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Universities Post COVID-19: Quo Vadis?

While many universities used technology as a stopgap measure to continue the delivery of education during the pandemic, few are reassessing what long-term measures are necessary to make their institutions more resilient in the face of future crises

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Worsening Conflict Environment Most Significant Threat to Africa’s Prosperity

Africa’s quest for lasting and sustainable prosperity was dealt a massive blow by the Covid crisis of 2020. The African Development Bank estimates that the continent’s economy contracted by 2.1 percent last year, a sharp contrast from 3 percent growt

Dubai is steadily moving towards Net-Zero by 2050

The UAE stands out as a frontrunner in the global shift towards clean and renewable energy. Securing the second position in the Energy Transition category of the Green Future Index 2023.

UAE’s commitment to conservation and collective action embodies a legacy of sustainability

The concept of sustainability as we understand it today emerged less than 30 years ago, making its debut in 1987 within the renowned Brundtland Report, also known as “Our Common Future” crafted by multiple countries for the United Nations.

Fostering Cohesive Growth for AI Progression

Technology never ceases to amaze the world with its ability to create meaningful impacts on lives. Today, it has, in fact, become the world’s oxygen for survival and growth. Concurrently, directing innovation and technology diffusion across sectors

The Tech Renaissance: Shaping a Transformed Future
Transformation
Jun 05, 2023

The world is changing exponentially. Just in March of this year we saw the deployment of generative AI across the board. In the second half of that month, we witnessed the launch of GPT4, v5, Copilot, Canva and many others.

Fit for purpose: the new leadership model we need today
Leadership
May 23, 2023

The past few years have taught us all that some things are simply beyond our control. But lingering economic and geopolitical turmoil have also shown us the importance of focusing on those things that we do have the power to influence—and for leaders

The Future of Mobility: What's Next?

Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts as we embark on a thrilling ride towards the future of mobility. Just as the first internet revolution transformed our lives.

Closing the digital divide is one of the great challenges of our time, and also one of the great opportunities

As technology continues to reshape the global economy, digital dexterity - both in how we learn and how we work - is becoming increasingly vital for driving opportunities and promoting equity.

It’s Time for a New Social Contract
Social Contract
Nov 28, 2022

As another turbulent year drew to a close and we brace for continued uncertainty, I ask with great urgency that we reexamine the system that binds us together. The construct of the current system could deteriorate completely unless we act now to fund

Boldly Redesigning Higher Education Today Will Make a Stronger Tomorrow
Higher Education
Oct 07, 2022

The global events of the last two years demonstrated in vivid and startling detail the rapid rate of change and need for new knowledge facing the modern world. The frontiers of modern health, education, business, government and the environment.

Amid Global Crises, Government Cooperation Is Key to Create a Better Future

History is truly at a turning point. In the years ahead, the world has to overcome a myriad of challenges. Already, we faced the damage done to our economies and our societies by COVID-19 and climate change.

Play2Create: A Beginning for Everyone to Create Something New

When did we start ‘Creation’? Creation is a gifted human nature which evolved throughout history, countries and economic systems.

Artificial Intelligence in Government

The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to government, industry and society at large is one of the most transformational developments of our time.

Technology and the Past
Economy & Society
Jun 28, 2022

Winston Churchill said that the farther backward we can look, the farther forward we can see. What he meant is that the past not only shapes our future but that it gives us the strength to reinvent ourselves.

Creating Progress at Scale: How Trusted Tech is Transforming Government

The private sector has witnessed a dramatic acceleration in the pace of digital transformation over the last two years, driven in large part by the pandemic. Businesses everywhere are using new technologies to become more resilient and adaptable.

What have governments learnt from the Great Recession?
Economy & Society
Jul 11, 2018

Wounds leave scars and the Great Recession is no exception. It was the longest and deepest global economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is now just over a decade since the Great Recession began in the US, officially lasting fro

How to build societies to be inclusive of ageing populations
Economy & Society
Jul 11, 2018

On an individual level, the ageing process can be a cause of pain and despair that forces many people to radically alter how they live. ​ The same is also true for countries. Increasingly, they are having to cope with populations in which the old

Supervolcanoes are real, and governments are not prepared

An erupting volcano is one of the most awe-inspiring and fear-inducing forces on our planet. Our continuing fascination with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD that destroyed the ancient Italian city of Pompeii, shows the grip that volcanoes have

Elon Musk: AI will be like being visited by super-intelligent aliens
Future & Progress
Apr 08, 2018

Artificial intelligence will be both an aid and a threat to humanity, according to tech and space entrepreneur Elon Musk, who says that in the near future having a discussion with an artificial intelligent machine would be like “being visited by supe

This is the subject Elon Musk says young people need to study to be successful in the future
Economy & Society
Mar 21, 2018

What advice would billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk give to young people who want to be successful? Simple: study physics. ​ The SpaceX and Tesla co-founder was speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

Will governments ever fully accept bitcoin?  ​
Future & Progress
Mar 12, 2018

There is no shortage of hype and speculation surrounding the value of bitcoin. The virtual currency is either the next big thing or simply the latest in a long line of tech bubbles soon to burst, depending on your point of view.

Money for nothing: the world's biggest universal income experiment  ​
Economy & Society
Mar 12, 2018

How will people earn a living when machines do everything? Human work that has long been threatened – and in some cases already taken over – includes assembly line and low-skilled manual labour. But middle-class careers such as journalism, marketing,

Just how secure is bitcoin?
Future & Progress
Mar 12, 2018

Bitcoin has enjoyed a startling rise in value since it first appeared in 2009. Then it was valued at $0.5cents. It hit a high of just above $18,000 per coin in December 2017, but it is highly volatile and fell by more than $4,000 in one week.

Access to family planning cut child poverty
Economy & Society
Dec 08, 2017

Children born after the introduction of family planning programs in the US from 1964 through 1973 had household incomes 2.8 percent higher than those born before, researchers report.

Politics in schools? Yes, if we want children to be active citizens

The rights of children have come under the spotlight in South Africa recently. Corporal punishment, which has been banned in the country’s schools since 1996, is now also illegal in the home.

The UK’s Biggest Solar Farm Could Be Built Sans Government Help

Developers have submitted a proposal for the largest solar farm in the U.K., and they plan to build it without the help of government subsidies. The 900-acre site would provide enough power for about 110,000 homes and could be online as soon as 2020.

Americans are working longer but aren’t as healthy
Economy & Society
Dec 08, 2017

Americans born in 1960 will be able to start collecting their full Social Security retirement check at the age of 67—two years later than their parents—because of a change in the federal retirement age enacted in 1983.

Finland’s brain drain: what happens to small countries when the talent leaves?
Economy & Society
Dec 08, 2017

Young Finnish professionals are attracted to major European capitals. They move to Stockholm, Berlin and Amsterdam, as well as farther away. The sun shines in Dubai; the world’s top organisations and institutes are in New York and Washington. The occ

Survey reveals young people more likely to support universal basic income, but it’s not a left-right thing
Economy & Society
Dec 08, 2017

Preliminary analysis of a European-wide survey has found young people are more in favour of introducing a universal income than their older peers. Support for such a scheme also varies considerably across Europe, with Russians the most supportive and

US health care system: A patchwork that no one likes
Economy & Society
Dec 08, 2017

Almost all parties agree that the health care system in the U.S., which is responsible for about 17 percent of our GDP, is badly broken. Soaring costs, low quality, insurance reimbursements and co-payments confusing even to experts, and an ever-growi

Colombia: how universities can help to build lasting peace

After more than 50 years of conflict, the recent peace agreement in Colombia marks a historic ceasefire between the government and rebel groups. It also poses great challenges, as the various parts of Colombian society learn to adjust.

European Nation Set to Be 100% Renewable in Two Years

All over the world, countries are minimizing their reliance on fossil fuels. In Scotland, authorities have confirmed that by 2020, all electricity will come from renewable sources.

Cities are gaining power in global politics – can the UN keep up?

Over the past two years, urban issues – from sustainability in the built environment, to inequality in cities – have become an international priority. Cities, in turn, are taking on a more important role in global politics; the growth of city diploma

Historical poverty reductions: more than a story about ‘free-market capitalism’
Economy & Society
Dec 08, 2017

The share of people living in extreme poverty around the world has fallen continuously over the last two centuries.

Designing suburbs to cut car use closes gaps in health and wealth
Economy & Society
Dec 08, 2017

Having to own multiple cars comes at a cost to the finances and health of residents in the sprawling outer suburbs

Are emerging economies deindustrializing too quickly?
Economy & Society
Dec 07, 2017

The patterns of structural transformation in developing countries are different to those of advanced, post-industrial economies. Specifically, emerging economies have been deindustrializing more quickly.

This is a hearing app that can screen people in rural areas
Future & Progress
Dec 07, 2017

Hearing loss is a major contributor to the global burden of disease, affecting over 360 million people, but the greatest burden of hearing loss is in developing world regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, South-east Asia, and the Asia Pacific – home to

Our eyes are drawn to meaning, not shiny objects
Economy & Society
Dec 07, 2017

Our visual attention homes in on the parts of a scene that have meaning, not those that “stick out” most, new research suggests.

Outdated regulations halt Uber in its tracks, but innovation must prevail

When regulations are out of date, or can be circumvented by new technologies or new ways of doing things, new entrants can disrupt incumbents by innovating outside of the reach of regulators.

Scientists Have a Plan to Stop Climate Change — Dim the Sun

Researchers are using computer modeling to test the effects of solar geoengineering on rates of coral bleaching. The practice could reduce or eliminate the rate of climate change but the side effects are still unknown.

Machine Learning Is Making it Difficult to Tell Humans and Computers Apart
Future & Progress
Dec 07, 2017

"For common sense to be effective it needs to be amenable to answer a variety of hypotheticals — a faculty that we call imagination."

Singapore Will Stop Adding New Cars to Its Roads in 2018

Singapore will stop issuing new vehicle permits starting February of 2018. The government points to limited space available in the city-state as the reason for the halt in vehicle growth.

Youth engagement with politics can help them progress later in life
Economy & Society
Dec 07, 2017

Social action and engagement may help marginalized teens in their careers later in life, particularly if teachers help them discuss and engage with social issues, new research suggests.

Mexico City has 79 governments responding to two massive earthquakes – the results are patchy, at best

Governing Greater Mexico City – the largest and most populated city in North America – is a great challenge. Its 22m inhabitants are spread out unevenly over an area roughly ten times larger than New York City. It is governed by one federal, two stat

Are we hardwired to pick up crying babies?
Economy & Society
Dec 07, 2017

Newborn babies have a remarkable amount of power. Though there are few things they can do for themselves, they can manipulate the world around them by summoning help with a simple wail. Caregivers, especially parents, are particularly sensitive to in

Could we soon have a host of habitable alien worlds?
Future & Progress
Dec 07, 2017

Researchers from NASA's Goddard Institute have proposed a new way of looking at the habitability of exoplanets. Instead of relying on the usual one-dimensional approach, they considered observing a candidate planet using three dimensions.

Daydreaming is a sign you’re intelligent and creative
Economy & Society
Dec 07, 2017

Daydreaming may indicate intelligence and creativity, according to new research.

The Next Most Powerful Supercomputer in the U.S. Is Almost Complete
Future & Progress
Dec 07, 2017

At the Oak Ridge National Labs, experts are building what's expected to be the most powerful supercomputer in the world — or at least, in the U.S. Built together with IBM and powered by NVIDIA, the Summit supercomputer will be operational in 2018.

Deepest sleep may be vital for visual learning
Economy & Society
Dec 06, 2017

Certain visual learning takes hold in the brain during sleep, new research suggests.

China Has Shut Down Up to 40% of Its Factories in an Unprecedented Stand Against Pollution

China has begun to severely crack down on factories that have been flouting their emissions regulations. The country has shut down 40 percent of its factories to battle the immense pollution levels in the nation.

China bans foreign waste – but what will happen to the world’s recycling?

The dominant position that China holds in global manufacturing means that for many years China has also been the largest global importer of many types of recyclable materials. Last year, Chinese manufacturers imported 7.3m metric tonnes of waste plas

Magnetic Particles Could Lead to an Entirely New Form of Data Storage
Future & Progress
Dec 06, 2017

New research has shown that an exotic kind of magnetic behavior discovered just a few years ago holds great promise as a way of storing data — one that could overcome fundamental limits that might otherwise be signaling the end of “Moore’s Law,” whic

How your commute time could be cut by 90%
Economy & Society
Dec 06, 2017

After you sit down, the doors close silently and the pod slides into a large, round metal tube. Suddenly, you become aware of a sensation of movement, as if you’re in an elevator travelling forward or an aircraft that’s just taking off. It’s not unpl

Is mindfulness made up?
Economy & Society
Dec 06, 2017

When Siddhartha Gautama spoke these words around 1500 years ago, it’s fair to assume he wasn’t really thinking ahead. But the man who most of us know better as Buddha was talking about a technique which has since become wildly popular around the worl

Why we need to develop the world’s cyber resilience

Thousands of computer terminals throughout the National Health Service went blank for a moment before displaying a simple note, “Your files have been encrypted”.

This is why ash could be critical to securing your next phone upgrade
Future & Progress
Dec 06, 2017

When the last mine in the small town of Cinovic in the Czech Republic closed in 1993, not only did the workers lose their jobs, the region lost an major economic lifeline.

A wind farm the size of India could power the world

Wind power swept into the headlines recently when Germany’s wind turbines created so much electricity that customers were effectively paid to use it

France is experimenting with a radically different approach to education
Economy & Society
Dec 06, 2017

It used to be said that a French education minister could open the national curriculum - the programme d'enseignement obligatoire - and know exactly what every pupil in the country was learning that day.

Why aren't young people engaged with governments?

Today’s young adults have grown up online, connected in ways that their older counterparts are unlikely to ever fully understand. In the developed world in particular, the so-called “digital natives” have had access to an effectively limitless source

How not to smother progress
Nov 07, 2017

Autonomous delivery robots could soon be a common sight in the US. Walnut Creek and Redwood City are both allowing companies to pilot the robots on their sidewalks. The states of Florida, Virginia, Idaho and Wisconsin have all passed a state laws th

How to ensure that biotechnology is used for the good of humankind
Nov 07, 2017

We are living in an age where scientific advances seem almost miraculous. Living organisms can be modified for our own purpose. Biotechnology can edit DNA, opening the door to possibilities as enormous as changing the course of human disease or endin

Could an AI ever replace a judge in court?
Nov 07, 2017

Xiaofa stands in Beijing No 1 Intermediate People’s Court, offering legal advice and helping the public get to grips with legal terminology. She knows the answer to more than 40,000 litigation questions and can deal with 30,000 legal issues. Xiaofa i

How bad is Bitcoin crime?
Aug 04, 2017

As its value has skyrocketed, cryptocurrency Bitcoin has emerged from tech nerd obscurity to become a topic of mainstream conversation.

How do we ensure the happiness of the next generation through education?
Aug 04, 2017

Young people are struggling with the pressures of life and between 10%-20% of them are likely to experience mental health problems as a result. Half of all mental illnesses begin by the age of 14, and three-quarters by mid-20s, according to a World H

This app is providing digital therapy to fight depression
Aug 04, 2017

The biggest problem with our addiction to smart devices is that we cannot avoid using them. One consequence of that is that our ability to pay attention, connect with others and remember things is decreasing as the amount of time we spend online incr

Sharing the climate burden that falls on small island nations
Jul 30, 2017

Climate change is very much a product of wealthy industrialised nations - but the worst impact of more frequent and more extreme weather events will be felt far from their shores and borders.

Funding the future: is university education worth the investment?
Jul 30, 2017

Raising $30 million in just three months is a fundraising effort any charity would be proud of. ​ Brown University, one of the leading Ivy League universities in the US, did just that after announcing that it wanted to end student loans and offer sch

Climate change is forcing millions of people from their homes
Jul 30, 2017

A report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) says an average of 21.7 million people have been forced from their homes by extreme weather-related events every year since 2008. That equates to 41 people every minute.

Three ways tech can help deliver the SDGs
Jul 30, 2017

The forces driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution – mobile devices, artificial intelligence, data analysis and young people’s love of tech – can also help deliver the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

How small ideas can provide global solutions
Jul 30, 2017

Small ideas might be more effective than grand policy plans when it comes to creating new jobs and delivering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This was the view of experts discussing ways to implement the SDGs at the 2018 World Gover

The scientific link between happiness and food
Economy & Society
Jul 30, 2017

Comfort eating – the notion that certain foods will cheer us up when we are unhappy or make us better when we are ill – is familiar the world over. Popular favorites that stock our fridges and cupboards range from chicken soup to boiled eggs, and fro

What needs to be done to protect the world’s oceans?
Jul 11, 2017

The oceans of the world are awash with thousands – and perhaps millions – of tonnes of plastics. This pollution poisons marine life, disrupts breeding and is harmful to the ocean’s natural rhythms, on which the earth is hugely dependent.

These books will help you understand the future
Jul 11, 2017

As the fourth industrial revolution gathers pace, we find ourselves living in an age where the latest innovations are consigned to the history books more quickly than ever. Take the iPod for example. It’s just 17 years since it revolutionised the way

Why happiness has to start at the top
Jul 11, 2017

For years government involvement in citizen’s happiness has been largely limited to the extent it correlates with wealth: increasing GDP is often seen as the main factor determining contentment. ​

AI can solve problems – when will it tell us which ones need solving most?
Jul 11, 2017

Artificial intelligence still often seems like a far-distant, science-fiction like dream that will be delivered at some uncertain point in the future. ​ Yet organizations and governments are already using AI in ways many of us do not fully apprecia

Why we can’t rely on corporations to save us from climate change
May 03, 2017

While businesses have been principal agents in increasing greenhouse gas emissions, they are also seen by many as crucial to tackling climate change. However, research shows how corporations’ ambitious pro-climate proposals are systematically degrad

The more air pollution, the more mental distress
May 03, 2017

The higher the level of particulates in the air, a new study shows, the greater the indications of psychological distress.

Who owns the water on Mars and the resources in Space?
Apr 08, 2017

A new gold rush is set to take place beyond earth’s atmosphere as commercial adventurers seek to strip asteroids of their rare minerals and precious metals.

How AI is transforming governments
Apr 08, 2017

The workplace transformation being shaped by developing technologies such as artificial intelligence will apply to governments as much to the private sector.

Humans Are the “Dominant Cause” of Global Warming, According to the Latest U.S. Government Study
Mar 25, 2017

The largest government report on climate science clearly indicates that human activity has contributed to climate change and higher global temperatures. The national climate assessment has been prepared by experts from 13 institutions.

Could the Facebook data scandal change the way we regulate tech firms?
Mar 25, 2017

Are we witnessing a fundamental shift in power between the world’s tech giants and governments? It may well be that when we look back at the evolution of companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter, 2018 stands out as a turning point. The tech s

What are 5 Steps to Happier Citizens
Mar 14, 2017

A few years ago, the idea that government was responsible for the “happiness” of its citizens would elicit raised eyebrows. Happiness, after all, was too delicate a topic to arise from the dispassionate halls of government bureaucracies.

Why do driverless cars crash?
Mar 12, 2017

Long predicted by science fiction visionaries including Philip K Dick and Isaac Asimov, autonomous vehicles are finally becoming a reality. Their arrival is only possible thanks to computers, which can crunch massive amounts of data quickly, and the

Elon Musk on why the world needs a universal basic income
Mar 12, 2017

High-tech mechanisation will make it necessary for states to provide citizens with a basic income to ease social inequality, according to serial tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. During a live session at the World Government Summit in Dubai in February 20

Quick and cost-effective new weapons are needed to fight malaria
Mar 12, 2017

Malaria – a life-threatening disease that blights the lives of million in mostly developing economies – affected 216 million people in 91 countries in 2016, killing 445,000. The illness, caused by parasites spread by infected female Anopheles mosqui

Here are this year’s top emerging technologies
Mar 12, 2017

As tech innovation continues to race ahead, we hear more and more about the growth of artificial intelligence and automation, and the different world they will create – with everything from driverless cars to deliveries by drone. But behind the headl

Terrorism in the worst affected countries is on the decline  ​
Mar 12, 2017

While headlines around the world might suggest that the risk of terrorism is forever on the rise, the reality is that fewer people are dying in terror-related incidents.

What’s so controversial about referendums?
Mar 12, 2017

Anyone in any doubt about the disruptive power of the referendum need only look to Europe’s recent experience. Just over a year after the UK voted to leave the European Union at the end of a hard fought and controversial referendum, Spain was deali

What will AI mean for small cities?
Mar 12, 2017

The extent to which a person’s job is impacted by new technology may depend on the size of the town or city they live in. While past studies considered how tech innovations such as deep machine learning and automation will affect different job types

Your sense of smell changes throughout the day
Mar 05, 2017

Smell sensitivity varies over the course of a day, new research suggests. The pattern, according to the data collected by studying 37 teens, tracks with the body’s internal day-night cycle, or circadian rhythm.

AI-Assisted Detection Identifies Colon Cancer Automatically and in Real-Time
Mar 05, 2017

Advances in medical research are growing side-by-side the development of artificial intelligence. Cancer diagnostic tests are now employing AI to be more effective in spotting the growth of tumors, and a new study shows how effective these could be.

Financial literacy is a public policy problem
Mar 05, 2017

The global financial crisis showed us how rapidly financial contagion can spread - one person’s debt is another person’s asset, so when the debt is written off so is the asset. However, there has been little improvement in financial literacy in the w

An Artificial Intelligence Has Officially Been Granted Residency
Mar 05, 2017

Tokyo, Japan may have just become the first city to officially grant residence to an artificial intelligence (AI). The intelligence’s name is Shibuya Mirai and exists only as a chatbot on the popular Line messaging app. Mirai, which translates to ‘fu

Food security looks very different depending on where you are sitting
Mar 05, 2017

In 1974, the World Food Conference declared that: “Every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop their physical and mental faculties.” The conference set as its goal the eradication o

A beacon of urban renewal: how post-industrial Dundee transformed itself
Mar 05, 2017

Cities have woken up to the fact that a vibrant cultural offering makes people want to live there, and the numbers back this up. New York is home to nearly 14,000 arts-related businesses employing nearly 300,000 people and generating revenues of $230

Wise Happiness
Mar 05, 2017

What makes a good life? Three answers stand out – happiness and pleasure (feeling good), meaning and purpose (doing good) and wisdom and virtue (being good). Positive Psychology, the science of well-being, has so far focussed mostly on happiness. A n

This is the future of passports
Mar 03, 2017

Every day, millions of people use data generated by their bodies – their voices, faces, irises and fingerprints – to gain access to offices, secure government sites and financial services. But biometric data has the power to produce even more sweepin

Dubai is steadily moving towards Net-Zero by 2050

Dubai is steadily moving towards Net-Zero by 2050

The UAE stands out as a frontrunner in the global shift towards clean and renewable energy. Securing the second position in the Energy Transition category of the Green Future Index 2023.

Urban Resilience  Tool
Tools

Government in 2071 is an initiative launched by the World Government Summit with the vision of preparing governments for the future.

Publication

Reflecting on a decade of shaping global governance, the 10th Anniversary Book is a tribute to the transformative insights and groundbreaking ideas that emerged over the World Governments Summit's impactful 10 year history.