PLANET THEME

TAKING CARE OF OUR HOME

In 2018, the UN Secretary General warned that “we face a direct existential threat” of our own making. Temperatures are spiking globally, arctic ice is melting faster than ever, extreme weather events are devastating communities, pollution has become the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death, and species are going extinct at unprecedented rates.

We need to act now. From our Belgian perspective alone we need urgent solutions to stop our reliance on fossil fuels, radically cut all forms of pollution, transition to a circular economy & zero emissions mobility system, protect biodiversity, shift to more sustainable agricultural and food systems, and looking further ahead protect us from drought and rising sea levels.

PEOPLE THEME

EMPOWERING HUMANITY

Notwithstanding the immense progress in human development, new challenges keep emerging and we are still are a long way from achieving our full human potential. In Belgium alone we need new solutions for delivering more equitable and future proof education, for creating thriving cities and communities where it’s good to live and work, for innovating our economy and creating meaningful work opportunities. We need new solutions for preventing and treating chronic illness, including mental illness.

We need to address all forms of discrimination and injustice. And we must restore trust in media and democracy.

TECH THEME

HARNESSING CHANGE

As our built environment becomes ever more connected and intelligent, so we will face an increasing range of new challenges. In Belgium, most organisations are still trying to adapt their operations and business models to new digital realities. We are only touching the surface of what we can achieve with emergent technologies.
Simultaneously, we need to confront the increasing costs of technological progress.

How can we avoid a dystopian future of digital ‘enclosure’ where authorities and companies use data to surveil and control citizens? How do we make privacy legislation work in practice and for the benefit of all? Equally important, how do we reduce the carbon footprint of technology (because it is exploding at an alarming rate)?