World Academy of Arts and Science Online Conference, July 21st-24th
The World Academy of Arts and Science ( WAAS) is hosting a virtual conference focused on tackling urgent global challenges, from climate change and ecological security to technological disruption and economic inequality.
Key topics included the transformative impact of AI and automation, which are reshaping the workforce and heightening the need for lifelong learning, job security, and equitable economic systems. Click here to access the full agenda for the conference.
Climate action and ecological stability are essential to human security, with calls for renewed multilateral cooperation and stronger global governance.
Day 1 (Monday, July 21, 2025)
The opening day of WAAS@65 sets the stage for the conference by addressing the root causes of today’s unprecedented global turbulence and the urgent need for coordinated action to restore peace, stability, human security, and sustainable development. The Plenary Opening features keynote insights from Garry Jacobs, Ismail Serageldin, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Peter Schlosser, Bertie Ahern, and Ketan Patel, who emphasize the importance of formulating actionable strategies for long-term global resilience. The day also includes the session Turbulence of a World in Transition: The Context, Enabling Conditions and Symptoms, which explores the systemic issues driving global crises and the role of WAAS and its partners in addressing them.
Day 2 (Tuesday, July 22, 2025)
The second day centers on climate action, global governance, technological advancements, and reimagining education to meet evolving global challenges.
- Planetary Consensus on Climate Change: Examines strategies to reinvigorate global momentum and public commitment to tackling climate change, regarded as the greatest threat to human security.
- Conscious Social Evolution: Highlights the need for collective, deliberate action to navigate an interconnected world where traditional, slow-paced evolution cannot meet modern challenges.
- Science & Technology for Good: Explores harnessing the positive potential of science and technology to foster peace and security while managing their disruptive impacts.
- Managing Global Social Transformations: Organized by UNESCO MOST Bridges, this session emphasizes the need for transdisciplinary approaches and effective institutions to address global turbulence.
- Redesigning Multilateralism: Focuses on strengthening international cooperation and multilateral institutions to counter rising nationalism and instability.
- The Future of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence): Examines the promises and risks of AGI, the race for dominance, and the need for global governance to prevent excessive power concentration.
- Rethinking Education for Human Security: Proposes embedding human-centered values and conscious evolution into global education systems to address uncertainty and rapid social change.
- Ecological Security Solutions: Discusses strategies to tackle ecological threats—such as climate, land, water, and ocean challenges—that fuel global insecurity.
Day 3 (Wednesday, July 23, 2025)
The third day explores workforce adaptation in the age of AI, lifelong learning, economic inequality, and existential risks. Key sessions focus on how technology reshapes jobs, the importance of global financial reform, and strategies to restore trust in democracy and multilateral institutions. Discussions also address universal human values, shifting social power, and conflict resolution for a more secure and peaceful future.
Day 4 (Thursday, July 24, 2025)
The fourth day examines philosophical and ethical questions, exploring whether history follows a discernible direction and how new ways of thinking can solve global challenges. Sessions focus on moral integrity, the shift from competitive nationalism to global common security, and building a cooperative future. The day concludes with a closing plenary reflecting on lessons learned and outlining future initiatives for WAAS.
Register Here for Global Turbulence: Sources and Solutions, July 21st-24th
WAAS is a valued GlobalMindED partner and will be with us next June for our annual conference June 9-11, 2026, as we celebrate the United States birthday and the healthof democratic society around the world in the next 250+ years.
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