoking and controversial, but balanced and fair. And it tries to make room for voices from all sides of society. We live in deeply unsettled, challenging times. Many of the certainties on which we have come to depend in recent years are in doubt. In place of trust lie scepticism, suspicion and fear. It is more vital than ever that all sides of the debate are heard – from the worlds of business, civil society and government. Like the World Economic Forum itself, Global Agenda aims to be a forum for discussing issues, testing ideas and initiating change.
Progress without change has a certain attraction as a philosophy and it gained currency in much of the Middle East throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The notion was that we in the Arab world could adopt many of the trappings of the modern west and in some senses modernize, but not really change. We would…
Business leaders in almost every industry sector and country face a complex and often contradictory set of stakeholder expectations. They are under pressure to demonstrate outstanding performance, not just in terms of competitiveness and market growth, but also in their corporate governance and their corporate citizenship. They are being called on to engage with activists…
It is becoming increasingly clear that a unilateral or “monarchical” arrangement of the global order – centred on the military, political and economic dictation of the United States – is undesirable and unsustainable. The crisis of this arrangement presents the opportunity for the proposition of a new global order by the “global aristocracies” – that…
Civil society organizations (CSOs) have historically played a crucial role in tackling issues of transparency, legitimacy and accountability within governments and businesses, with many positive results. Citizen groups often ask difficult questions, holding governments and corporations to account for their actions and demanding that institutions behave in ways that promote the public good. In many…
GLOBAL AGENDA You have just narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, which many are speculating is the work of either al-Qaeda or domestic radicals. You have said that this has only strengthened your resolve to crack down on radical groups and terrorists. How do you intend to do that, while preventing the further radicalization of your…
The outsourcing boom in India is raising political hackles in the United States and other developed economies. But, as Kamalakshi Mehta reports, the economics are simply too good to resist. This boom still has a long way to go. It is truly the face of the future – both for India’s bright young IT generation,…
The problems of public healthcare are too complicated for any one group to solve alone. Fighting the health problems that threaten global security and prosperity will require the broadest possible coalition of public and private interests. Henry McKinnell looks at the progress being made, the new partnerships that are forming and the pitfalls that lie…
Biotechnology has the capacity to change our lives greatly for the better, says Robert May. But it could also do massive harm. It is vital to establish where the social, cultural and ethical boundaries lie in a range of scientific fields – and to maximize the good use, while minimizing the misuse, of technological advance…
To discover the essence of leadership in the modern world , we must go back to the ancient philosophers. Without virtuous leadership in every sphere of human life, there can be no order and no progress, no security and no prosperity. Lou Marinoff offers an ABC guide to virtue ethics At the World Economic Forum’s…
Howard Dean may not win the US presidency – or even the Democratic nomination. But by harnessing the power of technology and the internet, he has transformed the nature of political campaigning in the US (and in other developed countries) and pioneered new ways to re-engage a disenchanted, disenfranchised public in the democratic process. Lance…
