Ageing populations in developing and developed societies alike are substantially increasing. By 2030, 19% of Americans, 23% of Europeans and 31% of Japanese will be older than 65, the traditional retirement age. The economics and demographics of an ageing population are tantalizing. Elders will increasingly claim a disproportionate share of healthcare and other public resources.

Current demographic changes clearly require comprehensive responses. However, much of the discussion focuses on the challenges occasioned by an ageing society rather than on the opportunities it offers. These negative scenarios need not be our fate. There are significant benefits to an ageing world, but they require smart policies to be realized.

This Council focuses on healthy ageing and on the discourse on ageing in an effort to facilitate healthy and participative ageing in age-friendly environments in all countries and to realize the social and economic potential of elders.

Changing the discourse on ageing: How can the discourse be moved from the prevailing ambivalent notion of ageing to a positive attitude to ageing, the role of the elderly and intergenerational relationships? How can business and public policy help change attitudes?

Redesigning social institutions, cities and communities: What barriers prevent older people from being actively engaged in their communities, in urban spaces and in society in general, and how can the obstacles be overcome?

Fostering healthy ageing and participation: Lifelong learning, health improvement, civic engagement and a change in the traditional work-life model will allow ageing societies to increasingly benefit from changing demographics.

Ageing outside the OECD: Changes in the population’s age structure are particularly marked in the developing world; the greatest increases in total numbers and proportions of older people will occur in Asia and Africa.

Tackling business opportunities: What are the consequences of demographic change for business and how can the potential benefits be realized?

Quantifying prosperity and the related progress in countries and societies is an essential step in helping governments and civil society prioritize actions, policies and strategies. Although economic growth and competitiveness are key elements in assessing societies’ well-being, it is ever clearer that societal progress is much broader than economic performance and has social, political and environmental aspects. However, there is no universally accepted measure of well-being and there are different and equally valid definitions of what this concept actually entails.

Challenges facing this Council include capturing selected aspects of social, economic, political and environmental progress, promoting the use of benchmarking tools worldwide to foster data-driven policy-making and designing quality-check mechanisms for official and non-official statistics.

Reaching a more holistic and accurate understanding of economic and social progress: What are the key ingredients of societal progress (quality of life, well-being, etc.) and the possible alternatives to GDP-centred measures of progress? Should we look beyond traditional statistics and consider criteria of subjective well-being, quality of life and life satisfaction, or identify a core set of metrics that government should be tracking for more data-driven decision-making? If the latter, methodological consistency of all statistical data would need to be guaranteed.

Generalizing the use of benchmarking for data-based policy-making: How can a proper measurement of progress, using both official and non-official statistics, be ensured? Huge gaps in available data exist, and statistics are often heterogeneous and therefore difficult to compare. A public-private mechanism to encourage increasingly rigorous benchmarking exercises (notably through a Charter of Information), and the generalization of the use of benchmarking tools in national policy-making are needed.

Creating an institutional platform to promote benchmarking and its legitimacy: How can researchers, policy-makers and civil society work together to promote these objectives and give them legitimacy? An institutional platform is needed to operationalize the project at the national and international levels, integrating and clustering all existing initiatives to date on the topic.

Conveying the benefits of benchmarking progress in society: How can this initiative effectively be communicate to citizens and obtain constituencies’ support? How can data better be made available to the general public to promote openness and government accountability?

A catastrophic risk is one that seriously threatens the well-being of a large number of individuals and the environment in which they live. In most cases the risk has long-term impacts affecting generations to come. The Council on Catastrophic Risks extends the work of the Global Agenda Council on the Mitigation of Natural Disasters, which focused on developing innovative, comprehensive, long-term strategies for reducing and aiding the recovery process following major disasters.

This Council aims to design strategies for preventing and responding to large-scale threats, including natural disasters, terrorism, nuclear accidents, climate change, pandemic infections and financial crises. Despite the diversity of these threats, treating catastrophic risk as a unified field for inquiry is a useful, coherent and important endeavour as they are tied together by numerous causal links and commonalities.

Guiding principles: Creating guiding principles will provide a framework for taking action to reduce global catastrophic risks. Insights gained from one area of catastrophic risk – such as short-term thinking and related biases in human risk cognition – can usefully be applied to others. Many massively destructive events have a similar second-order impact on the surrounding region or society. They often require similar conceptual, operational and cultural steps to help prevent them or at least mitigate their destructive impact. A broad view of these risks allows us to gain perspective and thereby helps set wiser priorities.

Linking pre-disaster with post-disaster measures: The development of early warning systems, the preservation and effective management of core processes and systems, investment in loss reduction measures and provision for financial protection through insurance-type mechanisms are needed. Many countries lack the resources to effectively monitor disasters and invest in these measures. What lessons can be learned from developed nations to assist developing countries?

Global emergency management/disaster, relief/humanitarian assistance and coordination in regions hit by a catastrophic disaster: Global disasters greatly stretch domestic and international relief organizations. How should countries and intergovernmental bodies best integrate and coordinate their efforts? Much actually points to the need for addressing catastrophic risks as a single integrated field. Attention is scarce, mitigation is costly and comparative judgments are necessary to decide how to allocate effort and resources. If risks are not treated as part of an overall threat profile, we may become unduly fixated on the danger-of-the-day that captures the public or expert imagination, and neglect other risks that are more severe or more amenable to mitigation.

Corporate involvement in dealing with catastrophic risks: Business can play an important role in reducing future risks and helping rebuild post-catastrophe communities. What skills, expertise and resources can they provide to domestic and international organizations?

Education: Education on responses to catastrophic disaster can greatly mitigate their damage. How can experiences with effective education programmes best be expanded and replicated?

Crisis leadership: What do public, private and civil society leaders need to know about risk assessment, behavioural biases and their personal or organizational leadership to prevent, prepare for and respond to catastrophic risks?

Chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases) and poor mental health are the leading causes of death and disability globally. 60% of all deaths, 80% of which occur in low- and middle-income countries, are related to chronic diseases. Poor mental health affects one in four people over their lifetime, and depression alone is the third leading cause of disability, responsible for 4.3% of years lived with disability globally.

Between 2005-2015, income loss estimates (in international dollars) related to chronic disease rise to $558 billion in China, $237 billion in India, $303 billion in Russia, $33 billion in the UK, $49 million in Brazil. Costs associated with poor mental health account for 2-3% of GDP, with most costs related to absenteeism and presenteeism. 80% of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancers can be prevented through inexpensive and cost-effective interventions, such as controlling tobacco, encouraging appropriate affordable diets, promoting physical activity, avoiding harmful alcohol use and enabling health services for early detection.

This invisible epidemic is an under-appreciated cause of poverty which hinders many countries’ economic development. Chronic diseases and poor mental health are not issues for the health sector alone.

Ageing: Declining birth rates combined with increases in life expectancy are leading to population ageing. This phenomenon and its associated burdens of chronic disease and poor mental health is increasingly evident globally.

Agriculture, food production and quality: The disconnect between agricultural policies and healthy nutrition goals, including meat production and consumption increases in emerging markets, is leading to increased risks for health and the environment. Chronic disease prevention can be partially achieved by tackling risk factors such as over- and under-nutrition and inappropriate diets.

Healthcare systems: Healthcare systems, currently focused on treating infectious diseases, might need to shift resources to chronic diseases, weakening already overburdened systems. This re-focus should include primary prevention, including promotion of health, as well as detection and treatment. The role of government, the corporate sector and other actors within the healthcare system must be re-examined.

Industry and trade practices: Many current industry and trade practices are unresponsive to public health concerns. This lack of responsiveness contributes to raising social inequities and the related burden of chronic diseases.

Sport: Regular physical activity, which is declining among populations worldwide, reduces people’s risk of heart attack, colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, while improving mental health.

Underestimated economic impact: The impact at the macro- and micro-levels of both chronic diseases and poor mental health has been shown to be significant, yet the full extent of that burden on business and society is unknown and under-appreciated. Reduced productivity due to disability, unplanned absences and increased accidents can cost 400% more than the cost of prevention or treatment.

Urbanization: Since most population growth over the next three decades is expected to occur in developing countries’ urban areas, special attention is needed on the impact of urbanization on dietary habits, mental health and opportunities for physical activity. being at work but not productive because of illness or stress.

Climate change is a serious and urgent challenge. The 4th Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that global warming is unequivocal and already under way. Studies indicate that climate change is occurring faster than expected. We will likely reach a “tipping point” in global emissions earlier than expected. According to the IPCC, limiting the global average temperature increase to 2^° Celsius above pre-industrial levels would require that global emissions decline 50-85% by 2050. Delaying action will only make future action more costly.

In a world where non-state actors are increasingly at the forefront of global issues, a multistakeholder, cross-disciplinary and global dialogue is needed to advance the international climate change agenda. Multistakeholder leadership is urgently required to put the world economy onto a low-carbon path.

Our highly interlinked world includes many complexities, threats and opportunities that impact the fundamental strategy needed to decarbonize the world’s economy:

Joining efforts to catalyse the low-carbon economy: The private sector plays a pivotal role in the transition to the low-carbon economy. The public and the private sector must jointly identify the design imperatives of a policy framework that effectively catalyses private capital towards the low-carbon economy. What role could a public-private dialogue play to leverage complementary expertise from policymakers, business, experts and civil society representatives?

Financing low-carbon technologies: Addressing the challenge of climate change will require a radical mobilization of untapped sources of funding. Designing the right international architecture is key for private capital to flow rapidly and at scale into low-carbon technologies. What innovative solutions can mobilize private capital to help create the low-carbon deal flow?

Negotiating an international framework: Elements of the new framework as laid down in the Bali Action Plan are clear and currently being negotiated. However, major economies have not yet agreed on important elements. What should the global abatement goal to 2050 be? What intermediate milestones will take us there? How can developing countries be included in the future agreement?

Decoupling rapid economic and emissions growth in developing countries: With developing world emissions growing at a sustained rate, what strategy exists to decouple growth from the increase in emissions and leapfrog developing countries onto a clean development path?

Developing and deploying low-carbon and cleaner technologies: How far can clean technologies mitigate emissions? What can be done to dramatically scale up private investment in these technologies to bring them to market? What impact does the stalled Doha Round of trade negotiations have with respect to technology transfer, licensing and IPR issues?

Halting rapid deforestation: Deforestation is responsible for 20% of global emissions. What funding mechanisms will provide poorer countries with the right incentives to slow down deforestation? What public-private partnerships are needed?

Adapting to climate change impacts: While efforts are under way to halt and reverse the emissions trend, climate change impacts are already being felt. Despite a growing need to adapt to these effects, the debate has stalled and leadership has been inexistent. What policies are needed to unblock discussions and trigger the widespread adoption of adaptation strategies?

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 104 pp.

Corruption, the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, is the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development around the world. It distorts markets, stifles economic growth and sustainable development, debases democracy and undermines the rule of law. It robs local populations, particularly in developing countries, of critically needed resources. Estimates show that the cost of corruption equals more than 5% of global GDP (US$ 2.6 trillion) with over US$ 1 trillion paid in bribes each year. Because of corrupt practices, half of each year’s US$ 50 billion in development aid does not reach its intended recipients.

Nature: Perceptions on the nature of corruption vary. What different forms of corruption exist and what are their underlying causes and drivers?

Cultural contexts: The nature and magnitude of corruption differ across cultures. Actions that are perceived corrupt in some cultures might be accepted or even expected in other cultures. What is acknowledged as good ethical conduct within and across cultures?

Metrics: Corruption can hardly be measured. Most statistics on the issue are based on surveyed perceptions. What is or should be measured, and how? How can progress be determined? Is there a correlation between levels of good governance and economic growth/foreign direct investments? And between a company’s systems and controls and its financial performance?

Role of businesses: Companies are both part of the problem and its solution. An increasing number of companies are demonstrating leadership in fighting corruption by implementing anti-corruption programmes and adhering to various initiatives that address the supply side of corruption at the global, regional or industry levels. What best practices exist? What is the business case? How can more companies be incentivized to fight corruption? How can the prisoner’s dilemma be overcome? How can good ethical business conduct be turned into a competitive business advantage?

Role of governments: The international legal framework has been strengthened during recent years with the adoption of the OECD and UN Conventions on corruption. But most governments must still fully implement all provisions of these conventions and no supranational enforcement mechanisms are in place, undermining their effectiveness. Most governments also have passed anti-corruption legislation but few effectively enforce it. Why is existing legislation often not enforced? What are the best practices? Which central players can ensure effective enforcement, and how can they be incentivized to demonstrate leadership?

Role of civil society: Civil society organizations, including the media and academia, play a key role in incentivizing businesses and governments to fight corruption. Who are the central players? What are their best practices? How can they be supported? How could they make use of new means of increasing transparency, such as the Internet?

Collective solutions: The most effective solutions to fighting corruption are often collective in nature. Such initiatives focus on public and/or private sector solutions at a country, regional and/or global level and/or at an industry, cross-industry or multistakeholder level. What initiatives exist? What are the best practices? How can initiatives be supported? How should they work together? How should initiatives be held accountable?

That human beings err has been known at least since Seneca in the 1st century AD. That humans are vulnerable to cognitive biases and heuristics in their decision-making processes was discovered more recently by such leading behavioural economists and cognitive psychologists as Daniel Kahenman, Amos Tversky, Richard Thaler and Robert Shiller.

Despite the crucial observation that biases influence and sometimes dangerously misguide our decisions, work has only recently begun on developing these findings’ implications in the design of regulations and policies. Environmental policy, healthcare and financial regulation largely follow classical economic models that assume human beings are purely rational, profit-maximizing and utility-seeking decision-makers. As a result, regulations focus more on controlling humans through financial incentives than on “nudging” them through soft-choice options, relying on moral, ethical and social incentives.

Environmental policy: Environmental challenges such as global warming, air and water pollution, the spread of pesticides and toxic chemicals have the potential to severely affect human health and ecosystems for years to come, while threatening biodiversity. While traditional command-and-control regulations have sometimes helped (for example in reducing air pollution), they too often have aggravated the problem, either because of the inherent complexity or because top-down policies can only have a limited effect on human behaviour. How should environmental policies be designed to positively leverage human behaviour? How can behavioural economics help design better incentive systems?

Healthcare: When faced with complex choices about their healthcare and retirement plans, consumers are often overwhelmed and make flawed decisions, massively boosting costs to society in the long run. How can concepts from behavioural economics (such as the default option or the checklist) be leveraged by policy-makers and regulators to create a situation in which consumers can be induced to make better choices about their health and retirement plans?

Financial regulation: The housing bubble of 2007 and the credit crisis that followed revealed the danger inherent in complex financial products. While excessive leverage and corporate profit-making aggravated the problem, financial complexity allowed a great many consumers to buy mortgages, while flawed incentives aggravated the problem from the supply side. How should consumer regulations and decision-making models be designed to improve the outcomes of our decisions?

Confronting today’s complex global challenges requires creative solutions, collaborative action and, most importantly, a systematic approach to implementation. Business, government and other stakeholders need to redesign their strategic models to withstand modern-day risks and resist technological, economic, social, environmental and political shocks to the system.

By bringing together the world’s greatest minds in the field of design – architecture and urban design, industrial, service and communications design, and innovation strategy – the Global Agenda Council on Design serves as a unique source of interdisciplinary expertise for the wider network of Councils to tap into. It proposes new frameworks and innovative approaches to address complex issues and demonstrate the potential of design for business growth and social change.

Design is an agent of change that enables us to understand complex changes and problems, and to turn them into something useful. Design can make an important contribution to the World Economic Forum's mission to improve the state of the world by rethinking, redesigning and rebuilding.

Architecture and urbanism: Interdisciplinary in nature, architecture and urbanism embody the design of complex systems and consider social, environmental as well as economic consequences.

Industrial design: Through the application of strategic thinking, industrial design is a discipline that creates solutions in response to the driving forces and needs of society as well as business and aesthetics.

Service design: Similar to the methodologies applied to industrial design, service design focuses on developing solutions that optimize the interaction between people, service providers and their customers.

Innovation strategy: Businesses and organizations need to continually innovate and pioneer new ideas and services to remain ahead of the curve. Innovation strategy helps business, government and civil society apply creative and design capabilities in response to a rapidly changing environment.

Communications design: With the rapid emergence of new technologies and media, communications design explores effective methods for communicating with people, an important discipline for analysing complex changes and then enabling us to implement the solutions.

Interdisciplinary practice: This is a unique dimension that combines elements of art forms such as painting, photography, sculpture and digital art with disciplines such as design, architecture, engineering and physics. This interdisciplinary practice can illustrate an abstract thought and is a powerful vehicle for expression or visual communication, stimulating human senses by triggering emotions or ideas.

These design dimensions represent just some of a range of expertise that Members of the Global Agenda Council on Design can offer to the Network of Global Agenda Councils. All of these dimensions are underpinned by creativity, design thinking and design-led approaches, which can be extracted and applied to solution design for complex global problems.

The world’s countries are at vastly different stages of economic development and prosperity levels. Some countries have been able to grow rapidly, providing rising living standards for their citizens over time, others have achieved economic success more slowly, and yet others have seen their economies stagnate for decades. In this context, it is critically important to identify the factors that enable national economies to achieve sustained economic growth and long-term prosperity.

The goal of this Council is to use this understanding in innovative ways to stimulate discussions among business leaders, policy-makers and academia at the national level on how to overcome obstacles to growth and development.

Multidimensionality and open-endedness: Over the past two centuries, the best economic minds have tried to address the question of what determines the wealth of nations. Key drivers identified include economic specialization, investment in physical capital and infrastructure, education and training, technological progress, innovation and many others. However, in spite of solid theoretical foundations, many of these components taken individually do not have empirical support. Because they are open-ended and not mutually exclusive, several of them could be true at the same time.

Interrelation among drivers: The various determinants of economic growth and competitiveness are very likely to be interdependent: both related to each other and tending to reinforce each other. For example, innovation requires institutions that protect intellectual property rights, an educated and well-trained labour force, efficient markets and extensive and efficient infrastructure.

Stages of economic development: The determinants of economic growth and development likely affect different countries differently: one would expect that the best way for Chad to improve its economic prospects is not the same as for Germany. As countries move along the development path, how will the specific priorities for reform and improvement change?

From general ideas to action: It is important now to move beyond general ideas and to identify specific actions that can make a difference for economic growth and development. Education is important... but how do we improve education? Institutions do matter... but how do we develop better institutions? Openness and markets are useful... but what kind of openness and what type of markets are best?

Policy prescriptions: The following guiding principles are largely accepted tenets of good policy:

Threats to natural ecosystems are threats to people – our food, plants and animals, all humans and even the air we breathe are in a delicate equilibrium. The links between these systems are only marginally understood – global issues such as climate change are shedding new light on how much or little we actually understand about the complexities of our planet’s web of life.

It is necessary to better account for natural capital as well as the economic impacts of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. Increasing threats point to an escalating need to quantify the role played by ecosystems in our modern economy. Public and private cooperative actions are required as a basis for global systemic solutions, instigating action through strong governance commitments from the public sector and scalable market solutions.

Monetary Value: A new vocabulary and new research, based on the monetary value of ecosystems, will help communicate the issue to key global stakeholders and convey the urgency of the matter. According to one study, preliminary estimates value losses of natural capital between US$ 2-4.5 trillion per year, for deforestation and degradation alone.

Systems thinking: Interlinkages between Earth’s ecosystems are little understood, but the broader systems’ impacts are often all too clear:

Forests: Aside from their clear value as home to diverse species of flora and fauna, forests have an additional role of carbon sinks – in effect the “lungs of the planet”. With climate change on the global agenda, avoiding deforestation needs to be part of the solution. Additionally, a wide range of industrial materials is derived directly from biological resources.

Agriculture: Increasing and diversifying the range of food products can create a more resilient and robust global food supply chain. Crop diversity also helps create more resilient systems for faster recovery when dominant crops fall susceptible to disease, pests or climate changes.

Wetlands & water: Wetlands deliver a wide range of ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being, such as fish and fibre, water supply, water purification, climate regulation, flood regulation, coastal protection, recreational opportunities and, increasingly, tourism.

Oceans: Human activities are shifting the balance in ocean life. Aquaculture, coral bleaching, invasive species and overfishing combined with the changing acidity of oceans due to climate change require urgent action to overcome the hurdles of geopolitics and better govern the global commons of the world's waters.

Air: The air we breathe has been modified over the centuries, not just by greenhouse gasses, but also by fluorocarbons, particulate matter and other pollutants. Climate change, ozone depletion, acid rain, smog and other phenomena are side effects of human impact on one or more ecosystems, often with far-reaching impacts.

Opportunities: The richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for economic development, medical discoveries and responses to such new challenges as climate change. Only a small proportion of the total diversity of plants has been thoroughly investigated for potential sources of new drugs to treat diseases and illnesses such as cancers, HIV and malaria. The value placed on our ecosystems will largely determine emerging opportunities for the poor, particularly in developing countries.

¹ The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity, An Interim Report; P. Sukhdev, European Communities, 2008
² Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Wetland

Education is the engine that fuels innovation and economic growth, a critical driver in national competitiveness and the most powerful mechanism to reduce world poverty and inequality. Notwithstanding significant progress, the challenges in education remain significant: 72 million children lack primary education, 130 million young people remain illiterate and the gap between higher education output, employability and entrepreneurialism is widening. The world needs to develop stronger, higher quality education systems supported by sustainable funding and delivered by integrated cooperation between multiple stakeholders. Failure to rethink education systems now will translate into a dearth of leaders and socially responsible individuals capable of addressing the 21st century’s complex challenges. This Council’s main objective is to deliver concrete and comprehensive recommendations that will transform global governance on education and produce more relevant, equitable and sustainable education systems worldwide. In addition, the Council will look at increasing partnerships between higher education institutions from developed and developing countries to create a repository for the digital sharing of content (EDUNEXIS).

Access to education: Universal access to quality education should not be a privilege but a fundamental right. Two of the Millennium Development Goals address access to education and gender parity, and advocate for universal education. Since 2000, many countries have abolished school fees and increased school enrolments. Yet more must be done to ensure that the strategies granting access also guarantee attendance, retention and progression into secondary and tertiary levels.

Quality of education: Access without quality is not sustainable and does not translate directly into wider opportunities for society. Quality should not be limited to literacy and numeracy skills but should include the provision of high quality learning environments, innovative learning methodologies, qualified teachers, critical thinking, the development of creativity and entrepreneurial mindsets, and the global competencies and values required for producing responsible employees, employers and leaders.

Assessment and qualification: Defining appropriate metrics and assessment mechanisms for quality in education is a daunting challenge, especially now that globalization has opened the doors to a world supply of talent. Assessment and qualification frameworks need to be re-evaluated so they not only measure inputs and student learning outcomes but also analyse the broader goals of education, its relevance and the transferability of skills.

Financing and international cooperation: Recent estimates suggest it will cost about US$ 16 billion to achieve universal primary education by 2015. Increased financing (a necessary condition for many countries) is only part of the problem. More effective aid, better resource mobilization patterns and policies for the allocation of resources are fundamental for effective education systems.

National governance: The development of coherent policies and plans that engage local and international stakeholders is critical for the advancement of 21st-century education systems. Poor governance practices in education impact society as a whole and hinder nations’ development. A comprehensive framework of reforms that address transparency, accountability, monitoring and evaluation, and a commitment to equity are needed if decentralized and participatory decision-making processes in education are to be achieved.

Emerging multinationals are reshaping industries and creating new dynamics in the global competitive landscape. These new business champions come primarily from rapidly growing emerging markets but also include fast movers from developed economies. They often operate in markets where the general business environment is challenging. Emerging multinationals have managed to thrive and grow by developing reliable goods and innovative services at low prices. Working from a solid home base, they are gaining market share and entering foreign markets at an unprecedented pace.

The global financial crisis poses both opportunities and challenges for emerging multinationals. What characteristics foster international success and resilience? Which ones often hinder it? What competitive advantages do emerging multinationals benefit from to face the crisis and overcome it? What important business, economic and social impact will they have?

1. Internal

Corporate global citizenship: How can emerging multinationals manage high growth while adopting best practices to contribute to the communities they operate in and to protect the environment? How can they better assume the role of the drivers of positive change in their own country and also in other societies?

Corporate governance: Emerging multinationals undergo continuous transformation, often at a faster pace than established companies. Their growth and evolution can be facilitated by good corporate governance. How can corporate governance become a competitive advantage? How should the boards of emerging multinationals be shaped to ensure their competitiveness?

Talent shortage and skills gap: All multinationals face a fierce battle for skilled workers, both at the managerial and technical levels. How will emerging multinationals shape the war for talent in the coming years? How can they grow and attract global talent?

Moving from a local to a global competitive advantage: Emerging multinationals must often overcome four important handicaps. They have to shift from strategies that emphasize local presence (planting the flag) over reaping network economies; underinvestment in intangible assets and systems; lack of international experience and capabilities; and a heritage of highly centralized organizations.

2. External

Mergers and acquisitions: Many emerging market multinational companies are acquiring companies across the globe. How do these companies choose their targets and finance their transactions? What industries and sectors will most likely be reshaped by this wave?

Relationship with home and host governments: Emerging global companies often have strong connections to the political elite in their own countries while they face certain challenges when dealing with the governments of countries they enter. How will these relationships evolve? What role do emerging multinationals play in bridging government and business perspectives?

Policy environment: Which regulatory environments have been successful in fostering emerging multinationals? How can they best manage the risk of protectionist backlashes when investing abroad?

Sustainability: Taking into account the enormous challenges of sustainability, how can emerging multinationals play a key role in championing new ways of doing business and promoting a new covenant between business and society?

Impact: What economic, business and social impact do emerging multinationals have on their home and host countries? What role can they play in improving national policy-making and global governance systems?

Over the last 20 years, accelerating progress in science and technology has stimulated a new age of discovery. Innovation in nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and other areas is adding economic and social value to materials, products and processes, and leading to solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges – renewable energy, malnutrition and hunger, access to clean water, disease diagnosis and treatment, “green” technologies and global climate change.

Yet the success of these emerging technologies is not guaranteed. Innovative technologies also raise new social, political, economic and safety challenges. In an ever-more connected and risk-aware world, realizing their potential will depend on identifying barriers to development at an early stage and forging effective solutions through new partnerships between governments, industry, academics and the public sector.

Global coordination and collaboration: Emerging technologies span scientific, political and geographical boundaries. Their successful economic and social development will require new ways of bringing together stakeholders from government, academia, industry and the public to transcend these boundaries.

Developing innovative financing models: Conventional financing structures and start-up business models are ill-matched to the challenges posed by emerging technologies. Meeting these challenges will require new financing approaches and for start-up companies and large corporations to consider new, cooperative business models that jointly develop technology applications and share risk and reward across the value chain from materials through to end products.

Ensuring oversight clarity: Clarity is needed on how existing oversight mechanisms apply to new materials, products and processes arising from emerging technologies. Where existing oversight mechanisms are of limited applicability, new mechanisms are needed that minimize potential harm and provide businesses with a clear regulatory framework within which to operate.

Enabling effective risk assessment and management: Emerging technologies will introduce new potential risks to human health and the environment. Ensuring risks remain acceptably low will require new research into understanding and addressing how novel materials and products cause harm, and how this harm may be avoided and/or controlled.

Educating the developers and users of emerging technologies: New skill-sets are needed to develop and exploit the benefits of emerging technologies, especially where they bridge very different areas of expertise. There is also a need to provide investors and users with an understanding of the benefits and applications of emerging technologies. Education is needed to avoid misconceptions surrounding these technologies, both in terms of their potential uses and potential impacts.

Enabling effective engagement between stakeholders (including academics, policy-makers, industry and citizens): Dialogues that facilitate an exchange of information and enable informed decision-making need to be established. Transparency over how and where emerging technologies are being used is essential for investor and user confidence. A key goal is to stimulate a culture of curiosity among potential investors in emerging technologies, and among its developers and users.

Ethics: Increasingly, advanced technologies will test the limits of what is considered appropriate by society and what is not. Decisions on how emerging technologies should be developed and used will extend beyond the scientific and economic possibilities, to include a broad range of social and ethical perspectives.

Researchers predict that, due to the financial crisis, in 2009 job losses could increase by 50 million if the situation continues to deteriorate. Some 200 million workers, mostly in developing economies, could be pushed into extreme poverty. In many countries, social protection, the policies and programmes designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labour markets, is limited or non-existent. The predicted rise in unemployment and the lack of social protection will leave the poor, unemployed and underemployed unable to protect themselves against the impact of interrupted or lost income. Unless swift measures are taken, social unrest and political instability are predicted to rise, exacerbating the economic and humanitarian crises.

Social protection: The modern definition of social protection has broadened beyond safety nets to include aspects of the labour market, social insurance, social assistance, micro investment and protection, and child protection, all with the overall aim of contributing to poverty reduction. In times of economic hardship, social protection is often vital to survival, stability and security. Pluralistic approaches seem to be the most sustainable. Who has developed successful and, ideally, replicable cross-sector models?

Job creation and green jobs: Although many governments are including job creation in their recovery packages, not enough is being done and job creation alone is not the answer. A more holistic approach is needed, incorporating education, re-skilling, mobility, government investment in infrastructure, support for SMEs and broader social dialogue at all levels. Has job creation been oversold? Where will the promised jobs originate and will they be sustainable? Green jobs are being hailed as a key area in job creation, in terms of new jobs related to green products and services and the introduction of mechanisms to ensure the “greening” of existing workplaces. How much can green jobs potentially contribute to the economic recovery? What can be done to avoid “greenwashing”?

Informal economy: The informal sector accounts for between 25-40% of annual GDP in Asia’s and Africa’s developing countries. Conflicting theories posit that the informal sector either grows or shrinks in times of economic hardship. What is likely to be the impact of the economic crisis on the informal sector worldwide? How can this sector’s potential be harnessed to contribute to the economic recovery?

Productive labour: Decent, full and productive employment is at the heart of poverty alleviation and economic development, particularly in developing countries. However, higher productivity may result in fewer jobs, as seen in increased automation. As countries move up the value chain, how can productivity be maximized without sacrificing net job levels?

Short-term wage subsidies and other alternative schemes: Some governments are providing assistance for workers who have been forced to reduce hours or take temporary redundancy. What will the long-term impact of such short-term schemes be? Who is pioneering other innovative solutions to the current employment crisis?

Record-high oil price volatility, changing energy demand, concerns over supply and other economic and geopolitical factors have made energy security a global issue of fundamental importance.

Exploring and implementing long-term sustainable solutions in the complex field of energy security is vitally important to promoting peace and economic growth. Given the wide scope and geography of energy security issues, potential solutions and related debates often require a specific regional focus. Therefore, the energy security dimensions listed here address the most pressing issues in such key regions as China, India, Russia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.

Geopolitics, national politics and energy policies: Shifting domestic energy needs outside OECD countries influence energy strategies in both the traditional and new resource-rich areas of the world, and strongly impact prices. Economic nationalism and the changing roles of international oil companies and national oil companies are pressing energy concerns. These factors often combine to create power shifts between consuming and producing nations, as well as between the producing nations themselves, with consequences for the wider geopolitical balance of power.

Macroeconomics: With oil price volatility and the linked prices of natural gas, many senior energy analysts have commented on the strong impact of changing commodity prices on the global economy. Higher energy prices encourage alternative energy development but also heavily affect production costs globally and limit economic growth. Lower energy prices endanger the development of both traditional and renewable resources.

Microeconomics and energy trading: Key effects resulting from volatility in global energy trading concern small and medium-sized enterprises and local farmers, who are often hit hardest during severe energy crunches, as well as consumers. The current debate on energy trading revolves around trading oil in US dollars and is particularly pertinent during currency crises.

Environmental implications: The energy sector’s influence on climate change affects the entire policy environment, including energy supply and use. The issues surrounding greenhouse gas emissions are causing greater investment in new energy-efficient appliances, cleaner transportation and lower personal consumption levels. Interlinkages between water and energy security are starting to play an important role in the public discourse. The effects of the current climate change debate and new environmental policies on the energy sector are among the biggest challenges and unknowns that the industry, policy-makers and consumer groups around the world face.

Over 80% of the world’s population adheres to a religion, but faith is among the least understood forces in today’s world. In a globalized era, religious tensions can often impede international cooperation but religion’s impact can also be tremendously positive in communities around the world.

The resurgence of religion in world affairs over the past decade has unsettled the widespread view that politics, business, society and faith are distinct spheres. In addition, the current economic crisis – a crisis of values – presents an opportunity to realign our collective moral compass, in part by tapping into faith traditions, which serve as sources of identity and ethical orientation for individuals, families, communities and societies.

Faith is an inevitable and essential cornerstone of the global agenda. Over time, the combination of careful analysis and sustained dialogue can build knowledge about the complex impact of faith and better leverage its powers as a catalyst for positive change.

Business and faith: How does faith influence business ethics and practice?

Values for the post-crisis order: How can faith communities help design and implement the global values that will be vital for a sustainable, just and equitable post-crisis world order? How can their engagement contribute to reducing poverty, income inequalities, disease, hunger and climate change?

Faith and leadership: How does faith influence the decisions of business and political leaders?

Religion and science: The conflicts between science and religion are highly visible, but what are the opportunities for collaboration? How are such industries as pharmaceuticals and medicine creating common areas of concern, interest and cooperation between religion and science?

Religious literacy: What does the next generation need to know about their own and others’ faiths and cultures in order to interact as responsible citizens in a multicultural world? Societal change and religion: How is the social fabric being transformed in areas of relative “spiritual poverty”?

Religious extremism: The rise of powerful extremist non-state actors has created turmoil around the world. How can leaders work together to rescue religion from the extremist agenda?

Interfaith dialogue: What policies and structures are needed at the global level to drive interfaith collaboration and who will formulate and implement them?

Multiculturalism and integration: How can governments and religious leaders support the successful integration of “foreign” communities?

The global food and economic crises have strongly affected the poor, driving tens of millions of additional people into food insecurity. In 2009 for the first time, the number of hungry people worldwide exceeded 1 billion. Shortfalls and volatility in global food supplies and prices will likely intensify in the future due to rising demand for food and energy, increased costs of production and intensified climate change.

Food insecurity can be mitigated through policy reforms, targeted investments and technological innovations aimed at increasing production and access to food. However, such complex and large-scale actions require coordination among a wide variety of sectors. Numerous large-scale initiatives address global food security challenges and agricultural production needs. But these are often fragmented and lack sufficient investment and coordination. This Council seeks to build a common agenda, help raise awareness and leverage support for priority actions, and develop synergies to strengthen the global response to this challenge.

Poverty: Rising food prices disproportionately harm the urban poor, creating political instability and raising demands on social safety nets, while food scarcity and price volatility undermine the livelihoods of poor rural populations.

Food aid and emergency relief: As the numbers of hungry people increase, aid agencies are struggling to meet demand in the face of substantially higher food and energy costs. Innovations in aid provision – whether based on new technologies or local production – offer new opportunities.

Trade policy and market distortions: The rising demand for biofuels, accelerated by subsidies in some countries, may be causing the inefficient use of arable land and inflating certain agricultural prices. Other subsidies and trade-related policies form market barriers or distort prices.

Rising energy prices: High energy prices have a twofold effect on agricultural markets: they make transportation and fertilizers more expensive – raising production costs – and they boost demand for biofuels, with associated price and production impacts on agriculture.

Climate change: While the net effect of climate change on global food supply is unclear, the associated volatility in precipitation trends will certainly compromise food security in poor tropical countries with rain-dependent agriculture.

Demographics: Demand for food is projected to double by 2040 due to population growth and changing diets. Developing countries will account for 95% of global population growth, compromising food security if the local supply of food is unable to keep pace with increased demand.

Nutrition and changing diets: Inadequate nutrition has widespread effects on human health and economic productivity, especially among young children and the poor. Rising incomes and changing dietary preferences in developing countries are leading to an increased demand for meat, which is more resource-intensive to produce.

New agricultural technologies: New agricultural technologies – particularly genetically-modified crops – have the potential to increase agricultural yields and environmental efficiency. But they remain a subject of controversy in many countries, based on health and environmental concerns.

The current economic crisis has hit the very poor hardest. The World Bank estimates an additional 130-155 million people were pushed into poverty in 2008. Today about 55-90 million more extreme poor live below the international poverty line (US$ 1.25/day) in developing countries than expected before the financial crisis. The IMF expects official development assistance to drop by about 25% for the poorest 71 countries. In 2008 alone, the number of hungry people worldwide increased by some 40 million. Because of lower incomes and increased unemployment caused by the crisis, the number of hungry people is projected to reach a historic high in 2009 – 1.02 billion, or one-sixth of all humanity. Thus it is feared that more states could slip into the category of fragile states.

Economic development: The state-building agenda in fragile states must involve promoting internal economic integration, building a market and creating a dynamic economy. It is important to promote the economic development issue in fragile states through the existing international fora.

International cooperation: Fragile states often are not part of major international discussions and cooperation efforts. What can be done to increase their participation and impact on shaping the global agenda? How can actors act coherently and better coordinate their efforts in fragile states?

Knowledge: Donors’ knowledge of dealing with state-building or building economies in fragile states is rather poor. The implication is that poor advice cannot be rejected because it is tagged to the money provided to the countries. What can be learned from previous successful experiences (i.e. cases like Singapore, Spain, Ireland or the Marshall Plan)?

Accountability: To justify foreign assistance in fragile states when predictions forecast its decrease in upcoming years, accountability becomes a mechanism not only to create programmes on the ground in fragile states but to maintain the support of donors. Key international organizations do not yet have tools to measure or monitor accountability in the flow of money. Better mechanisms must be developed to measure the legitimate and illegitimate flows of budget money and the management of a full range of nationally owned assets, including those of extractive industries.

Military assistance: Military assistance is of strategic importance in fragile states, where security is often fractionalized and ineffective. No global institution is systematically looking at military assistance patterns. Additionally, some of the world’s most powerful countries are important providers of security assistance in their own right and major sellers of military hardware. A global site to look at the dysfunctional patterns of military assistance being promoted throughout the developing world is needed.

Skills gap: Insufficient emphasis has been placed on the skills and capabilities leaders and managers of fragile states should have. One apparent gap is the deficiency in investment in higher education, vocational training and trade schools, which may partly be because the MDGs are mainly focused on primary education.

Trade in narcotics: Most international actors remain focused on attacking the sources of supply, which most research has shown is a totally futile effort. Moving towards the incremental regulation of trade in narcotics could have an enormous impact on fragile states.

Africa is the second largest continent in area and population, and perhaps the richest of all in natural resources, yet its people are among the world’s poorest. Africa's real GDP has risen steadily over the past decade: 4.3% (2003), 4.6% (2004), 5.3% (2005), 5.7% (2006), 5.7% (2007) and 5.4% (2008). This growth has come with much optimism but it remains to be seen whether it will indeed transform the region or whether a slump in global demand for commodities will see a return to the atrophy of the 80s. The current global economic crisis means that only 2.8% GDP growth is expected in 2009, which is cause for alarm although growth performance is expected to vary significantly across countries, with some regions (e.g., East Africa) still expected to post 5%+ growth rates. Experts rank poor governance as a major obstacle to prosperity in Africa. Other areas often highlighted for critical action include: finance, human capital, infrastructure, productivity and the rule of law.

Growth: Some argue that economic growth is indeed a panacea but this growth also embodies some of the challenges: the growth is largely commodity-driven and is accompanied by mounting inequality in the distribution of income.

Brand Africa: Africa’s image of poverty and instability has been useful for generating charity, but it is an obstacle for generating investment and tourism. A new “Brand Africa” could boost growth. Corruption: African countries have dominated the bottom half of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index since it was released in 1995, with almost all countries scoring between 1.0 and 4.9 (out of 10).

Infrastructure: Power is agreed to be one of the region’s major infrastructure challenges. Increasing the efficiency of connectivity within Africa and between Africa and the world is expected to increase GDP growth rates.

Global energy security: 10% of the world’s proven oil reserves are in Africa. China now imports at least 6% of its oil needs from Sudan and the USA is expected to import up to 20% of its oil from Africa by 2010. Africa is positioned to play a critical role in global energy security.

Leadership: There are more democracies in Africa than at any time in recent history. Yet difficult power transitions witnessed in several countries over the past 12 months have been held up as evidence that the current climate does not foster good leaders.

Agriculture: Africa has never had the equivalent of Asia's "Green Revolution". According to some, galvanizing sustainable food production is key to reducing hunger and poverty, stimulating economic growth and building food security in Africa.

Environment: Africa has contributed the least to climate change but appears set to suffer the most.

HIV/AIDS: 19 million people have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS; more than 70% of them in sub-Saharan Africa. This toll is expected to double over the next decade. Foreign capital flows and aid: Foreign aid contributes significantly to some national budgets in Africa. With only three African countries above the global median for access to capital, much work remains to unleash the power of private capital and entrepreneurship.

UNAIDS
Capital Access Index 2006

Australia has undergone significant shifts in foreign and domestic policy in the past two years. Its economy has demonstrated relative robustness in the face of the economic crisis. Nevertheless, Australia’s financial sector must capitalize on this competitive advantage and sustain its growth and development.

Regionally, the rapid economic rise of Asia, especially China and India, has led to the need to engage the continent more closely. Australia must balance this need with its own national concerns. At the global level, Australia must also continue its close cooperation with multilateral bodies. The outcome of negotiations limiting greenhouse gas emissions would have a significant impact on its own economy and legislation. At home, such social issues as the integration of the indigenous population, immigration, demography, education and preventive medicine also need to be addressed.

Regional security and development: With the rapid rise of Asia, particularly the two giants China and India, Australia will need to leverage their growth and maintain friendly relations while ensuring its own sovereignty and influence on the global stage. Simultaneously, Australia cannot neglect ASEAN, whose members contribute tremendously to its own security and economic prosperity.

Post-crisis response, productivity and sustainable economic growth: How can Australia fill the “growth gap” through sustainable development in the context of greater Asia-centred economic power? How can Australia support sustainable growth, security and prosperity across the region? How can the Australian economy and financial sector build on the resilience demonstrated throughout the current economic crisis to move ahead?

Environment and climate change: Australia’s government has broken with the previous administration’s policy towards climate change and is actively supporting the post-Kyoto emissions reduction dialogue. Meanwhile, carbon-trading legislation is being readied that will impact Australian companies. Water scarcity is also a challenge that Australia will need to address carefully. Will Australia be at the leading edge of a post-Kyoto treaty or at an economic disadvantage? What actions to adapt to climate change at the local and regional levels need to be taken?

Energy security and policy: Australia is vulnerable to changing market circumstances in the oil markets, with high fuel-consumption vehicles and a 97% dependence on petroleum-based fuels for transport. Owing to increasing energy demands, fluctuations in the price of fossil fuels and intensifying pressure to shift to clean energy, Australia will need to reassess its energy mix.

Immigration and demographics: Australia has been relatively restrictive towards immigration, but its expanding economy and ageing population mean it must reassess its level of competitiveness compared to the region’s emerging markets without creating tensions among its population. What effects might a relaxed immigration policy have? What other solutions can be found to its ageing workforce?

Agribusiness and technology: Australia’s agricultural sector accounts for around one-quarter of the country’s merchandise exports, and its agribusiness expertise and technology are among the world’s best. How can international partnerships translate Australia’s competitive advantages in agriculture into global activities that benefit the world’s food supply?

The well-rounded re-emergence of modern China as a major power is profoundly reshaping the global landscape. This rise is both inspiring hope and stoking fears internationally, dictating the need for more effective international dialogue to frame issues accurately, strengthen fact-based understanding and develop collaborative solutions.

The 2008 financial crisis further pushed China to the forefront of the global governance redesign process. As such, the international community is watching how China can maintain economic growth and significantly contribute to bringing the world economy out of its current situation. Wisdom beyond Confucianism is needed to strike a balance between meeting domestic reform needs and proactively dealing with global challenges. As an old Chinese proverb says, “Intimidating risks can be turned into opportunities when intelligently directed.”

China’s foreign policy: Not only does China manage diplomatic relationships with over 14 countries, but on current major geopolitical issues – including the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, North Korea – the international community is increasingly engaging China in worldwide affairs. How does China maintain and develop alliances in a globalizing world to acquire sustainable resources to fuel its economy while breaking the curse of so-called neocolonialism?

International trade: China is running record trade surpluses with traditional trading powers in the West, causing protectionist voices to grow louder, particularly in Europe and the US. What practical steps can be taken to stem protectionism, promote freer trade and greater market access for goods and services? How can sticking points in negotiations be overcome in the multilateral interest?

RMB internationalization: The effectiveness of the old Bretton Woods system and its institutions, the World Bank and the IMF, has been questioned in the wake of the financial crisis. How can China contribute to changing the status quo of the current international financial system and leverage its increasingly powerful economy? What forms of constructive regional and international cooperation and agreements will be taken to internationalize the RMB now and in the future?

Climate change: China’s environmental challenges have been well-documented nationally and internationally. What are the government’s green commitments and can they be met? How can developed countries help China better cope with the problems? How can both Chinese and foreign businesses contribute to promoting environmental sustainability in China?

Innovation and technology – powering growth: China has long been considered a manufacturing centre, or “factory to the world”. The downside of this story has been criticized by the public, environmentalists and humanitarianists. China should move up the value chain by promoting intensive R&D, quality education and entrepreneurship. In what concrete ways can the public and private sectors partner to realize this ambition going forward?

The rapid evolution of digital technology continues to alter the dynamics of the entertainment industry, greatly affecting the perceived value of content. Maintaining revenue sources and audiences while taking advantage of new electronic delivery settings remains a burning issue. Consumers, especially youth, are requesting more control over what they listen to, watch and read. Their expanding ability to co-create or re-create media products and distribute them within their (social) network also affects the value of “corporate created” content.

Digital media has also allowed easier content sharing globally. What impact does this have on both North American and European entertainment companies as well as for fast-growing market entertainment companies and talent? With the scale of the potential benefits and dangers of digital media unresolved, entertainment companies must find innovative ways to do business.

Intellectual property: How will the entertainment industry meet the challenge of protecting premium artistic content in a digital world while making it accessible and usable in a variety of popular digital formats?

Content forms: With the advent of new technology and behaviours, how will the nature of content change? How important will short form content become? Will passive experiences continue to dominate? Will new social groups create mass content?

Content pricing: Content pricing is an ongoing debate in the industry; illegal downloads still occur significantly. Should companies allow free-of-charge access or would full ownership of a paid download versus pay-per-view be a better option?

Analytics and measurement:Data and analytics have become a top priority for almost all segments of the industry. To what extent will the industry rely on metrics going forward?

Marketing and advertising: How will privacy concerns come into play as advertising becomes more granular and targeted?

Distribution of entertainment: Previously controlled, now the multiplicity of distribution channels is harder to restrict. Much of the debate on the future of entertainment also revolves around the ability to use downloading as a delivery method. Broadband’s growing accessibility and the rise of "user-created content" are changing the nature and distribution of entertainment.

Portability and storage: How will companies incorporate this screen into their multi-device content delivery strategies? What business models will prevail?

Music industry: Will subscription music services solve the illegal downloading problem? Must the future of the music industry rely heavily on live concerts?

Video game industry: The video game industry continues to grow; according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Media and Entertainment Outlook 2009-2013, the global video game market in 2013 will attain a market value of US$ 73.5 billion and grow at a compounded annual rate of 7.4%.

Reality entertainment: How has “reality” entertainment influenced consumers and, in particular, youth’s perception of themselves and their world? Has this been a positive and/or responsible change from a values and education standpoint?

Hybrid entertainment: What is the relevance of 3D and technology innovation in storytelling and its business models? Entertainment industry democratization: What will the difference between professional and semi-professional or user content be? How will a shift from a distribution model to a consumer-driven model that gives more power and control to audiences affect the entertainment industry?

Today, governments are faced with a double crisis. On the “demand side”, citizens seem less engaged in governments’ plans and initiatives, on the “supply side”, governments are pressed for greater levels of transparency and accountability, also in the delivery of public services and execution of their missions.

The recent crisis has accentuated both trends. On the one hand, citizens see their governments struggling with the imperative of an ill-defined sphere of ‘global governance’ while, on the other, the fate of those most affected by the downturn reignites old debates about ‘big’ vs ‘small’ government, and the optimal degree of public intervention in private affairs.

In such a context, the rapid growth of global interconnectivity and the emergence of new interaction tools such as social networks (Web 2.0) raise distinct opportunities to rebuild confidence and efficiency in the government sphere. However, it also points at new challenges, including a possible redefinition of what citizens should expect from their governments (and vice versa).

Last year, this Council devoted particular attention to the impact of new networks on the electoral and democratic processes. This year, the focus is on how the roles and functions of governments will change in the coming years, and how new information services and networks in particular will affect their abilities to deliver and execute. In doing so, the aim is to consider three distinct levels of government: national governments, local governments (e.g., cities, regions, states, provinces) and international governance mechanisms and bodies. At each of these levels, what should governments, business and citizens focus on to prevent a further deterioration of legitimacy and contribute to higher levels of efficiency, especially vis-à-vis new and emerging issues? How can 21st-century networks help?

Sub-topics

Emerging challenges for global governance: Developing solutions by sharing best practices and identifying e-strategy models applicable at different levels is required. How can governance institutions use virtual interactive technology to increase citizens’ participation and accountability? How can best-practices in e-governance be identified, shared and adapted worldwide?

Emerging challenges for national governments: Is democracy an endangered species, and how can it benefit (or suffer further) from new ways to use information and communication technologies? To what extent can Web 2.0 tools be utilized to create a more bottom-up interactive and collaborative way of working, taking issues of privacy and equity into account? Are transparency and accountability affected as much as anticipated? What additional actions/tools are needed?

Emerging challenges for local governments: On the one hand, central governments tend to ‘delegate’ an increasingly high proportion of their responsibilities to the local level (e.g., fiscal). On the other, an increasing number of local entities (e.g., cities) are competing with each other on the global scene (e.g., to attract talent and investments). How are these trends merging and what scenarios could they cause in the future?

A global networked dialogue (GND): How can global issues benefit from a global networked dialogue? Who should initiate it? Who should organize or govern it? How could its value be maximized (emission of ideas, negotiation, implementation and enforcement of possible agreements, etc.)?

Although an emerging market, India is widely recognized as a significant regional power with an increasing stake in global affairs. As a core Asian power, the Indian government is seeking to enlarge its influence on global issues. However, its efforts are not always successful – a reformed UN Security Council with a permanent Indian seat is far from reality.

This Council seeks to provide insight on India’s ongoing strategy to become a key global player so the world’s second largest nation and largest democracy can contribute more effectively to global affairs. The Council’s areas of focus vary: geopolitical issues in the South Asian sub-region and Asian region; Indo-US, Indo-China and Indo-EU relations; global governance; the global economic impact on the Indian economy; India’s contribution to human or social development; and business’ contribution to such issues as green technology and development assistance to other developing economies.

India’s profile in the global arena: The strategy to improve India’s profile will require collaborative efforts from the public and private sectors, academia, the media and civil society, among others. Together, experts on India must explore and implement sustainable solutions to promote India’s role in global and regional affairs.

South Asian geopolitics, the role of India and Sino-Indian relations: Geopolitical issues in South Asia play a major role in India’s relations with Pakistan in the global media, while other issues in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are widely deemed to have limited impact on regional instability. Relations with China, a neighbour with a contrasting political system and a decades-old rivalry with India, prompt questions on whether peaceful coexistence for economic development is possible. What are the respective similarities and differences, and can these lead to fruitful cooperation rather than competition?

Terrorism, separatism and fragile relations with Pakistan: The November 2008 (26/11) terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the subsequent escalation of tension with Pakistan are not the only security concerns India faces. Regional tensions in the north-east, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Naxalite movement in various Union states demonstrate that India’s security situation is under threat. What are the options to calm down the situation on as many fronts as possible?

Inclusive growth: How can the growth rates of the last few years be leveraged and used to address the unequal conditions in a society with more than 300 million people living on less than one dollar per day?

Technological innovation for a sustainable society: Many believe Indian technological advancement is predicated on lower wages and overhead costs. However, since wages have been increased markedly amid a diminishing pool of talent, how will India maintain its competitive advantage? Will that advantage have to be redefined?

Japan remains the second largest economy in the world; however, its profile and significance in global affairs seems to be shrinking. This Council aims to discuss geopolitical issues affecting the Asian region, US–Japan relations, global governance and Japan’s role in the global economy, as well as Japan’s contribution to the fields of technology and development assistance.

This multistakeholder Council will devise strategies to help Japan and the global community capitalize on Japan’s know-how in dealing with global economic stability, adapting to demographic shifts or an ageing population and developing advanced technologies that are environmentally friendly.

Japan’s technological innovation for a sustainable society: Many believe Japan’s competitiveness lies in its technological advancement and innovation, but the country is not effectively showcasing its competitiveness globally. How can Japanese technology and innovation best be presented and recognized so the world can benefit from them more? How can Japanese technology help the global community address concerns over high energy prices, climate change and other global agenda issues?

Japan’s economy and global economic instability: How can Japan better serve global economic stability? How can it share the lessons it has learned through its own financial crisis in the 1990s? Is Japan capable of setting an example for the world and other Asian countries by promoting domestic demand-led growth, fighting protectionism and reducing reliance on the export market, particularly the United States?

A new model for an ageing population: How will Japan cope with its demographic shift, i.e. a shrinking and ageing population? How will this affect its ability to compete in the global economy? Can other countries learn from how Japan is coping with this situation?

Structuring and restructuring Japanese institutions: Japanese institutions, including government, business organizations and the media, need to be restructured to compete globally. How can Japanese institutions be structured and restructured to increase their competitiveness worldwide?

Global talent management and development in Japanese society: One of the most serious issues that Japan faces is its talent deficiency in the global market. How can Japan produce talented and internationally-savvy individuals most competent to serve in key Japanese and global institutions?

East Asian geopolitics and the role of Japan: What is Japan’s role in East Asian geopolitical issues, such as territorial disputes, North Korea or economic and security integration?

Journalism continues to inform the public, yet the latest changes in technology, the proliferation of sources, the multiplication of media distribution channels, the change in media consumption habits, the fall of traditional business models and the quest for new ones have all dramatically affected the traditional definition of journalism, its role in a democracy and the way its workforce collects, produces and distributes content. Entrepreneurship in journalism is redefining the “workplace” as we know it and challenging traditional media companies and their professional resources, forcing them to evolve. An enormous opportunity exists to redefine journalism and its role in a global, interconnected society.

Social media: What role will digital social networks play in shaping public opinion? Will they provide a beneficial platform for what has been labelled citizen journalism? How is social media changing the political debate?

Intellectual property and copyright: The digital revolution raises major copyright concerns and requires a redefinition of intellectual property and a new approach to rights management and rights protection.

Media and global international public opinion: What impact do new communication and distribution channels have on shaping global public opinion and national political processes?

New distribution models: New forms of distribution promise more flexibility and new opportunities. Although traditional business models seem outdated, the effectiveness of the new models has yet to be proven. The challenge can be described as replacing analogue dollars for digital pennies.

Role of the media as public service: In view of the media’s critical role in social and economic development, how important is the creation of country-level and internationally comparable indicators of media freedom and governance? Has the commercial appetite for hard news, which acts as a guardian of democracy, waned? How can audiences be sensitized to what they are losing through cutbacks in news coverage?

New business models: How can professional reporting be sustained commercially? Is it possible to prevent news organizations from being influenced by the public and private funding they receive, i.e. avoiding “interventionist ownership”?

Women in the media: Women are gradually breaking the glass ceiling in traditional and digital media organizations. How does their management and reporting style shape public opinion worldwide? How can a diversity of voices be nurtured and ensured?

Innovation journalism: Traditional media faces the challenge of managing innovation within itself while reporting on how innovation occurs in the world. What must the media do to remain relevant in the innovation economy? “Innovation journalism” covers the processes of innovation and ecosystems across the traditional beats. Will this new concept easily be implemented in the vast traditional news industry? Will existing mainstream news media continue to set the political agenda in the innovation economy?

Education: How can youth and aspiring journalists be encouraged to develop the necessary skills to produce reliable news, especially in developing countries? Do standards of journalism exist in this new news ecosystem?

Korea, the Peninsula and North-East Asia have undergone dramatic changes over the past few decades – imperialism, conflict, industrialization and democratization. In addition to these pervasive changes, the uncertainty and complexity of the region’s issues have important implications and influence on our interlinked, globalized world.

Externally, Korea is an actor in international affairs through its trade, financial systems, resource supply chain, climate change cooperation and cultural influence. Internally, as Korea’s soft power increases, it faces strong pressure to provide leadership on global challenges. This Council’s main aim is to consider the peninsula’s current issues and interlinkages with other Councils to generate viable roadmaps and tangible outcomes.

Six-party talks, normalization and unification: In view of the new US administration, what does the future hold for the North Korean nuclear issue? Due to potential conflicts with China and Japan in various areas, how can Korea ensure trust amid misused nationalism in North-East Asia? How can Korea position itself using its emerging security architecture with the US, China and Russia? After two years in office, what scenario has the current administration followed in the name of “normal” relations and a unified Korea that promotes social integration and harmony?

Democracy after democratization: Can Korea exist with a well balanced “right” and “left” in a neo-liberalization era? What will it take to ensure societal harmony and faith in the leadership style amid emerging forms of grassroots politics from the Internet and civil society? What is the role of the fifth power – media?

An economic miracle, but rusty dynamism: Are the talent deficiency and brain drain, the ageing labour force and population, and educational reform indications of continued growing pains? Is reform of the Chaebol system impossible? What new form of entrepreneurship is possible after the government-driven “catch-up” strategy? Is China’s rise an opportunity or a challenge for Korea? What new sources of innovation and competitiveness in science and technology exist? Is Korea prepared for a butterfly effect in global finance and supply chain systems?

Social governance revisited and restructuring institutions: Is government reform or governance reform needed? How can the widening gaps of social divide (income, generations and values) be filled for societal welfare? How can social capital be built and minority groups integrated? How can Korea ensure the rule of law and transparency?

Global risk interdependence and a path to sustainable development: With energy supply, climate change and a low self-sufficient rate of food supply among growing concerns, what sustainable measures should Korea take? Is Korea a free-rider on the Road to Copenhagen? As Chair of the G20 Summit in 2010, how can Korea cooperate regionally and globally to tackle such international risks as climate change, energy security and environmental degradation? Should Korea take a bigger role in official development assistance, international aid and peacekeeping?

Korean “soft power” revisited: Korea’s national brand is ranked 33rd in the 2008 Anholt-GMI Nation Brands Index, quite low compared to its 13th position for national GDP. Is this illusion or reality? President Lee has set an aggressive target to improve the ranking to 15th place by 2013. What needs to be done to achieve this goal?

High commodity prices and favourable financial conditions boosted Latin America’s economic growth to almost 4% between 2000-2007. The impact of the economic crisis has been surprisingly mild in the region where an average growth rate of 3.2% is expected for 2009. However, one-fourth of the population still lives below the poverty line with unequal access to basic services and infrastructure. This issue creates important divisions in the region on the economic model to follow.

Latin American countries also face other global challenges: a solid financial architecture, education for all, clean and diversified sources of energy and a sustainable use of natural resources. While consensus in the region on the need to preserve and strengthen democracies is emerging, there is none on how to reduce poverty and inequality.

To shape the fundamentals of a new development cycle, a redesign in regional cooperation is needed, based on enlightened values and mutual trust. Efforts should focus on strong institutions, trade liberalization and sustainable technologies proposed in the following dimensions:

Rethink international agencies and development banks, aligned with the Global Redesign Initiative (GRI), to provide programme assistance and resources for counter-cyclical policies, with special attention on the most vulnerable countries

Enhance the investment climate through reforms that include a renewed legal framework which ensures security and speedy resolution of disputes

Reinvigorate international trade, preventing trade barriers and protectionist measures

Increase the value added of production and respond to environmental concerns through research, development and innovation

Promote social safety nets based on successful regional experience, for example programmes for poverty reduction related to improved educational systems

Strengthen the rule of law and efforts to tackle crime and corruption through improved structural and institutional mechanisms

Encourage global cooperation on climate change initiatives promoting a green economy that includes clean technology, sustainable energy sources and ecosystem conservation

Tackling these dimensions requires government, business and community leaders to come together to produce sound strategies and offer practical ideas and credible attitudes for advancement. The ongoing crisis is also an opportunity for the region to pass over past differences and inaugurate a new era of reinforced trust and integration. The Global Agenda Council on the Future of Latin America aims to promote structural reform of the financial system and to increase new investments to create a safer, cleaner and more inclusive economy.

The aftershocks from the financial and economic crisis continue to reverberate through the investment world. For years the endowment model has been the point of orientation for long-term investors. But over the past year, cracks appeared in the endowment model. What lessons can be learned from this episode? Is there a new model investors should aspire to? This Council focuses specifically on how recent developments have impacted the leading long-term providers of patient capital (in particular Sovereign Funds, Pension Funds and large Asset Managers) and how these actors can successfully navigate in an investment climate that is likely to be volatile and challenging in the years to come.

The challenge of liquidity: Many of the institutions that had the greatest challenges during the financial crisis embraced illiquid assets. Their difficulties have engendered a newfound appreciation for liquidity. How will investors price illiquidity going forward? What will the implications for future asset allocation be?

Permanent shareholdings: Upwards of one-third of total shareholdings are in index or computer composed form – investment is made by category and not by individual company. Typically, these portfolios are broadly diversified across industries and markets. What is the “responsibility” of this class of investor and how can its concerns and responsibilities be coordinated effectively with activist investors?

Alignment of interest: How can the alignment of interest between institutional investors and fund managers be improved and brought in line with desired long-term metrics?

Risk management: Existing risk management practices have not been adequate to capture the complexity of market and product interrelationships. Financial product innovation outpaced advances in quantitative methods to measure risk, making mitigation strategies more difficult to devise. What key components in risk management practices were missing?

Effectively managing time frames: The global financial crisis has exposed the short-term orientation of today’s capital markets. Intense focus on quarterly earnings, incentive structures that encouraged corporations and investors to pursue short-term gains and poor risk management practices contributed to this development. How can major institutions best adopt a long-term perspective in a short-term world?

Climate and sustainability: Climate change concerns may result in a transition to a low-carbon economy, requiring investors to assess the long-term financial risks of carbon-intensive investments and adopt “green standards”. To what extent will sustainable investing (investing by applying environmental, social and governance criteria, alongside traditional criteria, to further optimize investment returns) help companies operate in a more sustainable manner?

Mitigating risk through public-private partnership: Committing to certain long-term investments (e.g., infrastructure development) in developing countries can appear daunting due to undeniable risk. How can public, private and public-private hybrid institutions work together to mitigate these risks?

Protectionism: Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) may be a key provider of long-term capital if recipient countries and their governments do not adopt protectionist attitudes towards foreign investment. SWF are effective at channelling savings from one country or region to other countries that need long-term investment. Will the application and enforcement of the Santiago Principles and OECD Guidelines for SWF help subside public concern over foreign investment in “strategic assets” and/or lack of transparency?

While a number of commodity prices have remained relatively high, the economic crisis has led to deep cuts in exploration and capital development spending, which could lead to significant shortages and higher prices in the mid-term if and when demand returns to pre-crisis levels.

Tensions between the Mining & Metals (MM) industry’s global commercial aspirations and the political and social interests of national and local players are considered to be one of the most pressing risks facing the industry. How can the broader supply and processing industries best contribute to local economic multipliers? How can industry, governments and other stakeholders better work together to contribute to sustainable development? Is there a place for the MM industry to work collectively with the stakeholders?

Global values and governance: Given the industry’s exposure to corruption, should industry leaders design broad guiding principles specific to the industry and can they ensure transparency, access to information and the adoption of best practices?

Environmental stewardship: The MM industry is at the centre of the debate on environmental protection, climate change, biodiversity, water as an economic good, and materials management and recycling. It must strike the right balance so it remains competitive and innovative.

Societal expectations: The MM sector is the subject of doubts about its contribution to socio-economic development, its social sustainability and its adherence to voluntary codes of conduct vs mandatory regulation. How can national, sub-national and local governance and revenue management complement responsible mining investment to maximize local economic and social benefits?

Economic outlook: The financial and economic crisis makes it particularly necessary to discuss and find solutions on such topics as continued access to capital (which influences the future pipeline of projects and therefore the supply of commodities), new investment models (e.g., SWFs), speculative trading activities and the use of derivatives. What major risks need to be more accurately priced into commodities?

Power shifts: The relative demise of the West and the economic emergence of Brazil, India, China and Africa is a challenging scenario. Loosening restrictions will allow increased access to foreign investors in these countries, while domestic companies from emerging economies are investing abroad to ensure supply and capture new markets. How is the sectoral structure impacted and how can different stakeholders best deal with it?

Resource availability and access: Easy and convenient access to mineral deposits is a crucial requirement for the sector. Surface ownership rights, land use regulations, competing uses, physical inaccessibility and opposition from civil society can limit access and lead to scarcity of supply. Do reasonable models of cooperation and conflict resolution that can ensure responsible resource development exist?

Social and political stability: Fragile states, social unrest and conflict, organized crime and the lack of efficient governance present huge challenges for the sector. How can the industry contribute to stability and responsibly deal with unstable conditions and situations?

Public resource management: What policy tools can governments employ to ensure the sustainable development and management of resources? What role should companies and other stakeholders play in helping governments build the necessary regional and local capacity?

A unique moment in time has arrived where collaborative communications technologies are coalescing to create unprecedented opportunities for governments, private enterprise and society. As communications “mobilize”, the lives of individuals, the processes of enterprises and the economies of emerging nations are being transformed.

Nevertheless, it is possible that the future of mobile communications may not evolve as smoothly as anticipated. It is easy to envision scenarios where innovation is constrained, investment is curtailed and the full potential of positive social impact is unrealized.

This Council is a multistakeholder collection of the most innovative and relevant minds, created for the purpose of advancing knowledge and collaboratively exploring solutions to the most important issues in the global arena. It examines key factors where mobile communications can serve to accelerate positive value creation in the developing world. The Council achieves this via multistakeholder dialogue to identify short-term collaborative solutions, policy frameworks and public-private initiatives to ensure positive social impact.

Infrastructure: Exploring opportunities for enabling and sustaining economies of scale to ensure affordable and ubiquitous access to the global Internet is key. Particular focus will be placed on understanding the needs and uses of mobile services for those earning less than two dollars per day.

Application enablement: Working to ensure the deployment of simple, scalable, open and interoperable mobile application platforms is required.

Personal electronic data: The personal (and geo-located) data generated via mobile communications holds tremendous potential for wealth creation while the usage of this data must be governed to maximize value but prevent against abuse.

Sixty-two years after its creation, Pakistan today is the world’s sixth most populous nation and the second most populous Muslim country. With over 170 million people, a burgeoning and educated middle class, and an economy that has shown resilience through political instability, Pakistan is regarded as a promising market in the longer term, despite its current economic difficulties.

At the same time, the country confronts unprecedented security challenges, not least because of the fallout of three decades of conflict and strife in neighbouring Afghanistan. Pakistan’s stability is pivotal to regional and global stability. Its possession of nuclear weapons, its proximity to Afghanistan, its longstanding adversarial relationship with neighbouring India, its strategic partnership with China and its potential role as a buffer to Iran make it a country of significant geopolitical importance.

A multistakeholder approach: This Council engages leaders from the public and private sectors, academia, the media and civil society to provide insight on Pakistan’s ongoing strategy to become a key responsible and prosperous Asian player, and to explore and implement sustainable solutions to the country’s challenges.

South-Asian geopolitics, the role of India and Sino-Pakistan relations: Bearing in mind Pakistan’s relations with India, entrenched in decades-old tensions and mutual suspicion, what will the future of Sino-Pakistan relations be? What role do the European Union and United States play in Pakistan’s future?

Terrorism, separatism and fragility: Terrorist attacks in major cities and the Taliban insurgency in the tribal areas are not the only security challenges Pakistan faces. Discord in Balochistan and recurrent ethnic tensions in Karachi continue to jeopardize the country’s long-term stability and prosperity. Stability and prosperity in Pakistan are important not only for the future of one of the world’s most populated countries, but are also vital for regional and global security. What short-term measures are needed to address the immediate dangers, and what long-term strategies can deal with the roots of the problem?

Inclusive growth: How can Pakistan build on the promising growth rates of recent years while ensuring greater equity in terms of poverty, gender, education and employment opportunities? How will Pakistan reconcile the economic development gap among its provinces? Which sectors of the economy will serve as the country’s growth engine? What issues related to long-term competitiveness, including human and social development, need particular focus?

Outlook: While the Pakistani government seeks to enlarge its influence on global and regional issues, the country continues to face significant internal challenges, including poverty, ethnic strife and institutional decline. How can Pakistan emerge as a strong and stable leader in the region in the long term? How strong is its risk of falling prey to its structural economic problems? How does this imperil its political future?

In keeping with broad economic trends, real estate investment, development and operations have become increasingly globalized in recent years, creating challenges for local and multinational businesses alike. While the majority of real estate firms operate on a local basis only, they rely on capital and credit sourced away from their home territory and benefit from the importation of value-added know-how, practices and skills. At the same time, a growing number of real estate businesses operate across regional and national borders. These businesses must compete within the broader economy while facing pressure to continue thinking and acting locally to prosper.

In light of the challenges and opportunities presented by the increasingly global nature of the financial, service and supply structures tied to the real estate sector, this Global Agenda Council is dedicated to the development of constructive dialogue on the foremost issues facing the industry. Chief among these are the provision of capital and credit through the securitization of debt and equity; the creation and implementation of sustainable development and operating practices; the employment of socially responsible business practices; and the production of an appropriate supply of buildings and infrastructure to house each nation’s and the world’s economy. The Council serves as a platform to connect the sector’s most influential businesses with the foremost experts and policy-makers in a partnership effort to address these issues through reports, projects, initiatives and a united global voice.

Securitization: In the midst of a credit and liquidity crisis with a global dimension that has put significant stress on a host of financial intermediaries, what are the future role and prospects for the securitization of real estate debt and equity worldwide?

Sustainability: With climate change and energy use practices rising on the global agenda, how can the real estate sector best address the expanding list of practical and political requirements to develop sustainable products and use scarce resources efficiently?

Social responsibility: Given the close connection between the real estate sector and the communities it serves, how can real estate businesses best serve a multitude of stakeholders through transparent governance, private-public partnerships, planning and the employment of diverse populations?

Supply: If the fundamental purpose of the real estate sector is to “house” each nation’s economy and its citizens, how can businesses around the world achieve an adequate supply of buildings and infrastructure through the utilization of demographic understanding, constructive laws and regulations, and balanced capital and credit flows?

In recent years Russia has re-established itself as a global player and strengthened its position as a regional leader. Tensions with Ukraine and Georgia, the sale of weapons in Latin America, energy deals in Africa and a “reset button” policy towards the US all demonstrate Russia’s determination to be a global actor. At the same time, Russia’s leadership is facing a severe global economic crisis, political unpredictability and the threat of social turmoil at home. This Council aims to examine the country’s standing as a global player, its position in global governance institutions, revived security concerns in the region and beyond brought about by NATO expansion, conflict in the Caucasus and political instability in neighbouring countries, as well as Russia’s expanding economic interests beyond its borders.

Global governance and Russia’s role: Despite Russia’s importance as a global player, its contribution to dialogue on world affairs is limited. While Russia is involved in the Financial Stability Board and other institutions, it should play a more active role in discussions on climate change and alternative energy resources. Identifying Russia-specific gaps in global governance is important in the process of engaging Russia in the worldwide debate.

Geopolitics: Russia is assertive on its foreign policy priorities and needs. How can it balance its desire to maintain good relations with the new US administration with its need to bolster its position in its “Near Abroad”? What must Russia do to remain a global player in the age of the G2 (US, China)?

New security agenda: An important dimension in recent developments is Russia’s political relations with its close neighbours. Relations with Moldova, Ukraine and the Caucuses, as well as frozen conflicts within Russia, are important factors in defining the new security architecture for the future.

Energy debate: President Medvedev clearly signalled his desire to rethink and renegotiate the global rules applied to energy security. How did the global economic slowdown affect the Russian energy industry and how is it adjusting? Which of the planned pipelines will become a reality? Will the “Gas OPEC” idea ever take off? Impact of the financial crisis: The economic crisis has hit Russia particularly hard. At the same time, Russian leaders have used it to consolidate their grip on the “commanding heights” of the national economy, curb oligarchs’ power and even venture into foreign markets by acquiring cheap available assets (e.g., the Sberbank-Opel deal). Has this policy been a success?

Economic policy: Russia is undergoing a significant shift in economic policy, from maintaining a rapidly expanding economy to understanding the need for a cost-saving and efficiency-driven economy. This will require major adaptation to the new environment on the part of the elites, businesses and society.

Investment and business climate: It was easy to attract FDI when the market was booming and money was cheap, but how will Russia attract foreign business and investment under current conditions? What is it doing to improve the investment climate in the long term?

Shifting regional influence: With the frameworks of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in decline, new institutions are filling the power vacuum. Will Russia abandon these institutions in favour of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Russia-NATO cooperation, etc.?

“We cannot move to a positive future without revolutionizing construction.”

Sustainable construction goes beyond the activities of the building site and embraces a cycle of activities; Planning, Designing, Building, Using, Retrofitting, Replacing, which leads back to Planning.

The social, environmental and economic consequences of the construction cycle are considerable and have a global impact. It:

•Contributes 5-44% of national GDP
• Affects 40% of global greenhouse gas
• Affects 70% of cities’ greenhouse gas
• Sends 40% of its waste to landfills
• Consumes 12% of the world’s water
• Has a major impact upon quality of life (we spend a considerable amount of time indoors)
• Employs 10% of the world’s workforce
• Is the largest employer of micro-firms (fewer than 10 people)
• Has broad social, labour and human rights impacts
• Occurs in hazard prone geographies
• Sits typically on the most productive land (~250 million hectares worldwide, most of it primary agricultural land)
• Contributes to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems
• Consumes 30% of world resources

The way construction is delivered has cross-cutting impacts on many of the challenges facing the world today. The future depends on sustainable construction. This revolution is founded on a construction cycle that is integrative and regenerative. Together we must plan at the macro and micro levels, monitor and report against entrenched plans while respecting limits and embracing opportunities.

Sustainable construction will support a more resilient society, if 10 biomimicry-based principles are applied and it:

• Enhances the systems of which it is part (financial, human and natural capital)
• Runs on clean, renewable energy
• Recycles and reuses everything
• Uses only the resources it needs (better than zero carbon, water neutral)
• Contributes to biodiversity and food security
• Celebrates form and function in response to environmental forces
• Makes the best use of local resources
• Adapts and evolves with climate, economic and social change
• Ensures human health and well-being
• Facilitates the effective movement of people and goods

Over the past 60 years, the European Union (EU) has successfully managed to achieve its overarching goals of enhancing peace, improving prosperity and ensuring freedom for its citizens. Indeed, the EU is often hailed as a model of regional integration that should be emulated elsewhere. However, there have been, and continue to be, significant challenges to overcome. The Council on the Future of the EU examines some of these challenges: the reform of its institutions, the ongoing debate about enlargement, the looming demographic time bomb, pressing environmental and climate issues, the need to address security threats and to create alternative and sustainable energy sources, to name but a few. How the EU addresses these challenges has a profound and long-lasting impact that will extend far beyond Europe’s boundaries.

Enlargement: Member states have agreed to extend the EU, and countries on Europe’s southern, eastern and northern borders are knocking at its door. This process does not only raise delicate questions concerning the EU’s identity and its geographical borders, but it also adds an additional burden to an institutional system that already has to contend with the complexity of 27 member states. How far can, or should, the EU extend?

EU and the world: The European Union has often been described as an economic giant but a political dwarf. Is better coherence in Europe’s external actions needed? Is that desirable and, if so, what needs to be done to ensure that the EU can speak with one voice on major global issues? How can it build closer transatlantic ties and devise the right policies to engage with China, Russia and other world powers?

Global trade: Europe is the world’s largest trading bloc, accounting for one-fifth of global trade flows. How can the European Union leverage this power and be more assertive in international negotiations, such as at the World Trade Organization, in order to finally close the Doha Round of negotiations?

Economy: Europe is currently grappling with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. What will it take to get Europe out of the recession? What are the prospects for the euro zone and the single market? How can the EU’s economy become more dynamic, attracting skilled labour and fostering innovation?

Institutional reform: The EU is in need of modern institutions and streamlined working methods. Any change in the system must also ensure that the EU and its institutions are simplified, transparent and become more democratic. How will the EU’s institutions adapt to current global challenges, and are the provisions foreseen in the Lisbon Treaty sufficient to fulfil these requirements?

Competition and regulation: With increasing globalization, more and more companies, mergers and cartels are international. As the Microsoft and General Electric cases demonstrate, activities of companies based outside the EU may affect competition within the EU. Is the EU set to have an ever bigger impact on the business landscape as it makes decisions on mergers and acquisitions policy, antitrust or state aid and takes action against cartels?

The Internet’s stability, security and resiliency are growing in importance. Ensuring global interoperability and continued global cooperation in setting rules for technical evolution and coordination is paramount.

To a great extent, the development of the Internet has been driven by companies achieving scale as portals. Currently players are leveraging user-generated content and social networks. But the same products that meet people’s desire for personalized goods, information and self-expression can be used to scrutinize behaviour intrusively.

Since its emergence, the Internet’s development has been led by the private sector. This approach benefits consumers and rewards innovation. However, some governments seek to control not only content but also policy and regulatory mechanisms. How can international business ensure principles that support an open, interoperable and global Internet?

Infrastructure evolution: Commensurate emphasis must be placed on ensuring access, security and privacy, and intellectual property management. Who will retain the control of data? How can content creators, ISPs and the IT industry find common ground on copyright protection? How can increasing malicious behaviour be monitored and countered? Is the Internet emerging as a medium for conflict? What can business and others do to ensure continued global coordination and make the Internet secure, stable and resilient?

Internet and global security: In the context of increasing globalization, the Internet provides opportunities for global cooperation against common security threats, but also challenges the current state of international security worldwide. How can the risks in global security derived from the Internet’s position as a main communication tool be mitigated?

Cloud computing: Cloud computing is a relatively new phenomenon that carries many implications for policy-making and data protection. What is the impact of putting a potentially infinite resource in everyone’s hands at low cost?

Location-awareness: Location-awareness increasingly makes Internet information and commerce relevant for conducting business locally, creating new business opportunities and shifting more transactional revenue to the Web. How will the convenience and benefits of “Internet presence awareness” and targeted advertising be received by consumers and affect privacy concerns?

Regulation: Considering the increased regulatory attention directed towards the Internet, how can its model, largely driven by market forces and technical innovation, be maintained? How can support for a continuing light-touch approach by regulators be preserved?

Multilingualism: Linguistic diversity on the Internet is far from being perfect, displaying information in only a few of the thousands of languages worldwide. Global collaborative effort is needed to make the Internet accessible and understandable for all.

Web 3.0: Open source and the semantic Web have become key drivers of the Internet’s social impact. Open source has made considerable inroads in the corporate and public sectors. New ways to share information are changing the Web. Will personal digital rights allow the notion of privacy to be maintained as a valid concept?

Although the countries of the Middle East are heterogeneous in character, all are affected to some degree by the concentration of latent regional tensions and potentially destabilizing events. Many of the region's main challenges, such as security and economic growth, interlink and shape the future, and have serious implications for the foreign policies of the world's leading powers.

The severity and complexity of the global financial crisis has impacted the region and forced a re-evaluation of growth models, particularly among the more open economies. Governments and businesses alike realize the need for systemic modifications to harness sustainable growth.

Regional Security

Regional security and political stability: The broader Middle East region faces a complex landscape of insecurity, where any one of a number of linked issues could trigger a major conflict.

Weapons proliferation: The risk of proliferation in the Middle East would seriously threaten the region’s security.

Terrorism: Preventing a fertile environment for the threat of terrorism (including the rise of piracy) is a determining issue for the region.

Arab-Israeli conflict: The Arab-Israeli conflict continues to be tremendously important to Arabs at a symbolic level. As long as it remains unresolved, it will hinder political liberalization in the region.

Good governance: Rule of law is a basic requirement for a thriving market economy. The lack of legal certainty, of protection and transparency are all factors that hamper risk-taking and investment.

Sustainable Economic Growth

Economic inequalities: The macroeconomic reforms engaged so far have been ineffective in tackling economic and social inequalities in the region.

Systemic changes: The current economic crisis has exposed the limits of the growth models across the region and highlights the need to lay foundations for more sustainable and robust growth.

Youth and education: Despite high investment levels in education and the “youth bulge”, the region faces challenges in developing high quality education systems that respond to the needs of the labour market.

Regional cooperation in science and technology: The Gulf States are spearheading the development of innovative projects in the area of alternative energies. How can these successes be spread throughout the region?

Society and values: Faith, social mobility, freedom of expression, pluralism and the shift to a more meritocratic society are all playing an increasingly influential role in the Middle East’s political, economic and social landscape.

Women’s empowerment: The empowerment and the role of women in the region are major issues that must be addressed to realize the full economic and social capacity of the Middle East and North Africa.

Transport – the movement of people and goods – provides access to people, ideas, products and employment. Sustainable transportation is the concept of meeting today’s needs for mobility without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their transport needs. Transportation systems need to balance the often competing objectives of providing transport that is efficient, safe, clean, affordable and accessible. Each transportation system integrates vehicles, infrastructure and energy supply. Hence any discussion of the future of transportation must take an integrated approach that reflects institutional, policy, technological and behavioural dimensions.

Rapid motorization and urban mobility: The linkage between rapid motorization, forecast at 2 billion cars and trucks by 2030, and fast-growing cities with income-rising populations seeking more and better travel is increasingly complex. A delicate balance must be struck between affordable individual transport, congestion management and reliable public transit alternatives.

Oil dependency and global climate change: Transport is 97% dependent on oil and accounts for roughly half of global oil use. Transport demand for petroleum and other liquid fuels will increase more rapidly than in any other end-use sector over the next 25 years. A paradigm shift to the use of new clean energies less interlinked with geopolitics is urgently needed. Reduced oil dependency is also necessary to decrease the sector’s contribution to global CO2 emissions, which today amounts to roughly 25% but is growing rapidly. As pressure mounts to mitigate the mobility carbon footprint, proposed changes in regional regulation, such as the European air travel trading system and CO2 regulation in Europe and the US for the automotive industry, challenge automotive and airline firms.

Innovation and emerging technologies: Some believe we are on the cusp of a wave of innovation in transport as new entrepreneurs enter the mobility space. How will innovative technologies and new business models change the face of transport? Is transport less innovative than other sectors?

Innovative and effective policies: International, national, regional and local policies have a tremendous impact on mobility. What is the return on investment for public financing of transport? Who wins and who loses from various policies?

Transport infrastructure challenges: Many countries severely under-invest in transport infrastructure, both in maintaining existing infrastructure and building new or expanded infrastructure. How should transport infrastructure be financed and delivered?

Freight transport: Goods transport presents unique challenges that must also be addressed in an integrated manner. Should deliveries be consolidated within cities? Why are certain countries’ border administration procedures so cumbersome? How will global supply chains evolve in an era of high oil prices?

Investment in transportation: Although significant financing is allocated to research and infrastructure construction for transport, investment flows and policies do not currently support rapid transition to a low-carbon transportation world that would meet sustainability challenges and foster the pace of innovation necessary for transport solutions and new business models in the private sector. How can this reality be transformed and accessibility in a low-carbon world be promoted?

“Womenomics” tell us that tapping efficiently into the female human resource pool is not only good practice but also good business. Long-term progress is difficult if half the population is not fully engaged in the development process. As consumers, workers, entrepreneurs and caregivers, women are central to solving today’s most pressing global challenges, including climate change, economic inequalities and the spread of disease.

Challenges ahead include how to further prioritize girls’ health and education, how to ensure that the female talent pool has access to senior leadership positions within companies and how to integrate women more effectively into a country’s economy. To close gender gaps and tap into the opportunities, it will be imperative to engage multiple sectors – government, business and civil society – at the national level and to address the gaps in international cooperation.

Poverty reduction and development: Investing in girls is one of the highest-return investments a developing country can make. How can policy-makers step up their efforts to improve girls' health and education as an essential pillar for economic development?

Women and economic growth: Unequal use of the female half of the human resource pool may help explain the gap in growth that has opened up between OECD countries in recent years. Yet in many countries, the trend of women joining the labour force has levelled off or decreased. What can be done to integrate more women into economic growth?

Public policy: What are the best practices in gender-sensitive budgeting? How can a focus on women be integrated into government policies related to challenges such as climate change and the spread of HIV/AIDS? In increasingly female ageing societies, what are the implications for social security and pensions?

Access to finance: How can women entrepreneurs and business owners get improved access to finance? What institutions or policies are needed in this area?

Policies in the workplace: What can be done to address salary gaps that continue to persist despite clearly established laws? How can flex-time, distance-working and work-life balance – relevant for most of today's workforces – be successfully applied across an organization’s mainstream culture? What roadblocks to women’s leadership in business remain? What lessons can be learned from companies that perform well on gender parity indicators?

Gender diversity in the boardroom: The consensus is that diverse groups reach better decisions than homogenous ones. Recently, debate has arisen on the lack of gender diversity in boardrooms and its potential contribution to the poor decision-making that led to the current economic crisis. What does this imply for women on boards?

Changing gender roles and spending power: Traditional gender roles have become less relevant in Western societies as women’s earning and spending power has multiplied. Significant impact from this trend is also expected on consumption patterns and the social fabric in emerging markets like Brazil, Indonesia and China. What are the implications for today’s and future societies?

Women and political leadership: Globally, women make up only around 15% of parliamentarians and ministers. What are the reasons behind this gap and how can they be addressed?

The need for cooperation in global healthcare today is greater than ever before. The overall consensus is that the gap between healthcare expenditure and GDP is set to grow significantly worldwide over the next few decades, regardless of differences in healthcare finance and provision. The fragmentation of global healthcare entails systemic inefficiencies that result in high costs and weak performance.

Crafting solutions to reverse these unsustainable trends requires collaboration across public and private health-related organizations, including the public at large, health practitioners, health administrators, public health policy-makers, patients, research and manufacturing. The gap between public health authorities and the private sector needs to be closed, as does the rift between private and public health providers, between preventive and curative healthcare and between developing and developed countries.

Global collaboration: What incentives can foster greater collaboration among and across organizations contributing to global health?

Fragmentation: The complexity of policies and infrastructure and the diversity of healthcare providers cause fragmentation and information asymmetries. How can competition be fostered while ensuring a level playing field?

Priority setting Weak or absent performance measurement systems hinder the appropriate allocation of resources, such as determining the right balance between prevention and surveillance.

Challenges to accessing healthcare: Despite mounting investment, access remains a key issue in both developed and developing countries. What are some of the most innovative approaches to improve access to healthcare for disadvantaged groups?

Global health governance and development: How can improved healthcare systems contribute to narrowing the gap in both the quality and the availability of healthcare between developed and developing nations?

This Global Agenda Council continues the work of the former Council on Global Governance. In a world that is more Asian, younger and becoming ever more interconnected and interdependent, global challenges require not only the reform of institutions and the emergence of new forms of leadership, but also a change in the way opportunities to address global problems are considered.

The manifold challenges mankind faces globally, from climate change to multilateral trade reform, reflect three fundamental global governance problems: 1) market failures resulting from global and public externalities that are not tackled; 2) sovereignty failures caused by states not adequately addressing problems that reach beyond their borders; and 3) intergovernmental failures as expressed in shortcomings in authority, vision and resources to effectively put in place collective action.

Global governance exists; public, private and public-private initiatives currently address global challenges. But in too many areas today, global governance fails as a generator of norms, underperforms as a mechanism of cooperation, stalls when it comes to enforcement and lacks adequate accountability.

Global governance requires trust: The current challenge is less a technical design problem than a political challenge. How can solutions to global problems be managed in an effective and legitimate manner? Do these solutions suggest challenges to traditional sovereignty?

Adequate solutions: Responses to global challenges need to rely on credible analyses and proposals that are flexible and tailored to the particular characteristics of the problem. Responses must also be relevant to both the broader community and to the key players involved.

The changing balance of power: Ongoing major shifts in economic and political power are accompanied by rising powers’ need for better representation in the multinational institutions that address issues of global governance. What are the implications for these key institutions?

Links between formal and informal institutions: How can the range of informal groups, networks and even individuals contribute to a more effective approach in addressing global challenges?

The historic paradigms in the global economy have been challenged by the recent crisis and by longer-term trends in the economic, political, social and demographic landscape. This Council focuses on the nature of global investment flows (between asset classes, geographies, sectors) and related effects on the socio-political and economic forces that shape globalization. Investment flows can create much good (e.g., when they channel financial resources into developing markets), but have also been known to overwhelm local economies and inflate unsustainable bubbles with very harmful consequences. This Council aims to offer recommendations on how best to harness the positive aspects of global investment flows, while mitigating the downsides.

Investment flow “pull”: How do regions compete to attract or harness global investment flows? What are the uses of investment flows once they enter a local market? How can they best be retained (if desired by recipients) rather than becoming “hot money”?

Investment flow “push”: What do investors look for when directing flows into regions, sectors and asset classes for the short or medium term? How can investors be encouraged to invest in parts of the economy that are desirable from a recipient’s perspective (e.g., for development) without causing damage at a later stage (e.g., by rapidly being pulled out of a local economy or asset class)?

Nature of investment flows: What are “harmful” and “good” investment flows, and under what circumstances (e.g., local capital market developments) do they occur? What should therefore be done to mitigate any harmful effects?

Politics and governance: What structures of governance are needed in an increasingly globalized world? What levers can and should politicians pull to influence globalization, its local impacts and its future course? What impact do stimulus packages, particularly those related to mitigating a financial crisis, have on global investment flows?

Transparency: How can information asymmetries (e.g., investor-recipient in emerging markets) be mitigated without distorting competition?

Asymmetries and protection of small participants: How can size asymmetries (e.g., the distortion of local economies by vast global flows) be mitigated without harming market efficiency and hampering growth or development? How can the inflation of local asset bubbles be prevented without undue market distortion? Should controls on global capital flows exist (and what would they be)?

Stability and sources of disruption: What potential systemic shocks will impact exchange rates, capital flows and regional competitiveness? What can be learned from the recent crisis and others in that regard, and what stabilizers (either preventive or mitigating once a disruption occurs) can be put into place?

An individual's health capital is conditioned by multiple factors and events, starting before birth and continuing throughout his/her entire life, in particular during the early years. Genetic factors and behaviours acquired during childhood, in addition to the environment in which individuals evolve, condition a person’s health. These behaviours become ingrained without the person realizing the impact on his/her future health condition.

To work towards building a healthy new generation, it is necessary to pursue commitments to the HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria initiatives, while putting renewed emphasis on the neglected areas of maternal, child and reproductive health; address the rise of non-communicable diseases that are causing 38 million deaths annually; and increase collaboration, coordination and dialogue among all stakeholders of society.

Double burden: The challenge is to implement appropriate prevention strategies to halt the growing trend in non-communicable diseases against a background of infectious diseases that remain out of control.

Maternal and child health: Improving maternal and newborn health and reducing child mortality (MDG 5) are prerequisites to achieving progress in social, economic and human development.

Youth: Youth represents a large and growing segment of society that is very vulnerable to social changes and influences, socio-economic conditions, family situations and exposure to new lifestyles. This makes youth more susceptible to health risks.

Education: Children mimic the behaviours of people surrounding them and learn from them. Parents/families, school teachers, communities, peer groups, churches, etc., all contribute to “instilling” healthy lifestyle habits from childhood onwards.

Promoting investment in individual health: Empowering and educating young individuals to invest in their own health and to adopt healthy lifestyles early decreases their risk of health complications later in life.

Media, social networks & technology: Both traditional (e.g., radio, television) and new interactive media (e.g., video-games, YouTube, MSN, etc.), along with new social networks (e.g., Facebook) and new technologies (e.g., e-health, mobiles, SMS, MSN, etc.) may contribute to building health literacy/awareness.

The business & economic case: Ill health negatively affects most businesses’ bottom line, workforces and customers worldwide. An opportunity thus exists for the private sector to enhance its reputation through the mobilization of its skills and resources (e.g., marketing and branding, IT, HR management, etc.) and/or through the development of products and services geared towards driving change and positively influencing individuals, thus contributing to savings and to building a healthier generation.

Sustainability and long-term view: Long-term strategies requiring leadership, financing, programmatic efforts and innovative thinking are needed to help make this generation based change.

The role of the state: Governments are expected to take the lead in driving these efforts, especially in times of economic crisis, through the creation of appropriate incentives and policies.

Global governance: The proliferation of actors and disjointed financing, coupled with limited leadership and accountability in global health governance bodies, detracts the world health community from being able to appropriately and effectively address global health issues, negatively impacting current and future generations.

Health & human rights: Promoting and protecting health and respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights are inextricably linked.

The core issue in this area is how to address the most catastrophic forms of human rights violation: how to ensure, in short, that the world never again endures a Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur or Sri Lanka.

Until very recently, the most fundamental problem was the lack of a common global normative foundation on which to build a case-by-case response: the global North tended to support robust military “humanitarian intervention”, while the global South tended to give overriding weight to state sovereignty and non-intervention. But the unanimous embrace of the “Responsibility-to-Protect” concept by the 2005 World Summit and its overwhelming reaffirmation in the UN General Assembly July 2009 debate seem to have shifted the necessary basic mindset.

Almost everyone now accepts that every sovereign state has the responsibility to protect its own people from mass atrocity crimes (“Pillar 1”), that others have the responsibility to assist it to do so (“Pillar 2”) and that when it fails, the wider international community has the responsibility to step in with an appropriate policy response, including coercive military force with Security Council approval in the most extreme cases (“Pillar 3”). But how can all this be put into practice: defining appropriate responses, building institutional capacity to deliver them and finding the political will to mobilize that capacity when the occasion demands?

Establishing the norm: How can consensus be reached on what constitutes a Responsibility-to-Protect label and appropriate response (vs conflict or human rights concerns more generally)? How can misuse of the concept be dealt with (coalition in Iraq, Russia in Georgia)? How can the double-standards view be addressed?

Mobilizing political will: What good strategies for energizing the required response exist for when new situations arise: peer group government pressure (organised how?), bottom-up civil society pressure (organised how?), or via the media (but how?)? Are there lessons from Darfur?

Global institutional capacity: What are the biggest weaknesses in needed capacity globally: early warning, Security Council decision-making, UN system follow-up, diplomatic mediation, tailored aid, rule of law support, peacekeeping capability, targeted sanction delivery, international criminal justice or fire brigade coercive military intervention capability? How can the deficiencies be addressed?

Regional institutional capacity: How much of the prevention of, and reaction to, mass atrocity crimes can/should be left to regional organizations? Do they have greater inherent legitimacy than international or bilateral actors? What are their strengths and weaknesses, and how can the latter be addressed?

National institutional capacity: For countries with internal problems, but also those with the responsibility to assist (how are they defined, by wealth?): what resources – military, civilian government, civil society – should be developed or earmarked to address Responsibility-to-Protect situations, proactively and reactively? How can the problem of everyone’s responsibility becoming no one’s be addressed?

Use of military force: The use of force is only relevant in extreme and urgent cases, but as a major piece of unfinished conceptual business since 2005 and a constantly recurring issue, how can the debate be advanced and consensus reached on the criteria for use of military force?

Many millions are immediately affected by humanitarian crises, and the number is sure to rise. The UN estimates 37 armed conflicts took place in 2007, and 414 natural disasters affected 211 million people. Overall, there were 16 million refugees, 51 million internally displaced people and 90 million in need of food aid. Although the international community has significantly improved its humanitarian response capabilities through actions such as the development of best practices, standards and codes, and the creation of coordinated institutional structures, the humanitarian caseload is becoming increasingly complex.

Both conventional and new drivers of humanitarian crises are connected in some manner to other parts of the global governance system – whether through policies on fragile states, agricultural development or the international climate change regime. This Council focuses its work on the key structural gaps in international cooperation (whether institutional, legal or other) related to humanitarian assistance, and the means to tackle them through concrete recommendations.

Because of both the likely increased frequency of extreme events and significant pressure from slow onset change, the Council has developed a new approach to humanitarian response with increased focus on pattern and structures, and the Vulnerability and Protection “Business Model”, which links the broader context of poverty, vulnerability and poor governance. It seeks to engage more actors in the relief effort, around the following key dimensions:

A comprehensive risk framework: Today’s methods often force engagement in risk management with incomplete information on how events will unfold. We must plan to be ready for events for which we cannot plan.

A reworked spending balance between response and prevention-recovery: Reworking the balance between disaster response and the upstream and downstream issues of prevention and recovery is required. More resources are needed both to reduce risk in the first place, and to reduce the risk of relapse after the event.

Big investment in national and local capacity for response, prevention and recovery: The capacities, readiness and resilience of exposed societies must also be enhanced so they can better handle extreme events. Ensuring that civil society and local communities are involved makes it possible to identify and meet the various needs of groups (differentiated, for example, by gender, age, social class).

Fuller private-sector engagement: The private sector must be engaged more fully, not just as a source of donations but also as a source of key skills and technologies, during and after disasters. Council Members commend the World Economic Forum’s initiative involving the private sector in humanitarian relief and its Disaster Resource Network.

Linking the humanitarian to broader social and economic development issues: Linking the humanitarian concern to broader development issues would strengthen social safety nets and support resilience.

Regional and international readiness to address cross-border humanitarian issues: Cross-border challenges will grow. Regional organizations backed by the UN need to be able to mediate and mitigate these problems as they arise.

Estimates on the prevalence of illicit trade, which range from 7-10% of global trade, do not convey the severe harm that results from the trade or the urgency of the problem. Illicit trade is not evenly distributed across the world’s regions; it has devastating impacts on diverse elements of society, particularly in developing and conflict regions.

Although cross-border trade is not new and has historical precedents, it has grown particularly rapidly with the recent wave of intensified globalization. This growth is a result of unregulated free trade, enhanced communication, greater transport and state-based legal systems that cannot respond to growing transnational crime. Moreover, criminality is morphing, and changing more rapidly than a state or multinational system can respond.

Mapping the extent of and interconnections among various forms of illicit trade: Although the knowledge is quite fragmented across different areas of illicit trade, they share strong common denominators that may offer some solutions, including: finance controls, flows of money, capacity gaps, governance issues and failure to deal with corruption. Illicit trade is commonly perceived by government and policy circles as primarily being about issues such as drug trafficking, weapons and people trafficking. Yet the scale of illicit trade is in fact much greater than many appreciate. Often the trade of certain commodities is considered legitimate at their point of entry to market when, in fact, they should be considered illicit.

Exposing the networks (particularly the links between organized crime and terrorist groups) that enable illicit trade to flourish: Illicit trade is perpetrated by a variety of criminal actors, not just by traditional criminal organizations but also by diverse networks that often include a range of individuals, including high-ranking government officials. Corruption is the major facilitating mechanism that enables this trade to function.

Describing the impacts of illicit trade, in particular on the corporate world, on efforts to improve governance and on international development: Policies at the state and multinational levels have failed to stop the growth of illicit trade. Gaps in international law, law enforcement and cyclical efforts against one element of illicit trade have permitted crime groups to move their bases of operation and change their illicit commodities. Uncoordinated responses merely result in illicit trade moving from one region to another. Different forms of the trade – arms, endangered species, counterfeit pharmaceuticals and human beings, to name but a few – must be addressed in a holistic, non fragmented way.

Exploring the impact of the current financial crisis on illicit trade: The global financial crisis is likely to increase the different forms of illicit trade because of the increased pressure to lower prices and the greater desperation of individuals in impacted economies.

Globally, innovation is a top priority for CEOs and national leaders. The former understand that their business future depends on their capacity to innovate and access innovation. The latter understand that long-term growth and economic development ultimately rest on encouraging collective innovation.

Although a commitment to innovation is the key to successful growth, the level of uncertainty involved and the associated risk may deter the commitment necessary for its implementation. Yet, innovation should not be viewed as some sort of mystical silver bullet that will solve all of our problems, nor some new technology that we can buy and implement. Innovation is about creatively leveraging the tools and processes at our disposal to drive business and social value.

Nurturing innovation clusters: Geographic clustering of research and development policy organizations, industry and higher education institutions can influence innovation and bring a competitive advantage. A system that invests in channelling the creative energy of these individuals in a manner that links several institutions together and fosters strong partnership between the public and private sectors should be part of the national schemes of innovation.

Public and private investment: While public funding has a critical role to play in the development of innovative technologies, the private sector must provide the lion's share of research funding if cutting-edge technologies are to be developed and widely exploited by industry.

Intellectual property laws: Can patents deter innovation? How should IP holders reset the IPR framework and valuation system and open up IP to solve problems in the developing world?

Risk-taking: Real innovation comes from those willing to take risks and learn from failure. Business environments, including taxation, need to be structured to enable risk-taking.

Innovation talent-pool: Restructuring education to emphasize systems thinking and multidisciplinary problem-solving is needed. The demand for talent in all sectors is changing due to the increased need of technology skills, cross-disciplinary skills, cross-sector skills and the changing needs of business.

Innovation and the “after” crisis: When the economy inevitably picks up again, innovation must be ready. Today’s global challenges can be met through the benefits of innovation (alternative energies, health systems, communications, etc.). Therefore a systemic approach is key to a successful innovation strategy and for its benefits to be enjoyed globally.

Corporate innovation systems: What combination of actors, activities, resources and institutions and their interrelations are in some way important for a corporation’s innovative performance?

Information infrastructure: The importance of information technology to current business practices has long drawn the attention of practitioners and academics. To improve services in areas such as health and education and boost national competitiveness, governments are increasingly articulating policies involving the converging communication and information technologies that will ensure the widest possible access for all users.

Cooperative networks: Strengthening collaboration with leading research organizations and companies is fundamental.

Innovation-led growth: Innovation is recognized as being key to economic growth and development. But it doesn’t happen on its own. It requires government to create a set of incentives that encourages linkages and networking among the players, processes and organizations.

The protection of the human mind’s creations constitutes a key tool in the promotion of creativity and in the safeguard of the rights of creators and inventors.

The movement of goods and services protected by intellectual property rights has gained economic importance in recent years, generating a radical increase in new national and international IP enforcement standards.

Agreed international standards on the protection and exploitation of intellectual property have become a social and economic priority for the international community. The impact and benefits provided by new technologies must be taken into account and a balance is needed between public and private interests related to public order, good morals or public health.

Development: Expanding international trade in goods and services protected by international property rights is an unprecedented opportunity for economic growth for emerging economies. How can developing countries improve their national IP institutional capacity to benefit from this trade expansion?

Copyright in the digital environment: The advent of digital technology has had a substantial effect on copyright, patent and trademark laws. In an age of easy and perfect digital reproduction of intellectual property, the protection and enforcement of IP rights should prevent abuses of the creators’ and inventors’ rights without limiting public access to information. How should policy-makers respond to this challenge?

IP’s interface with other public policies: Currently, property rights in technology and knowledge often conflict with other areas of public policy. How can these tensions be harmonized?

Mechanics or machinery: How does the current IP system, which is largely a territorial system, operate in a world of global markets where there is international use of technology?

Compliance: How can the system for protecting intellectual property rights help combat piracy and counterfeiting more effectively?

Governance: How can national and governmental IP policy-making processes be accelerated and made more efficient? How can multilateral IP policy-making processes be made to function better?

The international legal order provides a framework of global rules applicable to states and other international actors within which current challenges are addressed. The existing legal order was largely conceived in the aftermath of WW II and is inadequate for addressing the global challenges of the 21st century. Its inadequacies relate to the rule-making process, arrangements for application of the rules, and the absence of effective international and domestic enforcement mechanisms.

The international legal system remains fragmented and decentralized; linkages between different areas are limited and, in some cases, non-existent. The need to develop a more integrated approach (e.g. trade, foreign investment, environment, poverty, climate, human rights, etc.) is urgent. It is apparent that some key areas, including financial services, are insufficiently regulated at the international level.

This Council addresses aspects of establishing, applying and enforcing international rules. It aims to consider means that would allow international economic norms to be treated with other international norms in a more integrated manner. In this way economic liberalization could be harmonized more effectively with social and environmental issues. Issues to be considered include:

International regulation of financial markets: In the current economic and financial crisis, the need to redraw global financial regulations is urgent. This requires international economic laws (trade, foreign investment, IP, etc.) and responses from the Bretton Woods institutions to the current international financial challenges, as well as their reform. One such institution that has received little attention is the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), created in 1965 to promote the legal protections believed necessary to encourage conditions for increasing foreign investment flows. The ICSID is now being challenged as outmoded, yet it retains considerable importance and has a key role to play if it can balance legitimate private interests (property rights) with valid public interests (the right of the state to adopt appropriate regulation and other measures on social and other grounds, and to respond to national emergencies).

Global rule of law ethic: The international legal framework plays an important role in addressing current challenges on the global agenda. In the context of a globalizing world in which cooperation hinges on minimum rules of behaviour, the vital importance of a global rule of law ethic must be reaffirmed. In today’s interconnected world, the notion of a la carte multilateralism – pick and choose the rules you like, ignore those you don’t – needs to be reconsidered, as does the adequacy of existing arrangements for legislating minimum international rules. A more integrated system of international legal rules is likely to be more sustainable and acceptable.

Global enforcement mechanisms: The international community has developed various mechanisms to enforce regulations, including: agreements between sovereign states; agreements between sovereign states with peer control (i.e., Human Rights Council); agreements between sovereign states with incentives for the private sector (i.e., Kyoto Convention); agreements between sovereign states with independent control (i.e., WTO/ICC). What new enforcement mechanisms are needed to address current global challenges?

The present international monetary structure has neither been able to prevent the global economic and financial crisis nor adequately respond to it. This has renewed interest in reforming the international monetary system. What concrete steps must be taken to advance the system’s reform agenda?

Governance structure: Over time the IMF has increasingly been perceived as a “club” of industrialized nations that has significantly undermined its legitimacy vis-à-vis emerging markets. Its governance structure, a result of the post-WW II geopolitical constellation, appears ill-adapted to today’s integrated global economy. How should it be reformed to be more inclusive and to make its facilities more useful to countries? How should the management structure and countries’ voting rights be reformed? In particular, what type of reforms to the international monetary system would be necessary to appropriately respond to Asia’s rise as an economic power?

Global economic governance and management: How should the role of the IMF and other international institutions be adapted to ensure greater global economic stability?

IMF lending policies: During the recent economic crisis, existing IMF facilities were not able to meet the needs of its member countries and global markets. How can the IMF become more effective at helping countries react to cyclical downturns? How should its lending provisions be adapted?

Role of special drawing rights: Due to their nature, special drawing rights are currently considered by many experts to be an underused instrument. How can the use of these rights be expanded, whether as a tool for the provision of emergency liquidity to countries in crisis or as a global reserve currency?

Economic imbalances: Economic imbalances must be thoroughly explored as the current economic crisis subsides and new global imbalances arise. Is greater global coordination with respect to exchange rates and macroeconomic policy needed? Should a new approach to foreign exchange reserves be envisaged?

Regulation: Is there scope for more effective international coordination in the regulation of financial markets and financial institutions?

Reform mechanisms: Are there effective mechanisms to balance the legitimate desire to preserve national autonomy in economic policy-making with the responsibility to protect a well-functioning global economy and the legitimate interests of other countries?

International security issues have become increasingly complex as they have taken on a more transnational nature. While interstate conflict is still a risk, and alliances and balances of power continue formally and informally in different parts of the world to deal with state-on-state conflict, other, more prevalent international security risks need to be managed through different forms of international cooperation. Terrorism, international piracy and proliferation risks are among those that are difficult to address because of their transnational character and the need to develop strong regional cooperation to deal effectively with both the state and non-state actors that pose these challenges. The UN remains the only globally accepted legitimizer of international security cooperation and enforcement action, yet many international security dilemmas require intervention in the internal affairs of states, which the UN Security Council has been reluctant to endorse. As the world moves towards a more egalitarian global order, with the US losing supremacy, regional powers and regional organizations need to assume more responsibility for security management. The manner in which global organizations, regional security structures and individual states all choose to address current international security issues is affected by the increasingly diverse range of threats to international peace and security and the increasing role of non-state actors in international affairs.

Areas this Council will discuss include:

• The range of current international and global threats to international peace and security

• The respective role of state and non-state actors

• The role of the UN and regional security institutions in the current global security environment

• The scope for ad hoc cooperation between coalitions in key regions to address emerging security issues

• The instruments for security management, including military intervention, and the relationship between the use of force and the use of financial and economic instruments to deter conflict or to resolve disputes

• The priorities for regional and global action and the key actors who need to be inspired to act

• The need for new forms of international understandings on certain types of global threats

Marketers have long been accused of creating a desire for goods that are not needed. More recently, there is discussion on whether marketing and advertising have contributed to creating, and possibly distorting, the American Dream of ownership and consumption. Are we entering an era of fiscal responsibility, where “excess is out, and frugality is sexy”? How will marketers redefine marketing and brand building in a new era defined by new economic conditions, new digital media and new values? Can marketing shake off its image as a “force of evil” to promote responsible, even frugal, consumption while still delivering value for corporations? Indeed, marketing can persuade people to act in more responsible ways for their own well-being and for the well-being of society, educating communities on health, environmental and social issues. How can marketing be made more of a force to create positive change and less of one that encourages excess consumerism?

The local–global tension: Most brands produce one product, service or concept. However, consumers have become more fragmented and expect customised experiences. How can organizations reconcile the efficiency of production and yet appeal to different audiences?

Ethics and brands: Corporate citizenship practices may be more important to consumer impressions than brand reputation or financial factors. Does cause-related marketing really impact corporate partners’ profits? How can companies manage their brands when they are accused of exerting pressures on consumers to buy things they don’t need?

Sustainable consumption: Sustainability has become a buzzword for every marketer. What is the definition of sustainable consumption and can marketers actually promote “less consumption”, which defies their very purpose?

Marketing in emerging markets: While corporations in developed markets are under pressure to market in “a sustainable manner”, consumption in emerging markets is rising. Can companies follow a dual marketing strategy and remain credible vis-à-vis their consumers?

Digital media/Internet branding: While the corporation now has more channels through digital media to communicate its brands to its stakeholders, it has less control over the image it wants to project. Have consumers become immune to traditional advertising messages? How does an enterprise effectively co-create, co-develop, co-reinforce and co-protect its brand with its consumers?

Communicating social and environmental issues: How can issues such as water, climate change or health be communicated to general consumers in a simple and direct way? Are standards in communicating “safety” or “environmental friendliness” feasible? What is the role of applying visuals that transcend language and culture?

Brand loyalty and engagement: Are people becoming more loyal to brands as brands increasingly engage emotional experience, or less loyal as comparisons and accessibility among products become easier – reducing switching costs? How does a brand distinguish itself on an emotional level rather than by offering tangible benefits?

Changing demographics: Ageing Western populations. Emerging markets with a majority of youth. Changing work/leisure habits. Different attitudes towards face-to-face relationships on a professional or personal basis. How does a brand communicate to these widely changing demographics? How does a business recruit the right talent, align the organization internally and market to the right audience?

About 200 million people live outside their country of birth or nationality. Three out of 100 people are migrants. Migration has increased significantly in the last decade and its social, cultural and economic implications have become more complex. Lack of opportunities at home, labour demand in destination countries, the existence of transnational social networks, conflict and persecution are cited as the principal driving forces of migration. In the future, climate change is expected to add significantly to migration flows.

Certain key actors, including some in the business community, advocate policies facilitating migration. Other domestic groups oppose migration, asserting harmful impacts on wages and social conditions. What will the causes and consequences of global migration be over the next decade? What are the responsibilities of government, business and international organizations in fostering the integration of migrants?

• Global governance of migration: The regulation of migration is primarily a function of national governments; however, a number of international conventions and processes address the rights of migrants, involuntary migration, irregular migration and labour migration. What role can the international community play in establishing norms and institutions to govern the flow of migrants?

• Skills transfer: Facing an increasingly competitive global labour marketplace, developing countries are losing skilled labour to the more developed world. What systems can developing governments put in place to promote, retain and reintegrate domestic talent? Can a coherent approach to foreign aid and international cooperation be of assistance?

• Integration of immigrants: Developed nations have divergent policies towards immigrant populations. Which policies have been most successful and what can others learn from them? How can companies adapt management practices to create win-win situations? What should be done to ensure a more balanced migration discourse?

• Diversity: Migration increases ethnic and cultural diversity in receiving states. Greater diversity may spur creativity and innovation but can also produce less cohesive local and national communities. How does migration reshape notions of culture and identity? What policies promote tolerance and foster benefits from increases in diversity?

• Transnational communities and remittances: Migrants frequently maintain ties with their countries of origin. For a number of developing countries, remittances constitute a significant contribution to GDP. What can be done to enhance the positive linkages between remittances and economic development? How can transnational communities benefit both sending and receiving countries?

• Involuntary migration: Millions of people are forced from their countries of origin due to conflict and persecution. What practices should states adopt to ensure protection and assistance for involuntary migrants?

• Irregular immigration: Unauthorized immigration constitutes a significant portion of overall migration. How can immigration policies fostering lawful forms of migration be developed and implemented? How can unlawful migration best be managed?

• Future challenges: The impact of demographic developments and climate change on migration patterns is only beginning to gain attention. What should be done to prepare governments and the private sector for future migration scenarios?

Destructive conflict exacts a heavy toll on human life and economic well-being. As poor countries become even poorer due to the economic crisis, the level of violent conflict is projected to increase. In 2008-09, thousands of men, women and children died as a result of violent conflict, in Afghanistan, Darfur, Iraq, Somalia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and elsewhere. The UN calculated 1,013 civilian deaths in the first six months of 2009 in Afghanistan, a 24% increase as compared to the same period in 2008. In May 2009, the Iraq Body Count (IBC) project reported 90,000-100,000 violent, non-combatant deaths in Iraq since the beginning of the war. According to the UNHCR, at the end of 2008 there were 26 million conflict-related, internally displaced persons worldwide. More than 42 million people are currently displaced by conflict or persecution, both within and outside their own country’s borders.

Violent conflict has long-lasting impact on economic development. According to one estimate, armed conflict costs Africa around US$ 18 billion per year and, since 1990, now totals at least US$ 284 billion – equivalent to international aid from major donors in the same period. Another study reveals that armed conflicts in the Middle East have cost the region US$ 12 trillion over 20 years.

While many organizations and individuals have expertise in dealing with specific conflicts in specific contexts, more work is needed on addressing conflict from a global perspective. This Council focuses on how to address the systemic, macro-level patterns of violent conflict. Its ultimate goal is to identify strategies and tactics to serve as the basis for a global agenda on how to deal with the challenges of contemporary conflict.

Conflict prevention and management have short- and long-term dimensions. The short-term dimension involves processes related to conflict management itself, including such techniques as track two diplomacy, negotiation and mediation. The long-term dimension involves strategies aimed at education, good governance, democratization and development, which may prove the most effective ways to prevent destructive conflict.

• Preventing conflict: In our globalized world, what can be done to prevent the onset of destructive conflict? What effective systems exist to mitigate the emergence of crisis situations?

• Dealing with conflict itself: How can the international community be more effective in managing conflict situations? How can UN and regional peacekeeping intervention be improved? What additional conflict management systems may be useful in dealing with destructive conflict?

• Conflict and development: The world has come to understand that conflict and economic development are closely interconnected. The world’s poorest countries are, as a rule, affected by conflict in profound and devastating ways. New strategies are needed to address conflict in a holistic way.

• Role of business in conflict management: The business community has not been very involved in conflict prevention and management. Yet it can play a critical role towards a more peaceful and economically vibrant world. How can business community involvement be increased? What constructive roles might business play?

• Negotiation and conflict resolution skills: Who can benefit from negotiation and conflict resolution skills? What programmes and educational initiatives can be devised to develop these skills?

Malnutrition (i.e. over- and under-nutrition) robs the world of the full potential of all people as it causes ill health. In the developed world, over-nutrition lays the ground for chronic diseases. Because under-nutrition during early childhood increases the likelihood of adult obesity, developing countries are increasingly facing the double burden of over- and under-nutrition. The costs of malnutrition on the global economy are multiple: healthcare costs to address the consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiencies represent up to 2-3% of a country’s GDP and the cost of lost productivity amounts to approximately 3% of GDP.

These health and economic burdens could be reduced substantially through appropriately tailored policies and programmes, including by raising awareness of the links between health and nutrition. Effective public-private partnerships could partially remedy the problems.

• Facing differentiated behaviours: In emerging economies, the protein content of meals tends to increase over time, associated with more saturated fats and poorer nutrition. While developing countries face the double burden of over- and under-nutrition, poverty in the developed world is often associated with over-nutrition and junk food. Tailored approaches are needed to meet these challenges.

• Improving global governance on nutrition: How can collaboration and joint agenda-setting be enhanced across international organizations interested in nutrition-related issues (e.g., FAO, WHO, WIPO, WTO, etc.)? Such cooperation would contribute to better food regulation and control at the national level.

• Reducing the disconnect between agricultural policies and healthy nutrition: How can the quality standards of agricultural production be improved while ensuring food security? How can the production of high-quality/healthy agricultural products be promoted and communicated? How can consumers be educated on the foods that benefit health (e.g., organic agriculture and GMOs)?

• Investing in nutrition science: Such investment will improve the nutritional value of food. Research can also examine the impact of poor nutrition on physical and psychological well-being: Is organic agriculture healthier? What impact do pesticides have on health? How does poor nutrition affect psychological well-being?

• Improving the industry’s responsiveness to public health concerns: How can the industry be stimulated to produce higher nutritional value food at lower prices, particularly in developing countries? Since food marketing and advertising have an effect on consumers’ eating habits, how can businesses be incentivized to spread nutrition-friendly advertisement?

• Supporting age-specific interventions: These can be tailored to specific needs to improve nutrition literacy and behaviour – in infancy: to improve maternal nutrition and promote breast-feeding; in childhood and adolescence: to improve lifelong learning and restrict foods high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats, and to promote appropriate diets at school to teach healthy eating habits (e.g., establishing minimum quality and nutritional standards for school meals); in adulthood: to make age appropriate and affordable diets available at work and reduce advertising, and implement taxation to reduce the harmful use of alcohol/tobacco. Also, intervention in healthcare establishments could better provide the nutritional needs of patients.

• Addressing the fragmentation of health systems and prevention programmes: Enhancing community education on healthy nutrition and preventive medicine is needed.

Human activities are shifting the balance on ocean life. Aquaculture, coral bleaching, invasive species and overfishing combined with the changing acidity of oceans due to climate change require urgent action to overcome the hurdles of geopolitics and better govern the global commons of the world's waters. Covering 70% of the planet’s surface, oceans provide hundreds of millions of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars to the world economy, in addition to invaluable and irreplaceable essential services, such as the production of oxygen, climate regulation and food.

To remedy this tragic trend, incorporating ecosystem services into economic and political decision-making is urgently required. Hence, solutions are needed to redesign the current state of global ocean governance.

• Fisheries: The global fishing fleet is currently two and half times bigger than oceans can sustainably support..Misguided subsidies, inadequate quota systems, trawling, bycatching, and poor monitoring and enforcement in the fishing industry have led to dramatic overfishing; 90% of the oceans’ large fish have been fished out. Unless the current situation improves, estimates suggest that stocks of all species currently fished for food will collapse by 2048.

• Climate change and acidification: Without oceans, the effects of climate change would be far worse, since oceans absorb half of the CO2 produced by anthropogenic sources. Ocean acidification, caused by this intake of CO2 which lowers oceans’ PH levels, combined with the effects of global warming on temperatures and currents will greatly impact aquatic species and ecosystems. Scientists and policy-makers need to address the socio-economic and environmental costs linked to potential losses in species and ecosystems.

• Monetary value: Fishing is a US$ 90 billion industry; 50 million people fish for their livelihoods. The developing world makes more money from seafood than from coffee, cocoa, tea or any other agricultural commodity. More than 80% of international trade in goods is carried by sea and global seaborne trade is estimated at US$ 180 billion.

• Need for data: Marine environmental assessment is still in its infancy, but the need for an appraisal of the current health of the oceans by quantifying and valuing the ecosystem goods and services they provide is great.

• Lack of international cooperation: Clear emphasis is needed on the resounding inadequacy of the current Laws of the Sea and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). These have also focused mostly on seabed issues related to exploitation rights when it would be necessary to pay more attention to the ecological and environmental issues linked to resource extraction and other human activity.

Porter, G. (1998), Estimating overcapacity in the global fishing fleet. WWF
Worm, B., et al (2006), "http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/314/5800/787" Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science, 314: 787
FAO, State of World Fisheries 2006
UNCTAD, Review of Maritime Transport 2008

Pandemic awareness has proven to be a cyclical phenomenon. After a period of heightened concern following the avian flu outbreak, the fear of a pandemic waned and so did pandemic preparedness activity, only to resurface earlier this year when H1N1 hit. Indeed, the risk remains unchanged: humankind is at risk from pandemics due to influenza and other diseases caused by emerging pathogens and drug-resistant forms of established pathogens. While we are better equipped to handle pandemics, H1N1 has demonstrated that pathogens may emerge without much advance notice.

The spectre of a pandemic has prompted governments to ask international bodies to take the lead on pandemic preparedness and to initiate preparations for responding to the different challenges pandemics pose. Pandemic preparedness, however, needs to be a multistakeholder effort, including government, business, media and civil society on all levels. While the health sector has upgraded preparedness planning, many businesses are not yet adequately prepared to deal with the effects of a pandemic crisis.

• Farming practices: Millions of families all over the world live in close proximity to animals, constituting a favourable terrain for the emergence of viruses transmitted from animals to humans. At the same time, industrial animal farming increases the risk of new pathogens developing. What can be done to minimize the emergence of new pathogens?

• Risk assessment: Where are the potential outbreak flashpoints? How can epidemiologists track the pathways and transmission speed of a new epidemic or pandemic? Where does their information come from and how reliable is it? How can adequate information dissemination be ensured?

• Business preparedness: Many countries do not have business preparedness plans in place to ensure minimum economic activity. A few industries in some countries are engaged in preparedness planning, but a pandemic outbreak would trigger an economic collapse far beyond the effects of the current economic crisis. How can business preparedness be fostered on a global scale?

• International cooperation: How can effective cooperation between industry, government, the media and relevant international bodies be fostered, both in terms of prevention and response to a pandemic outbreak?

• Preventive measures: Can the global community adequately prepare for a global pandemic? How? What are the essentials of first-line response? What measures can break transmission chains and how can their effectiveness be maximized? What role should the media play?

The concept of philanthropy has gradually evolved from charity to social investing for development. Many see this new form of philanthropy as a vital part of social safety nets in societies worldwide. In the current recessionary environment, philanthropy plays a significant role by providing funding in areas most affected by the economic crisis: health, education, housing, unemployment. Philanthropic investment, unlike rather diffuse government stimuli, can fill in the gaps where market failures have multiplied due to the economic meltdown.

An important challenge for philanthropists is to allocate resources effectively. Generally, philanthropy is becoming more hands-on, dynamic and result-driven. To apply philanthropic capital in the most cost-effective way, greater collaboration among various stakeholders (the private sector, policy-makers and community leaders) is needed.

• Philanthropy in economic downturns: Philanthropic investment has significantly decreased recently due to capital losses. Yet the current crisis presents an opportunity for philanthropy to proactively address the most pressing challenges in society and find long-term solutions where government and the private sector fail or do not have enough resources to intervene.

• Value framework: Stemming from the core principle of doing good – “love for humanity”, philanthropy sets a value framework in society by eliminating disparities of wealth, education, health and opportunity. How will the value framework evolve in the future? Contributing to the common good takes many forms, from individual acts of philanthropy to overarching patterns of social activism. Why do people give money to worthy causes?

• Creativity and innovation: Legitimacy and independence for philanthropic organizations are key advantages in promoting research and innovation and in the search for new business models in various fields. Should philanthropy rely on proven approaches or should it be more risk-taking?

• Corporate philanthropy: Minimizing harm and promoting social benefit are two aspects where corporations can contribute positively to society. Many corporations support international organizations, governments, civil society and charitable institutions in an effort to incorporate strategic philanthropy into their corporate responsibility activities.

• Social entrepreneurs: Philanthropists have recently become more interested in social entrepreneurship as an innovative and efficient way to achieve sustainable results.

• Charity gap: The vast majority of philanthropists trust their donations to help those less fortunate than themselves when, in fact, experts estimate that less than one-third of the money that people give to non-profits actually reaches the poor and needy. How can the charity gap be eliminated?

• Goals and strategies: In engaging in philanthropy, how does one specify the underlying values, goals and strategies? How hands-on or hands-off should philanthropy be? What is the best way to establish the necessary trust between the different actors?

• Competitive philanthropy: Traditional notions of low involvement, grant-giving philanthropy are being challenged by the rise of “competitive philanthropy”, increasingly blurring the lines between the non-profit and corporate worlds. What is the impact of the new, competitive business approach to philanthropy?

• Impact: Measuring performance is difficult because it is hard to prove causal links between concrete actions and observed changes in the target area. In recent years, numerous initiatives to measure impact have been launched, including communities of practice, online platforms, standards and certification mechanisms, ratings and stakeholder reviews.

Recent UN projections suggest that world population, currently 6.8 billion, will reach 9.1 billion by 2050; alternative UN scenarios predict a range from 8.0 to 10.5 billion. Since 1950, the population has increased in virtually every country but, between now and 2050, the population is projected to decrease in nearly one-fifth of the world’s countries.

What are the consequences of continued population growth for our planet? What policies are governments adopting to address changing populations? Do policy-makers understand the challenges that population shifts bring? Has this problem been ignored for too long? Should it be part of the MDGs? How can stakeholders work together to address it?

This Council aims to showcase good examples in policy-making and to bring awareness to the population-related quandaries facing the world in the near future.

• Population outcomes: How will population change affect everyday lives? Domestically, population change has implications for migration, labour forces, savings, economic growth, poverty, urbanization and the environment. Globally, the changing demographic balance has consequences on standards of living, economic inequality, capital flows and migration.

• Population concerns in the international sphere: In recent decades, population growth has been neglected, potentially to our peril given the many linkages between population and economic, social, political and environmental issues. Global governance may comprise a significant part of our response to population challenges. What mechanisms exist to address these issues? How might they be strengthened?

• Understanding the determinants of fertility: Fertility reflects myriad influences, ranging from family planning programmes to individual fertility desires, which also reflect economic, social and political circumstances. What connects fertility, mortality and political stability? What can be learned from fertility levels and trajectories in such countries as Bangladesh, Italy, Nigeria and Russia?

• Growth in fragile states: Some countries with rapidly growing populations have fragile governments; many have large populations of young people. How will these countries cope with expanding and shifting populations? Will population issues deepen instability?

• Environmental implications: What are the consequences of a growing population for the environment? Are we on the brink of an ecological or resource collapse? How does growing population affect the climate change discourse? Will the effect of population growth on the environment influence how we live?

• Economic factors: How will increasing population affect economic growth? Will GDP per capita or its growth rate decline? Will this happen to a devastating extent?

• Policy-making: What measures are governments taking to confront population growth? Do they realize the urgency? What consequences will further urbanization and globalization bring? How will governments address new workforce issues? What can be learned from population control programmes in Bangladesh, China, Colombia or Iran? What can be learned from the experience with pro-natalist policies in Myanmar, France, Malaysia and Mongolia?

• Time frame: The near-, medium- and long-term implications of demographic change need to be distinguished. Action today may be required to prevent future problems. The sequencing of policy measures is important.

Between 1990 and 2005, some 400 million people exited extreme poverty globally. Yet 1.4 billion still live on less than US$ 1.25 a day. Despite many successes, it is widely acknowledged that overall progress on most of the Millennium Development Goals has been too slow to be achieved by 2015. For many, this announced failure evidences the shortcomings of the current architecture of international aid. Recipient ownership, adequate funding, full coordination, capacity-building and result-driven approaches are now widely recognized as the most critical factors in making aid work. Notwithstanding this consensus on the means, many deplore the lack of “fit for purpose” international aid and its inability to design and implement strategies that satisfy these criteria. Hence the question: were the current international aid architecture to be revamped with imperative effectiveness in mind, what would it look like?

• Ownership: Too often, development strategies are donor-driven with little regard for the priorities and actual needs of recipients. Can beneficiary countries’ governments assume strong leadership of their own development strategies and engage with their parliament, private sector and citizens to shape these policies? How can this be ensured?

• Funding: In spite of donors’ efforts to increase funding, many commitments have yet to materialize and development strategies remain underfinanced. This situation is bound to worsen as donors scale back on development aid to focus on their own economic wounds. What successful financing and public-private partnership models for securing sufficient, predictable funding in the long run exist?

• Coordination: Full coordination and cooperation among donors and in recipient countries is required to ensure the optimal allocation of development resources. Today the proliferation of development actors and distribution channels mean more funding, innovation and agility, but this also magnifies the risk of inefficiency, aid fragmentation and overlapping programmes. How can the coordination challenge be overcome?

• Capacity building: Catalysing domestic and foreign private investment in recipient countries is a priority. What are the best mechanisms to strengthen public and private institutions, provide risk mitigation tools and improve the general investment climate in recipient countries?

• Success: The success of any development strategy should be measured by its ability to produce tangible and durable results. How can the impact be measured?

While the current system presents many flaws, it also provides answers to some of the above questions. Innovative solutions, new types of partnerships and new models of cooperation among donors often exist only on a small scale. Examples abound of donors and beneficiaries making better use of the money. These success stories and best practices, along with a good dose of innovation and boldness, should help define the building blocks of the 21st century’s international aid architecture.

The traditional role of business is to produce goods and services, maximize the wealth of society by delivering employment and income, and ultimately increase economic output. Does business play a primary role in generating the wealth of nations? Market globalization and the expansion of enterprises reinforce new responsibilities for businesses worldwide: education and health, climate and biodiversity, sustainable construction and green energy. By addressing new global challenges and offering constructive solutions, enterprises create a value framework in society. What is the new covenant between business and society? What value principles should guide the private sector?

This Council addresses questions of business responsibilities and values. What social responsibilities does business have, apart from its obligations to shareholders? Is corporate behaviour different in developed and developing countries as concerns the economic and social development of its communities? The Council will look beyond corporate social responsibility and address a broader range of values in society created by business.

• The economic crisis and the role of business in society: The economic crisis has impacted businesses worldwide and increased unemployment. The private sector has been forced to cut back on social investing, the training and education of employees and involvement in local communities. How will the crisis impact businesses’ access to capital on an ongoing basis and their long-term strategic growth? How can businesses minimize the economic downturn’s negative impact?

• Business and the environment: Current global environmental and energy issues are both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses. For business to ensure its long-term sustainability, it must build the future into the present by adopting technological innovation geared towards responsible green practices.

• Emerging market development: The expansion of corporations into emerging markets creates new opportunities to increase revenue streams, reduce poverty and bring new technology to society. Do the responsibilities of the private sector differ in developed and developing countries with regard to local communities’ economic and social enhancement? Are there limits?

• Business and government: Ensuring the common good is a fundamental value for both business and government. How should government regulate and protect business to secure its responsible behaviour in society? Is being a responsible taxpayer enough for a business to consider itself a good corporate citizen?

• Corporate governance: Corporate governance is a fundamental element of business practice that establishes a company as a diligent, responsible and transparent stakeholder.

The role of sport in society has been debated for many decades. Sport is a part of society as both an educational feature and an entertainment enterprise. Sport forms part of human and social development; it can contribute to social cohesion, tolerance and integration and is an effective channel for physical and socio-economic development. As a universal language, sport can be a powerful medium for social and economic change: it can be utilized to bridge cultural gaps, resolve conflict and educate people in ways that very few activities can.

The goal of the Sports Council is to examine (in a short research paper that will take a closer look at the four dimensions) how sport can be a powerful agent for change that should be leveraged by individuals, businesses, governments and elite athletes to drive significant positive development and progress in a social, economic and political context.

• Value of sport: Sport is a means of exchange and understanding among people of various backgrounds, nationalities or beliefs. It promotes expression beyond traditional barriers. The rules of the game transcend differences and inequality and help redefine success and performance. Through sport, people identify new role models in society. Also, sport not only provides health benefits for young participants but it also instils qualities such as team work, discipline and a competitive spirit that proves valuable in adulthood. Sport can also help decrease youth violence. It therefore warrants a prominent place in the educational system. Governments need to elevate the importance of sport in schools.

• Sport, fitness and health: Physical activity has a crucial impact on society’s health and well-being as well as healthcare costs. A connection also exists between being physically active and living a healthy lifestyle. But as the Western world grows older, sport must reinvent itself to deal with this demographic shift. In certain situations, sport can also be used as preventative medicine.

• Sport, politics and economic development: Sport and politics often go hand-in-hand. Events such as a football tournament or the Olympic Games can be vehicles for improving understanding between countries. Sport can also contribute to economic development by creating additional sources of income, including the manufacture of sporting goods, the development of sport-related services and infrastructure or the hosting of events. What economic and social benefits, for instance, can the World Cup in South Africa bring to the region or to the continent? How much investment can developing countries justify to promote sport, compared to other urgent social programmes? Could sport help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals?

• Economic recovery and job creation: Is this the time to invest in sport? In this period of crisis, can opportunities for the sports industry and government ministries be found to create jobs and help the economic recovery? Could this be the right time to create social change by building social entrepreneurship in sport driven primarily by an emerging hybrid of entrepreneurship and the NGO movement? The power of sport in terms of investment must not be underestimated.

Human capital is an indispensable driver of economies. The quality of human capital is as important as the quantity of available labour. Despite the crisis and increasing unemployment, talent shortages exist at all levels. Skills gaps affect all industry sectors and geographic regions. Satisfying the demand for skills in most ageing countries will become increasingly challenging in the long term.

A sustainable post-crisis recovery depends heavily on the availability of appropriately skilled labour. The lack of skilled labour will slow down competitiveness and performance. The crisis highlights imbalances in the human capital market and prompts key stakeholders to confront the challenges that must be overcome collectively.

Talent that ensures the success of organizations even in turbulent times, that can handle the political and social agenda and that can boost science to fuel economies is scarce and hardly comparable across countries.

Education and training

• Raising skills through effective education: Education is a critical issue for every government. However the challenges in developed and developing nations differ. How can educational systems better respond to business-driven demands for skills while contributing to countries’ development?

• Improving employability: Generic skills, such as adaptability, as well as job specific qualifications make people suitable for employment and effective in organizations. Large segments of the workforce are not directly employable and skills are not easily comparable across countries and industries. What systems of skills recognition and certification can increase the employability of a diverse workforce?

• Decreasing the disconnect between academia, business and government: The mismatch between what people learn at schools and what the market requires reflects a disconnect between educational institutions, governments and the business sector. How can the public and private sectors better synchronize skills?

• Improving access to information: Where are the jobs? Where are the skills? Good access to information is critical for all stakeholders but especially for the Business-University link, which must be strengthened.

Migration of workers and movement of jobs

• Foreign hiring: Governments must develop an international framework for managing immigration in a manner that reflects the fact that most developed world economies will fail unless they attract talent and increase the migration of skills in demand.

• Brain circulation: While in some cases “brain drain” in developing countries is a valid concern, “brain circulation” through the return of experienced talent and the educated to their countries is a positive trend. Inflow of capital from emigrants is also a source of significant economic support for developing countries.

• Movement of jobs: People’s greater mobility is required not only across countries but also across industries and jobs. Talent must easily adapt across fast-changing boundaries and be prepared for lifelong learning.

Inclusion and diversity

• In business and government: Companies should do much more to share best practices in managing diversity and inclusiveness to broaden the talent pool and benefit from the potential of diverse skills. Governments should promote inclusiveness in respective policies to mobilize and train the segment of the workforce that is underprivileged.

Social entrepreneurs have demonstrated that practical solutions to many of the world’s major challenges are not only possible but already well under way. Their innovative approaches create jobs, transform communities and lift millions out of poverty – often for a fraction of the cost of traditional development programmes. Yet compared to the size of the global population in need, their reach remains limited.

The global economic crisis has highlighted the need for innovative, cost-effective, scalable solutions to social problems. Any serious redesign of global institutions in the wake of this crisis must include mechanisms and infrastructure to support social innovation and facilitate the scaling of the most promising innovations, many of which will be developed by entrepreneurs working in the field. An action blueprint is urgently needed to enable national governments, multilateral institutions, leading corporations and large-scale non-governmental organizations to maximize and harvest the value of successful grassroots social innovations.

Legal forms and tax structures: Social entrepreneurs often blur the lines between business and philanthropy, challenging legal distinctions. How can governments create legal forms of organization and tax structures to facilitate social entrepreneurship?

Capital markets: Existing capital markets for social entrepreneurs are highly inefficient. What kinds of financial institutions and instruments are needed to support and scale social ventures? How can capital be mobilized for this purpose and directed to its best uses?

Public-private partnerships: Many governments are engaging with private actors to achieve policy objectives. What role should social entrepreneurs play in these networks? How can they best leverage limited government resources?

Corporate strategic engagement: Many companies are becoming more strategic about deploying their resources and capabilities to improve social conditions and open new markets. How can social entrepreneurs help companies achieve greater impact with more favourable economics?

International institutions embracing bottom-up approaches: Many international institutions have been moving away from top-down approaches. How can they harness social entrepreneurs effectively in this process?

NGOs learning and adopting innovation: Organizations need to look outside their own walls for innovative ideas. How can NGOs learn from and work with social entrepreneurs? How can social entrepreneurs use NGOs as platforms to spread their innovations?

Impact measurement: Performance measures are helpful to determine what is worth scaling. What kinds of performance measures make sense? Who should measure performance? How can reasonable benchmarks and standards be established, while preserving a role for judgment?

Capacity building: Many social ventures do not have the organizational capacity to scale their impact significantly. How can these capacities and skills best be developed?

Knowledge dissemination: If social entrepreneurs serve as a powerful learning laboratory, how can the knowledge from these local experiments best be developed, shared and utilized?

Strategic foresight is a growing, vibrant, practice-led entrepreneurial and experimental field. However, its many approaches remain disparate and unlinked. Understanding what works is under-developed.

This dynamic situation holds great promise for identifying and engaging with global issues, but calls for better understanding through critical reflection. Too many missed interlinkages and insufficient methodological coherence may hamper our identification of the next generation of global challenges.

To serve the leaders of different stakeholder groups, the Global Agenda Council on Strategic Foresight aims to improve practices that will help identify global challenges and opportunities on their agenda in the coming decades. To do so, this Council will consider methods linking use and production to better frame global issues. These will be brought into the appropriate debates, contributing to the Forum’s and the Network of Global Agenda Councils’ mission of shaping the global agenda.

Approaches: Futures approaches include guessing, forecasting, back-casting, horizon scanning, global assessments, scenarios, trend analyses, computer simulations and models, and search conferences. Moreover, these may be considered as deductive, inductive, objective, biased, normative, exploratory, prescriptive, etc. To improve understanding regarding their effectiveness in identifying and engaging with global issues, this Council will also consider the future of these and possible new approaches and how they may revolutionize practices.

Methodologies: What works well and what criteria of “working well” require better systematization? While case studies may be effective in assessing this, much futures work is confidential (or even secret), rendering research difficult. Global agenda challenges and opportunities in the public interest with multistakeholder perspectives may allay such problems of confidentiality and access. This Council will review and consider methods for identifying possible future global issues, which can be implemented in cooperation with Council Members at the World Economic Forum.

Framing of “global” issues: Identifying which issues are “global” is not unproblematic. Are they those that require multistakeholder, international, coordinated engagement, those that affect stakeholders in many regions, those that threaten the planet’s survival, or those that media across the globe select to portray as important? How do different scales (local, national, regional, international, planetary) relate to each other? What does the “early life” of a global issue look like? Where does that identification happen first? What are “effective” ways to relate to global issues? Furthermore, “future” global issues must be considered under circumstances that are unknown.

Use: While there is some evidence that decision-makers and leaders are happy with the work that they commission and use, little is known about how futures work in general, and global issues in particular, are used effectively. These considerations apply to existing strategic foresight work but it is not evident that they will apply in the same way to the “next generation” of future issues. This Council will assess how success in identifying global issues relate to use and action in the future, and the capabilities that effective users will master.

Almost 2 billion new consumers will have joined the global middle class by 2030, bringing nearly 80% of the world’s population into a “consumer” bracket. Providing for the next generation of consumers in a sustainable manner presents an enormous opportunity for global companies.

Many challenges associated with exploring sustainability at a strategic level exist. In the search for actionable solutions, leaders must navigate a complex network of systems interlinkages, difficult trade-offs and powerful feedback loops within the political, business and natural environments. In this context, it is time to use sustainability as an innovation platform that helps to reinvigorate the global economy, aligning sustainability with improved living standards less reliant on the consumption of natural resources. Leaders can redefine their strategies, products and services, and redesign value chains to embrace “absolute sustainability”.

Looking at product lifecycles through the lens of sustainability, many hurdles are common both along and across value chains. Some can be looked at as “collaboration hotspots”, where multiple stakeholders can work in tandem to develop systemic solutions. Areas that present immediate and significant opportunities across the value chain include:

• Closed loop systems: By some accounts, over 90% of what we use will end up as waste within six months. Designs, creation and use must be reconsidered throughout the product lifecycle to allow for material recovery or a safe return to nature. This will require cross-industry input and learning from experts and innovators, from product design, manufacture, transport and logistics to waste recycling.

• Consumer engagement: Business has the opportunity to be market-makers rather than market-takers, leading consumers, both old and new, on a journey towards more sustainable lifestyles. This involves more than just selling “green” products and requires driving consumer attitudes towards demanding better value rather than resource intensive “stuff”, and focusing on consumer behaviour and “choice editing” in downstream lifecycle phases.

• Value chain waste: While stakeholders have an interest in reducing waste for reasons of efficiency, complex trade-offs exist in terms of shifts in consumer buying habits, packaging versus food waste, nearshoring and logistics solutions. Developed and developing countries face different challenges in this area, due to differences in infrastructure, packaging and transport technologies.

Additionally, several contextual factors affect the way sustainability is viewed, including:

• Policy: Despite recent developments in regulatory systems to reflect the need for sustainable practices by industry (almost entirely related to pollution and climate change), a policy landscape that supports the concept of “absolute sustainability” will require radical change at a range of levels, from regulation to incentives to fostering collaboration. This Council examines the evolution of policy towards the goal of transformed economies.

• Markets: Given the twin challenges of the financial crisis and natural resource constraints, there is increased need – and appetite – to reconsider how markets operate. An opportunity currently exists to develop new ways of defining and measuring “wealth” that accounts for the cost of negative externalities while recognizing the value of positive activities. Such a change could play an essential role in delivering sustainable economic well-being less reliant on consumption.

The world needs more energy to enable economic development, but conventional fuels are a finite resource that contribute to climate change and create other problems such as pollution and increasingly vulnerable supply lines.

New and renewable sources of energy are beginning to enter the mainstream of national and international energy-policy formulation. Although the share of energy derived from sustainable energies is gradually increasing, it remains far below its economic potential. About 93% of global energy consumption is from non-renewable sources like oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear fuel. Despite current technological advancements, breakthroughs of truly long-lasting value will only occur if governments and the private sector commit the necessary intellectual and financial capital and create a regulatory framework that encourages investment in sustainable energies. Hence, emphasis will be placed on enabling existing renewable energies to assume a greater portion of the energy pie.

Main Drivers

• Energy security: Policies to promote the use of national energy sources, including renewable energies, could be part of the strategies used to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and bring diversity and security of supply to the world’s energy infrastructure. New business opportunities will be created as a result.

• Climate change: Can human-induced greenhouse gas emissions be reduced without threatening economic growth? International regulations to protect the climate worldwide could help create important opportunities for carbon-free energy providers.

• Localization trend: The “shifting power equation” as measured by the increasing visibility and influence of local actors, resource nationalism pertaining to natural resources, increasing transportation costs and recent food security concerns have all placed new emphasis on local resources and value creation in regard to energy supply.

Enablers

• Technological innovation: Developing new technology in renewable energy fields, such as biofuels, geothermal energy, hydropower, solar energy, waste, wave and ocean energy and wind energy, is key to finding novel ways to extract energy as effectively as possible and convert it into more useful forms.

• Differentiated approaches: While developed countries will focus mostly on how to promote policies that create incentives for the sustainable energy sector and implement regulations to curb externalities linked to energy usage, the developing world will focus more on finding the right synergy of business and financial models that support positive expansion in this sector, beneficial to its development.

• Cross-cutting game changers: Three elements could play a very important role in encouraging the use of renewable energies. Smartgrids (“the Internet of the electricity sector”) that connect energy supply with demand, an increased focus on new energy efficiency and conservation approaches, and the development of new storage technologies will potentially revolutionize the current notion of electricity supply and energy security.

1 AIE 2007

An overhaul of the global financial system has reached the top of the list of political and economic concerns around the world. The global and national regulatory frameworks, risk management practices and business models in the financial services industry that have played a role in the current crisis are undergoing careful scrutiny. This Council focuses on the nature of the systemic risks that threaten the stability of the global financial system today, particularly those arising as the world reconsiders the financial architecture under which the global economy will operate. In addition, the Council aims to examine the governance of the global financial system and the various regulatory reforms proposed as a result of the current crisis.

Regulatory framework: Several proposals to regulate the systemic risk of financial systems are currently on the table. Do they adequately address such concerns as “too-big/interconnected-to-fail”? If implemented, will these proposals introduce knock-on effects that could result in further crises? What impact will these proposals have on the real economy? More broadly, central banks and regulators have been measured by their ability to collaborate, monitor and manage risks quickly and ensure market stability. Will proposed changes to the regulations supervising financial service reform adequately address the concerns exposed during the current crisis? What gaps in the suggested reforms exist? What unforeseen effects will these reforms have on the global financial system?

Evolving market structure: How can the financial services industry be structured to avoid systemic risk? Can institutions that are “too-big-to-fail” or “too-interconnected-to-fail” be avoided, while allowing institutions to function and grow in freely competitive markets? As the market structure evolves, new risks will emerge. What will the “new” financial services industry look like and how will remaining financial institutions compete in the new market structure?

Risk management: Recent risk management practices were not adequate in capturing the complexity of market and product interrelationships. Financial product innovation outpaced advances in quantitative methods to measure risk, making mitigation strategies more difficult to devise. What key components in risk management practices were missing that need to be addressed in the new financial system?

Trust: The current crisis has resulted in a breakdown in trust between society and the financial services industry. International and national institutions have also failed to match the development of the global economy with the financial system or maintain the necessary level of confidence in the economic system. What measures should be taken on the national and supra-national levels to amend the situation? What role do the banking sector and government policy play in this area? Will reform of the financial system suffice or are greater structural improvements needed?

Behavioural risks: Behavioural studies have increasingly shed light on the phenomena of asset bubbles, contagion and moral hazard. Are “bubbles” inevitable? How can governments protect the function of financial systems and simultaneously avoid introducing moral hazard?

In today’s multicultural world, talent management goes hand in hand with diversity. The composition of talent must reflect the increased diversity of the marketplace. The understanding of diversity has broadened, going beyond gender and race to include profile and culture, age and disability. Moreover, there is increased awareness that various perceptions of diversity exist worldwide.

Diversity should be embedded in organizations’ DNA to allow integration with stakeholders. Organizations that allow people to learn from each other and develop their full potential – from the factory floor to the boardroom – seem better equipped to face the challenges of globalization. They also recover faster post crisis. However, organizations face multiple challenges in designing diverse talent strategies. Additionally, although potentially providing an opportunity to develop long-term talent policies, crises may hinder the commitment to inclusion.

Diversity in business strategies: Demand for diversity and talent go hand-in-hand – from talent attraction, retention and management through corporate culture and leadership styles. How can organizations create an inclusive environment and corporate culture that allow every individual to develop his/her full potential for success?

Talent pool, talent pipelines: Focus on diversity enables tapping into the broadest talent pool for the best and brightest. Efforts to achieve diversity are only credible if there are visible signs of success. These efforts must be supported by the leadership and exemplified in senior management. Expectations must never be lowered in the name of diversity. How can diversity be ensured from the talent pool throughout the pipeline to the top?

Crisis as an opportunity for talent: Because it has caused increased displacement and disproportions, the current economic crisis calls for a rethinking of talent management. It has de-legitimized the structure of today’s boards accused of group thinking. However, the crisis has also questioned the wisdom of individual talent versus a diverse team. Thus the crisis can be seen as an opportunity to invest in performance-based talent policies that are fair. How can the crisis be used to take best advantage of diverse talent?

Government policies: Education and employment policies designed to ensure equal opportunity in society and workplaces allow countries to use their human resources best and distribute the benefits of a more productive economy fairly. What brings stability and the perceived legitimacy of the policies? What is the optimal level of diversity regulation?

Non-Western understanding of diversity: Understanding the diversity of human capital as well as perceptions of its importance for business and society varies around the globe. In Western Europe and North America, the consensus is that inclusion should be fostered. In the BRICs, a different perception of diversity exists and its challenges are different. What does diversity mean for organizations in developing countries? Does the diversity map reflect the geography of innovation?

Reinventing education for diversity: Today’s multicultural world requires multicultural education and training. Schools must teach these skills. Also, the education gap between the less advantaged and more privileged groups starts early, so appropriate remedies as well as tolerance and respect for differences should be promoted. How should education systems, including business schools, evolve to prepare people for success in diverse organizations?

Terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have commanded high profile international attention in recent years. Al Qaeda attacks in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Bali and on the USS Cole in the harbour of Aden made clear that the terrorist organization and its followers will remain a security concern in the 21st century, requiring intense international cooperation.

Recent statements by US President Obama and a focus on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at its 40-year review in 2010 form part of an increasing tide of political will to create a future void of nuclear weapons. While complicating and unresolved factors related to Iran, North Korea and the Indian sub-continent remain, international momentum to seriously discuss banning nuclear weapons and securing the peaceful use of nuclear energy is a rare development in modern history.

Diplomacy and international cooperation: How can the relevant actors capitalize on international cooperation and support, without unduly compromising important national security interests? If a report card on their progress thus far were established, how have they done?

Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: Looming over the entire issue of international terrorism is the potential threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The prospect of a nuclear and biological strike by terrorists remains crucial to any risk assessment.

New forms of security threats: Organized crime and piracy are just a few examples of new security threats, with direct links to terrorism. What emerging threats to security exist and how can governments pre-emptively tackle them?

Military force: Policy towards international terrorism contains a significant military component, reflected in current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is this the only option?

Ethical dilemmas in fighting terrorism: A growing issue confronting policy-makers and intelligence community practitioners is how to minimize the economic costs and civil liberty infringements of their actions.

Terrorism’s economic costs: Extra security measures and the increased prevalence of the risk of global terrorism cost economies money and impact world markets.

Cultural identity in the age of global security: International events have brought great attention to the relationship between religion and violence, generating not only renewed interest but also misunderstanding. How do various traditions, be they religious or secular, inform people’s views on violence, terrorism and the “war on terror”?

As a result of the economic crisis, global trade is likely to decline by over 12% in 2009, nurturing serious concern that the multilateral trading system is eroding. While this collapse in trade has not yielded a 1930s wave of protectionism, a variety of “murky” or “creeping” protectionist measures have been introduced.

The G20’s rhetoric condemning protectionist policies and calling to conclude the Doha Round has not been met by corresponding action. Negotiations at the WTO are stalled and prospects for a resolution in the near future are bleak. Moreover, certain regional pacts, viewed as potentially able to pave the way for wider multilateral accords, are faltering or even becoming obstacles to further trade liberalization. Bilateral trade agreements are proliferating and are feared to do more harm than good to global economic integration.

Multilateral governance of trade: The multilateral trading system is hailed by many as a showcase of international cooperation. The GATT/WTO’s history provides manifold lessons for global governance. How can these lessons be applied to different areas of international cooperation?

Trade liberalization: Removing trade barriers worldwide is an increasingly complex and politically uncertain undertaking. Meant to avoid the shortcomings of sectoral agreements, the Doha Round of trade negotiations was designed as a single undertaking. Even if Doha were successful, will wholesale trade negotiations still be a viable tool in future trade rounds? Can this model be applied to other challenges in international cooperation?

Regional trade blocs and bilateral trade agreements: As regional agreements follow regional aspirations, are trade blocs inevitable? If so, how will the world economy benefit? Are bilateral and regional agreements stepping stones towards multilateral trade liberalization or do they in fact undermine free trade?

Doha revisited: The prospects for a successful conclusion of the Doha Round seem remote, but hope remains for an eventual breakthrough to tackle development and trade liberalization. What will it take to conclude the Doha negotiations? Were they to fail, what would the consequences be for the multilateral trade regime on the one hand, and development on the other?

Stakeholder representation: Business is a vital player in the trade discourse, considerably shaping national trade agendas. Is it possible to ensure that long-term private sector interests prevail over short-term and sectoral business interests? Civil society players have been increasingly active in shaping the trade agenda. What is the appropriate balance of transparency and participation?

Trade facilitation: Trade barriers include not just traditional indicators that reflect tariffs and transportation costs, but also measures related to border administration, infrastructure and the domestic regulatory and security environment. What challenges for trade facilitation exist in the current economic crisis?

Humanity is rapidly urbanizing, but will its cities be ready? In the face of historic worldwide migration that could lead to 80% of all people living in urban areas by 2050, cities will be hard-pressed to provide basic urban services. Clean water, efficient transportation and reliable electricity cannot be ensured in the future for any city − rich or poor − without massive investments to build or repair infrastructure. In almost all urban areas, decisions on allocating resources for infrastructure will shape the options available for other urban concerns: pollution, crime and economic development.

Government planning: Government plans to expand urban areas may significantly affect the long-term future of nations. Streamlining decision-making and regulatory barriers and reducing corruption will enable more thought to be given to design.

Systems thinking: Architectural and design input to holistic problems such as water shortages and power will improve the likelihood that urban dwellers are happier and more productive.

Climate change and the environment: As increased traffic, heat and pollution pour in from urban conurbations, especially from countries undergoing rapid economic development, the international community must discover new ways to cope with externalities while keeping national aspirations buoyant.

Innovation and culture: Cities as centres for innovation and culture will continue to attract people with creative skills. However, what more can they do to attract the inventive thinkers and remove barriers to invention and entrepreneurship?

Mobility: Urban transport systems all over the world need significant overhaul. With high oil prices making clean energy a higher priority, will the face of traditional cities change? Or will new, more mobile cities be created?

Housing: With the need for new houses growing ever larger, will intelligent house design become mainstream or marginalized?

Education: As inner cities become havens for bored youth, will education systems undergo the rejuvenation needed to provide useful job and relevant skills training for the future? Implication for development strategies: Despite the region’s clear urbanization trend, national governments and development groups continue to direct their energies towards rural economic development.

Urban migration: Migration from rural to urban areas is a trend observed all over the world that poses challenges. There are many underlying reasons for this tendency, including the lack of opportunity in rural areas.

Crime: The concentration of foreign-born and lower income residents in a few urban areas can aggravate a host of social problems including crime, discrimination, drug addiction and the lack of opportunities. The challenge is to harness the energy of diverse urban populations.

Our planet is like a patient with several serious conditions: the patient has suffered a heart attack (in the form of the global economic and financial crisis), requiring immediate attention to keep her alive. Closer diagnosis reveals that the patient also suffers from at least three other major diseases: lung cancer (in the form of the environmental crisis), diabetes (in the form of the chronic global socio-economic inequality and health crises), and swine flu (in the form of conflicts between different cultural worlds). Successfully treating any of these alone would already be a difficult challenge and major achievement for any doctor, but what requires highest expertise and creativity is finding a treatment for all these serious conditions simultaneously. National and regional diversity makes such synchrony more difficult and more urgent in a global world. The Members of this Council are the “doctors” among the broader “Global Agenda Councils” treatment team. We have an especially important role to play in the broader holistic treatment plan called the “Global Redesign Initiative”.

A certain set of values, or their absence, has led to the current economic, environmental, social, health and cultural crises. Only a new vision based on renewed values will see us through these challenges and guide us to a new way of living. Even in an increasingly globalized world system, systemacity and synchronicity are problems. The economic downturn and, consequently, economic recovery are occurring at different speeds and on different scales in different regional centres. What do the specific contexts in which diseases occur mean for the “values” they represent? How can these contexts make us re-think the causes of problems?

New or renewed values:
ethical behaviour and respect for rules
respect for differences and for different value systems
responsibility on the part of key stakeholders (governments, business, cultural institutions and civil society) for the fate of the world (a multistakeholder approach)
the accountability and inclusiveness of international institutions and processes
a culture of dialogue: establishing discussion and negotiation forums of different scales at various levels of society

Institutions and processes:
New values can be generated by establishing new multistakeholder institutions in the public sphere that encourage dialogue, promote responsibility and accountability and create frameworks and networks through which forms of “ethical citizenship” might be established.
In which different contexts do the current problems occur?
How does the response to the problems differ across contexts?
What institutions and processes are needed for the implementation of new values? What kind of monitoring system can be established?
Regarding the role of education, what change is needed in the behaviour of individuals, organizations, companies and countries?
What must the role of the key stakeholders in disseminating new values be? In particular, what should the role of business schools and universities be? What should the role of cultural institutions be?

Our wealthier, more populous, more climate-variable world is fast becoming a more water insecure world. Water insecurity poses a real threat to the economic development and security of numerous countries.

The fundamental rethink of how water is managed will focus on supply, investment, allocation, regulation and conservation issues – but these in turn have deep philosophical, religious, political and economic implications. We must manage the resource better, but water management is approached with trepidation, if it even appears on the political agenda. No one stakeholder can solve the water challenge alone. Effective bilateral and regional arrangements exist, but in general global institutions are not configured to provide the multidisciplinary, multistakeholder platforms required to discuss, highlight and collectively take action on shared water challenges, many of which are leading us towards crises.

Agriculture: Given that the agricultural industry accounts for more than 70% of global freshwater withdrawal, greater purposeful debate and decisions are needed now on agricultural governance, trade and policy reform.

Pollution and water quality: The unrestrained use of harmful pesticides and unregulated industrial discharge have led to serious deterioration in water quality in a number of important rivers and lakes. Significant change in current incentives is essential to promote proactive measures to replenish aquifers, purify local water supplies and increase the investment in, and also the promotion and use of, new technologies.

Human health/sanitation: Many regions face serious difficulties regarding the access and distribution of potable water. One-quarter of deaths of children under five years of age are still water-quality related. Tangible and affordable solutions to the problem of water service delivery exist but need greater public policy priority to address the impact of decreasing freshwater availability and related sanitation concerns, such as waterborne diseases. With 90% of wastewater untreated in the South, the need for a new approach and new urgency to this health, environmental and economic disaster zone is imperative.

Regulation/policy issues: Effective freshwater management involves difficult political issues. There must be collective insistence on and government support for initiatives in order to implement lasting and widespread solutions.

Infrastructure and financing: Innovative financing mechanisms, including new financial access for public operators and public-private partnerships, must be expanded to provide more coverage, and more reliable and efficient water services. That over 1 billion are unserved and that many municipal systems lose 40%+ of their water is unacceptable.

Energy and water usage: All energy creation uses a lot of water; water delivery uses a lot of energy. Conservation and a new look at saving energy or creating wastewater treatment are crucial.

Water politics/conflicts: Transboundary water disputes and increased migration will become increasingly frequent in future decades. Exploring negotiation techniques and benefit/cost sharing scenarios between countries will be extremely important to maintaining peaceful relations.

Regional issues: The wide scope of contemporary water issues depends on the geography, history, politics and industrial development of different nations. Water debates and potential solutions have a specific regional focus. Some possible regions or countries that need accelerated work include China, India, Australia, Spain, the south-western US, north and sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

Children are the world’s most precious resource. They account for 2.2 billion (or 32%) of the globe’s 6.8 billion population (2009). Health, education and the protection of children are three key focus areas that require global attention. The current economic crisis has hit the poorest children hardest and has put even more children’s lives at risk. In 2007, 9.2 million children aged under five died worldwide. According to the WHO, 200,000-400,000 additional child deaths per year can be expected as a result of the economic downturn. The World Bank predicts that 1.4-2.8 million additional children will die by 2015 if the crisis persists. In 2007, 101 million primary-school-aged children were out of school, including 46 million in sub-Saharan Africa and 35 million in South Asia. In 2006, the number of underweight children in developing countries still exceeded 140 million. The ILO estimates that some 165 million children aged 5-14 are involved in child labour.

Among top priorities for action, the focus on the MDGs and children’s rights must be kept amid the current economic recession.

Children and economic crisis: In light of the economic crisis, investment in human capital as an anti-cyclical instrument to support growth is needed, rather than focusing on traditional instruments. The issues of children and young people continue to be seen as sub-issues. The word “children” is rarely mentioned in discussions on the global economic meltdown. One challenge is to insist on placing the issues of children on the global agenda.

Investment in children: It is important to forcefully and concretely illustrate why the agenda on children is critical to the political and economic agendas. Investment in children and youth plays a key role in achieving economic development.

Girl effect: Investing in adolescent girls is important to break the cycle of poverty. Only 0.5% of overseas direct investment is invested in adolescent girls. If girls and women earn an income, they spend up to 90% on their families, versus men who spend only 30-40%.

New technologies: Children typically do not have a voice at the political table. New technologies can be used to create youth communities and give youth the opportunity to express opinions on the future of the world. Innovation and new opportunities need to play a bigger role in addressing some of the most difficult challenges that have been tackled in an outdated way. What kind of investment in innovation might produce the best result?

Youth bulge: The population increase from 7 billion today to 9 billion in 2050 will occur in the developing world. It will put a burden on the issues of child survival, education, jobs for youth, etc. The youth bulge issue poses a number of questions: What will happen to the youth? Will they have jobs? How will this affect illicit trade?