International Organizations

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected people’s health and livelihood around the world, it has caused social upheaval in many nations and is creating a lasting impact on relations between individuals, communities and nations. The need for a culture of peace has never been greater. The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics (IPCGE) calls for mandatory... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Environmental Justice, defined as “The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” (EPA), has been the object of study of this article in which it is shown how through the work of Non-... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Much of the hope for resolving our world’s greatest problems is vested in the power of youth. Since the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace, and Security (2015), the recognition of young people as a positive force for preventing and resolving conflict and building sustainable peace has gained significant momentum. What is it that makes... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF The indispensable missing link in the debate on sustainability is the monetary system. To date, the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) have primarily been financed through private sector financing, conventional public sector funding (taxes and fees) and philanthropic commitment. However, these are not enough in scale and speed to finance our future. “The introduction of a... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Facing the XXI century and its challenges means finding a concrete strategy, one that can make it possible for WAAS and its Fellows to reach their full potential. Sometimes what we do is look for new strategies to reach our goals, when the simple answer has always been right in front of our eyes: we need a non-original, organizational yet individual, holistic yet... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Albert Einstein said that art and science are branches of the same tree. Indeed, there is no dichotomy between art and science: they are an integral part of the same nucleon. Art is the ability to create, which implies inspiration and learning. Liberal arts, from medieval tradition till date, include humanities and physical, biological, and social sciences. There is... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In this short article, the author traces the sociological origins of WAAS and traces briefly the history of the scientists‘ nuclear abolition movement, which was a main reason for the founding of the Academy. A lot remains to be done by the world community to address the multifaceted problems we face today. WAAS has been playing a crucial role in this process. In the... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Solution to the complex nexus of problems confronting humanity exceeds the capacity of any individual or small group of individuals or organizations. But it does not lie beyond the capacity of the collective aspiration, intelligence and determination of humanity. The world needs aspirational leadership that transcends the partisanship and limitations of self-... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed our world. And it is still underway, expected to continue over several years—or longer. Despite some 165 vaccines currently in accelerated development or in early trials, a quick tech fix is unlikely, especially for all nations. Some countries have been cautiously re-opening after lockdown, but still finding hotspots. Other countries... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In response to the new socio-economic conditions and the planetary momentum for change induced by our multifaceted crises, humanity needs to synthesize its knowledge and synergize its action into a coherent and coordinated global movement and new leadership. Toward a new paradigm of human development aligning global societies with planetary systems, sustainability... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract We are living in a world of intense change in which young generations play a major role in changing the world according to the markers of their generation. Peace and justice cannot be achieved by governments or institutions alone. It is no longer appropriate to use the tactics and strategies for peace that were developed for “old wars,” which were between nation-... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The need for coordination and integration of human benefit knowledge, as well as application in policy, continues to grow. Numerous warnings of a serious global pandemic have gone unheeded, and COVID-19 has spread across the world, mishandled by many political leaders. But the coronavirus may provide a possible pathway to effectively addressing the broader problems... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract A novel global governance and leadership paradigm is proposed. Survival of humanity demands paradigmatic changes. Saving natural and human capital requires new economic and new political paradigms. We focus here on political paradigm change. The world today can be destroyed in less than a day by error, terror and stupidity. We know that the world and its natural and... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Traces human societies’ organizing and leadership modalities, from early nomadic tribes to settled agricultural villages, towns, companies and today’s mega-cities, multi-national alliances and the United Nations (UN). Scaling these human organizational processes involved leadership, persuasion, coercion and violence. Initially these processes were steered by... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The narrative ‘sweeps through’ history, starting with the Treaties of Westphalia in 1648, on to the Congress of Vienna of 1814-15, to the current terminology of ‘modern multilateralism’ with its lineage from the Versailles Treaty of 1919 and the League of Nations, to the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference at Bretton Woods in 1944, the European Coal and... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The present article is written as an issue paper on academies for the GL-21 Project. It traces activities of academies and their associations in the present information-rich society. The state-of-the-art of the academic world is briefly described. This permits to focus on general trends in knowledge management in general and the role of academies. The successful... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This discussion paper looks at the current historical momentum and potential future development of civil society and youth leadership for a systemic transformation to a sustainable new civilization. It identifies emerging challenges, obstacles, and some of the innovative new leadership strategies that have been developed to overcome them. Civil society is central in... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The goal of this paper is to focus on the Global Leadership Challenge in the 21st Century with an integrated and strategic perspective in science, engineering and technology (SET). “In any crisis, leaders have two equally important responsibilities: solve the immediate problem and keep it from happening again. The COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point. We need to... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Transformative leadership is the process of consciously accelerating the evolution of global society. This paper provides an overview of initial research findings of the project on Global Leadership in the 21st century (GL21) initiated by WAAS in collaboration with the United Nations Office at Geneva, preparatory to a major conference at UNOG on October 27-28,... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract On 17 March 2019, immediately following the four-day VII Global Baku Forum, members and friends of five international organizations gathered to explore the present state and future effectiveness of governance and leadership, in the context of a world focused on the 17 SDGs and the role of education in their achievement. The short report of the day’s... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Over the past 200 years, the evolution of human society has moved inexorably toward greater interaction and interdependence between peoples and nations around the world. More recently the movements advancing free trade, globalization, liberal democracy, multilateral institutions and international cooperation have lost momentum and are in retreat. This... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract To achieve long-term sustainability, it is necessary to strive for a green economy and come up with solutions to address limitations to resource footprints. This will require innovations across the board and creativity in all fields. Creativity and sustainability are closely linked. The UN’s Agenda 2030 with its 17 SDGs sets out the economic, social and... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Our conscious mind enables us to grasp complexity, but almost forces us to think in a linear and mechanistic way about “solutions” to the “problems” we face. This paper is an attempt to confront that dilemma of humanity, which may be the foundation of our growing divorce from life, as exemplified by rapid climate warming, loss of biodiversity and over-... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract When considering governments’ failure to act on global problems such as climate change, the comment often heard is “all that is required is the political will”; the implication being that governments are somehow negligent, irresponsible and do not care sufficiently about such issues. The article explains that it is not that governments do not want to solve... Read more

Catalyzing Transformation: A Process Framework for Transformative System Change Sandra Waddock* Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article offers a synthesized perspective on a future-oriented process for transformational change makers, here called transformation catalysts, to catalyze systemic change through processes of connecting, cohering, and amplifying the transformational change work of... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Taking into account potentially irreversible processes, it is our common responsibility to bear in mind “the ethics of time”. We should act in a way that will prevent us from taking a path that allows no return. We have to specifically take into account next generations: our legacy cannot condemn them to have the worst standard of living and prevent them from... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF This is a time of unprecedented speed, interconnectedness, complexity and uncertainty which pose serious challenges to global peace, security, and sustainable social progress. Prevailing political, economic and social theory, institutions and policies are outdated and unable to cope with the need for change. But this is also a time of unprecedented opportunity for... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF As of July 2017, the World Academy of Art & Science, founded in 1960 by eminent thinkers and scientists, has something in common with more acclaimed and celebrated organizations such as CARE International, Greenpeace or Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders). The commonality is the newly acquired special “consultative status” of WAAS vis-à-vis the... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Executive Summary In 2008, MIT’s Peter Senge et al. wrote that the Industrial Age bubble was ending and that, especially due to climate change, a “Necessary Revolution” was needed to create a sustainable flourishing world in the decades ahead. Since then, many business organizations have moved toward sustainability to some degree, and many other organizations have... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract How can citizens become more aware of science and how it proceeds in order to be able to form their own opinion on science based problems concerning our environment and thus participate in taking decisions relating to technical matters? Scientific knowledge is also part of human culture and contributes to the evolution of human values like faith. What role... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Humanity has made remarkable progress during the past two centuries in advancing peace, democracy, human rights, economic development and social equality. The evolution of human relations has progressed far from the time when physical violence, war and conquest were the predominant form of international relations. Diplomacy has evolved from political... Read more

 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article describes a global governance system that—from the author’s point of view—would lead to sustainability and allow the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have just been adopted at the UN level. Major elements are (1) the integration of existing international regimes in the area of the UN, WTO and the world financial... Read more