World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda: November 2014

Annually, since 2007, around 800 thought-leaders from around the world meet in the United Arab Emirates in November for the World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda (the News International, November 19, 2014).

Incorporating around 80 Global Agenda Councils on a wide range of topics, the WEF summit is recognized as the world’s largest brainstorming event.

Each year the WEF documents trends related to challenges and opportunities for the upcoming year in their report, Outlook on the Global Agenda. This year the report outlined 10 global trends facing the world over the next 12-18 months (compiled and ranked using the Delphi method).

The ten global trends included:

deepening income inequality
persisting jobless growth
rising pollution
increasing occurrences of extreme weather events
increasing water stress
emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases
weakening of representative democracy (and a disconnect between citizens and the officials that represent them)
increasing backlash against globalisation (and the retreat to nationalism and regionalism)
increasing lack of global leadership
increasing transformational opportunities related to technology, science and innovation

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