The Global Gender Gap Report 2014
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Through the Global Gender Gap Report 2014, the World Economic Forum quantifies the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracks their progress over time. While no single measure can capture the complete situation, the Global Gender Gap Index presented in this Report seeks to measure one important aspect of gender equality: the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics.
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Can the growth of aquaculture help restore the health of our ocean?
Friday 30th of October 2020
Our ocean faces unparalleled challenges—as many as 60% of coastal waterways suffer from nutrient pollution; 90% of wild fish stocks are now overfished or fully fished; and we have lost 85% of wild oyster reefs globally. Climate change is now providing added stress to an ocean already under threat.
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The best way to restore our forests is to let nature take its course
Friday 30th of October 2020
Susan Cook-Patton was planting a native red oak seedling in her backyard. As she finished and stepped back to admire a job well done, she noticed a much larger red oak seedling growing nearby. This other tree had sprung up from a forgotten acorn planted by a squirrel and was growing healthily all on its own. While many of us like to plant trees, moments like these should remind us that nature has been growing trees and forests without our help for millions of years. In fact, under the right conditions, nature can do this much better and more economically than humans can ever hope to do.
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Youth, tech and community: 4 lessons from the COVID-19 response in Siaya, Kenya
Friday 30th of October 2020
Since our initial proposal to include young people and community health workers in Africa’s COVID-19 response, which was published in May, we have made significant strides. Here are four lessons we have learned in that time:
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This study of 1.6 million chess moves found the age we hit our cognitive peak
Friday 30th of October 2020
More than 24,000 chess games played in professional tournaments over 125 years have been analyzed by scientists to measure how age affects cognitive ability.
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The secret to designing a positive future with AI? Imagination
Friday 30th of October 2020
Many physical tasks previously seen as un-automatable can now be performed by machines, from medical diagnoses to legal document drafting. Meanwhile, the need for remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic is converting complex business processes into modular, decontextualized tasks more amenable to automation.
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5 things you need to know about cities on World Cities Day 2020
Friday 30th of October 2020
Despite the pressure and disruption inflicted on urban centres and their citizens by the COVID-19 pandemic, cities remain vitally important parts of the global human ecosystem.
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Here’s what we can learn about stakeholder capitalism from Milton Friedman
Friday 30th of October 2020
In 1958, Nobel Laureates Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller controversially claimed that, under certain assumptions, the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure.
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Our minds may be wandering more during the pandemic — and this can be a good thing
Friday 30th of October 2020
Many feel the coronavirus pandemic has changed not just our everyday lives, but also our inner mental lives. There has been talk of a mental health pandemic, but also of lockdown brain fog when we are awake, as well as reports of more frequent, vivid, and bizarre dreams when we are asleep.
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Socially distanced and super spooky: How to Halloween in a pandemic
Friday 30th of October 2020
On a typical Halloween, Sarah Schwimmer would answer her door and put candy in the outstretched hands of costumed trick-or-treaters, but this year she will be shooting their sweets through a 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) pipe rigged up as her COVID-19 socially distanced delivery system.
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IKEA opens pilot second-hand store in Sweden
Friday 30th of October 2020
IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, will open a pilot second-hand store for IKEA furniture in Sweden as part of its efforts to reach its 2030 climate targets.
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This Indonesian clinic is keeping villagers healthy and reducing logging by up to 70%
Friday 30th of October 2020
Offering affordable healthcare to communities living near forests could help reduce illegal logging and fight global warming, researchers said, as an organisation running such a service in Indonesia won a U.N. climate award on Tuesday (27 Oct).
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Scientists are monitoring sewage to stop the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19
Friday 30th of October 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited interest in wastewater surveillance, where sewage systems are monitored for the presence of viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. Non-infective fragments of the virus’s genetic material have been found in untreated wastewater in Italy, Spain, France, the United States and Canada.
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COVID-19 is set to deepen Japan’s demographic crisis
Friday 30th of October 2020
Tumbling numbers of pregnancies and marriages in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic are likely to intensify a demographic crisis in the rapidly ageing nation.
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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 30 October
Friday 30th of October 2020
1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe
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Everything you need to know about the US election
Friday 30th of October 2020
Nov. 3, 2020, is election day in the United States, and Americans across the country have already started casting their ballots to choose their next president and vice president, along with members of Congress, governors and local officials.
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These economies are teaching children best for the future of work
Thursday 29th of October 2020
The jobs of tomorrow will heavily rely on a good grasp of the STEM subjects, as the demand for roles that bridge the gap between humans and machines increases.
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Are countries doing enough to support women through the pandemic?
Thursday 29th of October 2020
While many governments have taken positive measures to support women and girls disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the response remains “insufficient and uneven”. This is the view of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women, which have launched the COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker to track government action across 206 countries and territories.
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Fish are evolving to escape modern fishing techniques. This is what it means
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Huge, coordinated groups of fish swimming together – or schooling – to evade predators is a sight familiar to many lovers of nature programmes.
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The entrepreneur who is turning waste plastic bottles into boats
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Africa, like most other parts of the world, is battling a spiraling plastic pollution crisis. In Cameroon, one non-profit company is helping to keep waste plastic out of the ocean while also improving livelihoods and inspiring entrepreneurs in communities across the country.
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Industrial clusters are critical to getting to net-zero. Here’s why
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Industrial clusters have a big role to play in the clean energy transition. But what are they? And how can they help?
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Australian coral reef ‘height of Empire State building’ has just been accidentally discovered
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Australian scientists found a detached coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, the Schmidt Ocean Institute said this week, the first such discovery in over 100 years.
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Here’s how your robot co-worker could help you deal with stress at work
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Researchers are working toward intelligent machines that can sense cognitive fatigue and suggest interventions to help a human improve performance.
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What the 2020 electorate looks like by party, race and ethnicity, age, education and religion
Thursday 29th of October 2020
The United States holds a presidential election every four years, but it’s not just the candidates and issues that change from one campaign cycle to the next. The electorate itself is in a slow but constant state of flux, too.
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A new study suggests coronavirus antibodies fade over time – but how concerned should we be?
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Newly released research suggests that levels of antibodies against the coronavirus have declined across the UK population since testing began. Having randomly sampled 365,000 people across the country, the React2 study – which is yet to be peer reviewed – estimates that 6% of the UK population had antibodies against the virus in late June, but that this had fallen to 4.4% by September.
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These researchers have found a way to turn a common plastic into high-value molecules
Thursday 29th of October 2020
If you thought those flimsy disposable plastic grocery bags represented most of our plastic waste problem, think again. The volume of plastic the world throws away every year could rebuild the Ming Dynasty’s Great Wall of China – about 3,700 miles long.
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Cities reboot: Urban life in the age of COVID-19
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Downtown is deserted and happy hour is history – the pandemic has upended urban life for billions and futurologists expect a changed cityscape to emerge in the post-viral world.
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How arts and culture can serve as a force for social change
Thursday 29th of October 2020
The world of art needs more social enterprise, and the world of social enterprise needs more art. Ever since the World Economic Forum’s Cultural Leaders network and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship launched the Centred-Self collaboration earlier this year, it struck us that both fields have only just scratched the surface of how interacting with one other could lead world-changing breakthroughs.
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COVID-19: Why we need to have tough conversations on the future of AI
Thursday 29th of October 2020
These months have proven to be emblematic of the dangers of a hyperconnected world. Despite efforts to restrict international and domestic travel, coronavirus cases continue to grow and grow fast, and asymmetries rise around the world at a pace we may have not imagined back when 2020 started.
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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 29 October
Thursday 29th of October 2020
1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe
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How used-cars sales explain the cybersecurity market – and how we can fix it
Thursday 29th of October 2020
Globally we spending more on defending ourselves from digital attacks. Collective cybersecurity spending is projected to grow to $433.6 billion annually by 2030. In 2020, at the height of the global pandemic, business leaders identified the risk of cyber-attack as the third biggest risk their organizations were facing. This is driving major investment: cybersecurity start-ups receive nearly $9 billion a year.
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These are the world’s best cities for walking
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
Walking is the world’s most common form of transport.
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Why we need a systemic approach to boost energy access in Africa
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
As a systemic shock, the COVID-19 crisis affects all continents, social classes, levels of government and nearly all sectors of the economy, as well as the way we travel, consume and organize our work. Many see a path of ‘green recovery’ as the best way out – but combining this new challenge with the well-known fight against energy poverty will need creativity and a diversity of solutions.
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Can Texas stop its taps running dry?
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
In many ways, the story of Texas over the last century is the state’s devout allegiance to the principle that mankind has dominion over nature.
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The super-wealthy won big as COVID-19 spread – here’s how they can help alleviate the economic peril faced by most
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
More than 16 million cases of COVID-19 were confirmed between April and July of this year, there were nearly 630,000 related deaths, and the world’s richest people got about $2 trillion richer.
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COVID-19 spurred a rise in FinTech. Now regulators are catching up.
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
COVID-19 has accelerated the digitization of everything from education to the workplace to grocery shopping. The financial services industry is no exception to this, with financial technology (fintech) playing a critical role in reducing coronavirus risks associated with exchanging cash, helping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and supporting financial inclusion in developing markets during the pandemic and beyond.
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Right-wing extremism: The new wave of global terrorism
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
In April 2020, the United Nation’s Secretary-General, António Guterres, addressed members of the Security Council by warning them that the COVID-19 pandemic could threaten global peace and security.
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Men with physical jobs have 55% higher dementia risk
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
Men in jobs with hard physical work have a higher risk of developing dementia compared to men doing sedentary work, new research reveals.
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Spurred by COVID-19, African schools innovate to close learning gap
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
In rural Sierra Leone, teenagers tuned into solar-powered radios for their lessons, while Kenyan students texted a code to receive free learning guides on their phones.
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This initiative can give city trees a second life – and create jobs
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
The city is a difficult place for a tree to survive. Compared to their counterparts in the countryside, urban trees generally get less water, suffer more intense heat, compete for space with unyielding infrastructure and frequently become riddled with disease and pests. As a result, many cities are stuck with a lot of dead trees every year.
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How investing in girls’ education could return billions in GDP
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
Making sure all girls are finishing secondary education by 2030 could boost the gross domestic product (GDP) of developing countries by 10% on average over the next decade, a report said on Tuesday.
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Roboats: Amsterdam will soon have its own fleet of driverless passenger boats
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
The feverish race to produce the shiniest, safest, speediest self-driving car has spilled over into our wheelchairs, scooters, and even golf carts. Recently, there’s been movement from land to sea, as marine autonomy stands to change the canals of our cities, with the potential to deliver goods and services and collect waste across our waterways.
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From plant to paper cup: The economics of coffee in one chart
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
Breaking down the economics of coffee
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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 28 October
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe
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How to get private capital to protect nature – without greenwashing
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
• The ‘funding gap’ means private finance is needed to implement ‘nature-based solutions’.
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COVID-19 has worsened ageism. Here’s how to help older adults thrive.
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected older people around the world, causing devastating blows to their physical health, their mental health and their livelihoods. The insidious effects of ageism are making these challenges even more difficult to overcome.
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How doubling conservation efforts could tackle emissions and create millions of jobs
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
From declining animal populations to increasing water use, warning signs about our impact on the planet are all around us.
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These British retailers are banning glitter this Christmas. Here’s why…
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
The festive season will be a little less sparkly, as British retailers including Morrisons, Waitrose and John Lewis are removing glitter from their Christmas ranges to cut down on microplastics.
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Arctic Ocean: why winter sea ice has stalled, and what it means for the rest of the world
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
Arctic sea ice plays a crucial role in the Earth’s energy balance. It is covered for most of the year by snow, which is the brightest natural surface on the planet, reflecting about 80% of the solar radiation that hits it back out to space.
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Test, trace, and targeted support: 4 ways to rescue the economy from the pandemic
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
In many western countries, COVID-19 infection rates are rising again. For some like the UK, France and Spain, it appears that the second wave of the pandemic is already here. The science also tells us that we may see a further upsurge in 2021. We do not know how effective early vaccines will be, and the rollout of vaccination programmes will be gradual.
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What is ‘Long COVID’ and what parts of the body does it affect?
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
Ongoing illness after infection with COVID-19, sometimes called “long COVID”, may not be one syndrome but possibly up to four causing a rollercoaster of symptoms affecting all parts of the body and mind.
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As it turns 75, the United Nations is still seen as a force for good
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
75 years ago, on October 24, 1945, the United Nations came into existence, when representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the United Nations Charter.
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There is definitely water on the moon, according to NASA. Here’s what this means
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
The moon lacks the bodies of liquid water that are a hallmark of Earth but scientists said on Monday lunar water is more widespread than previously known, with water molecules trapped within mineral grains on the surface and more water perhaps hidden in ice patches residing in permanent shadows.
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After taking on plastic, Bali sisters want bar raised on climate action
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
Dismayed by the plastic waste strewn over their home island of Bali, sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen have channelled Ted Talks and international conferences in raising global awareness through a youth-led movement to try to eliminate the scourge.
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Winter is coming: Here’s what it’ll mean for the spread of COVID-19
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
New research aims to help arm people with better knowledge of how SARS-CoV-2 spreads as the seasons change.
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Just 1 month in greener play areas could boost kids’ immune systems, study says
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
Making outdoor play areas greener and more biodiverse could improve children’s immune systems in one month, a new study suggests.
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6 lessons for creating blockchain standards
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
Cryptocurrencies are rallying to near-term highs following announcements from large players including PayPal and Square. Governments, including Bermuda and China, are rolling out digital currencies. Industries from mobility to mining are collaborating in unprecedented ways to explore and implement blockchain technology.
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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 27 October
Tuesday 27th of October 2020
1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe
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We have a business and social imperative to transform equity, inclusion and social justice
Monday 26th of October 2020
At AARP, we are deeply concerned about the disparities that exist in our society—in healthcare, economic opportunity and quality of life. We fight against ageism, racism and gender inequality because we believe all people should be empowered to choose how they live as they age. These disparities are not random, but instead are the result of a long history of inequality due to a lack of social, economic and political opportunities.
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As Canada bans bags and more, this is what’s happening with single-use plastics around the world
Monday 26th of October 2020
Canada will ban a range of single-use plastic products by the end of next year.
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Japan’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2050
Monday 26th of October 2020
Japan is aiming to cut greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 and become a carbon-neutral society, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday as he unveiled a major shift in position on climate change.
