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Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize
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¿QUÉ PASA CUANDO LA DEMOCRACIA MUERE?
“Venezuela se ha convertido en una amenaza para la seguridad, la estabilidad y la democracia del hemisferio”. “Creo que cualquier opción… es legítima para proteger a millones de venezolanos que sufren del hambre, que sufren de las enfermedades, que sufren de los crímenes contra la humanidad, que sufren de las violaciones de derechos humanos” -David […]
If it’s illiberal, is it democracy?
“Step-by-step, we get used to the limitations of our democratic freedoms and rights. So, for example, COVID enabled our government to ban public gatherings. That is one of the crucial things in democracy, to criticize the government…And I’m afraid that some of the limitations will stay with us for not only in this interim period, […]
Leadership Special: Sylvia Earle, world-class oceanographer and educator
“When you fall down, you make mistakes, and that’s how you learn. If everything’s always smooth and you never encounter any problems ever, I think you don’t develop the courage to tackle whatever comes your way. So, you learn from falling down, you learn from getting knocked over by a wave, and not letting that […]
What Happens When Democracy Dies?
“[Venezuela] has become a threat to the security and stability and democracy of the hemisphere.” “I think that any option…is legitimate to protect millions of Venezuelans that are suffering from starvation, that are suffering from disease, that are suffering from crimes against humanity, that are suffering from human rights violations.” — David Smolansky Sometimes […]
The Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Joins the Tällberg Foundation in Presenting the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize Stockholm and New York, March 29, 2021—Today the Tällberg Foundation announced that it has renamed its flagship leadership prize as the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, which incorporates the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) as a partner in the Tällberg […]
Casas Muertas
“Venezuela without Maduro is a Venezuela that could be a country with plenty of opportunities. A country that first of all need to be safe, especially for young Venezuelans. A country that could again explore oil, but also could diversify its economy. A country that could be one of the best countries to visit in […]
Speaking Freely
“Free speech is counterintuitive…That’s why we have it as part of the Bill of Rights. We have to have courts that stop the government and the society from doing what they’re inclined to do. It’s more natural to suppress free speech than it is to protect free speech. This has been true forever and will […]
When is too much freedom too much?
“The question now is do we believe that completely unregulated speech on the social media platforms and the internet will, the way that it’s structured, really result in a good outcome because good speech can counter bad speech? Do we think that that’s still true? Or do we think that it’s not true? And if […]
The (non) Future of Europe
“I don’t see us Europeans taking hold of our future…technologically and economically we are totally torn up between United States and China. We may turn out to be only the battlefield for that competition. That’s tragic for what we represent as a civilization in Europe.” — Pierre Lellouche When Pierre Lellouche, veteran French politician and […]
“Expect to have very violent reactions after the pandemic”
“I am struck that the bad guys—Trump, Boris Johnson, Netanyahu—have been able to handle this crisis infinitely much better than the good guys in Europe—Macron, Merkel, von der Leyen and so on—who have been highly bureaucratic, slow, incompetent.” — Pierre Lellouche Europe has had a bad few years. The struggles between North and South […]
Persian Delights; Persian Dangers
“After all of these years of sanctions and containment…is it not time to stop wondering when the Islamic Republic is going to fall and instead think about how the Islamic Republic might change?” — Sanam Vakil “[Ayatollah Khamenei’s] legacy will be: do not believe the Americans, do not negotiate with the Americans.” — Sima Shine […]
Iran’s Annus Horribilis
“I think among the political establishment, survival has somewhat emboldened the Iranian leadership. They feel strengthened by their ability to push back against sanctions. They feel strengthened by their ability to empower the domestic economy despite sanctions.” — Dr. Sanam Vakil “So, in spite of all the difficulties, we must admit that Iran is surviving […]
Hiding in plain sight
“One of the worst things you can give to the human brain is chronic uncertainty. And the name of the game since March 2020, is uncertainty.” — Mike Niconchuk “With the virus, we see a breaking of social bonds and those have not been reestablished. But I think basic trust has to be the starting […]
High Anxiety
“As a result of the pandemic and its ongoing nature, we’re seeing that people’s coping resources are sort of wearing thin. We’re seeing depression develop, anxiety, panic, people turning to alcohol to help them cope and people even thinking that they’d be better off dead or having thoughts of suicide.” — Dr. Jonathan DePierro “In […]
Online Conversation: Long COVID
International health expert and physician Dr. Kees Rietveld worries that instead of a fast exit from COVID we are entering a twilight scenario of Long COVID. We recently published his opinion piece, in which he makes the case that we might be looking at years, not months, before something resembling “normal” is once again actually […]
Magical thinking (about Zoom)
Since the onset of the pandemic, most people have been forced to put their lives on hold or online. Work, education, entertainment, exercise—almost everything has largely moved from the real world to the virtual world. One result is near universal groans about “Zoom fatigue.” But is it the tool or how we are using the […]
Do you believe in Magic?
“I constantly compare where we are right now with Zoom communication and other platforms to movies in the 1890s and television in the late ’40s, early ’50s.” — Mark Mitton The pandemic has forced most of us to move from real life to virtual life—and we are mostly unhappy about the results. It’s not just […]
Opinion: Long COVID
It is time for society to bite the bullet and accept that SARS CoV 2, the virus that causes COVID, is here to stay. It has become an endemic pandemic, mutating in the direction of becoming a part of the annual winter respiratory onslaught. Some countries might achieve temporary eradication, but the world won’t. The […]
Looking for a New Normal (or something like it)
“I think the new normal is, first of all, all of us have to stop and reevaluate what we are doing and how we’re doing it.” — Sandra Breka We live at a time of pandemic, recession, growing doubts about the future and form of capitalism, challenges to democracy, shifts in global power. The response […]
Democracy Now?
“I have never been in my whole life as worried as I was on that day…about whether or not we could survive as a democracy. I think we’re as divided and in danger of losing the democracy as we were in 1860.” — Richard Gephardt Dick Gephardt is a democrat; he firmly believes that democracy […]
“A republic, if you can keep it”
One of America’s most revered founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, allegedly used those words to describe what kind of political system the writers of the U.S. Constitution had created. The amazing events of recent weeks—Donald Trump’s concerted efforts to undo an electoral outcome that he didn’t like, the assault on the Capitol, and the impeachment of […]
Lines in the sand
“There are more red lines right now, more lines between countries, between ideologies, between peoples than have ever really existed at any single time in history.” “We need to master all of that [history] if we’re going to go forward and figure a way of either working with these red lines or dismantling them.” […]
Lines in the Sand
“We all know what the major hotspots are, it’s China in the South China Sea, and Korea and North Korea and the atomic bomb, it’s Iran and their quest for a nuclear weapon, it’s various issues in Mesopotamia, Iraq, and Syria, all across Africa, there are a host of red lines that mostly delineate where […]
Celebrating or Cursing Democracy?
This week the United States inaugurates a new President, much to the joy of many Americans, but to the utter dismay of millions of others. And the swearing in takes place in a Washington, DC locked down, not by fear of pandemic, but by fear of domestic terrorists. Only two weeks ago, a mob encouraged […]
Welcome to the Brave New (digital) World
“Things have been changing and evolving so quickly, that what surprised us nine months ago doesn’t necessarily surprise us anymore. Initially, it was just surprising that people could actually work while remote, that it was possible to get things done. Actually, people were not only working, but they were showing up more productive. People were […]
European Renaissance
“By tradition, by history, by culture, by philosophy, the model of the way of life in Europe is better for people, better for nature.” “It’s a question of whether we have the three ingredients of global influence: namely weight, ambition and know-how. — Pascal Lamy At a time of Brexit, political uncertainties in many continental […]
Online Conversation: American Agonies
January 6, 2021 is now one of those days seared in our memories. What happened in Washington was awful, but perhaps inevitable—maybe necessary—eruption; a catharsis to bleed off the poison. Donald Trump is all but finished, and the most virulent brand of Trumpism has been revealed in all its base, vile thuggery. That’s good, not […]
Why Europe?
“I think by tradition, by history, by culture, by philosophy, the model of the way of life in Europe is in a way better for people, better for nature ,at least in the concept we have of what’s good and bad, than in the rest of the world.” — Pascal Lamy Pascal Lamy, former Director […]
Online Workshop: Making Democracy Work
On December 8 and 9, 2020, the Tällberg Foundation celebrated the 2020 winners of the Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize during a virtual workshop. The theme of the meeting was “Making Democracy Work” which encompassed a range of interviews, panels, and performances. See the program for both days here. Day 1 Global Leaders! Meet the winners […]
Follow the Science
“At the end of the day, we are all part of the same global population, and that virus does not recognize countries. It does not recognize races. It does not recognize ethnicities. We’re all in it together.” — Dr. Ali Nouri 2020 will probably be remembered as the year of COVID. But perhaps more importantly, […]
Gorillas (and people) in the Mist
A few days ago we were visiting the gorillas and you could see that they were actually quite happy to see visitors coming back. Some of them even tried to get close because they think, “Hey, you’re back!” How can you protect the gorillas when the communities aren’t benefiting? We’re seeing win-win situations for people, […]
Live and let live
When we started at CTPH people were like, “Why are you combining conservation and public health? Why are you combining animal health and human health?”…but we’re glad to see that we’re seeing benefits…We’re seeing win-win situations for both people, animals and the environment”. — Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka 2020 will be remembered as the Pandemic Year, […]
Announcing the 2020 Winners of the Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize
TÄLLBERG FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP PRIZE WINNERS Sylvia Earle, Jared Genser, Nithya Ramanathan Receive 2020 Awards Stockholm and New York, November 25, 2020—Today the Tällberg Foundation announced the winners of the 2020 Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prizes, awarded annually for extraordinary leadership—in any field and any country—that is courageous, innovative, rooted in universal values and global in application or […]
America Chooses!
“I am a Trump supporter. I supported him in ’16, voted for him in ’20, but I had a raging case of Trump fatigue myself…. I was not that sorry to see the outcome, and I think the country needed it.” — Scott Miller “I thought [you] were very cognizant of the damage this president […]
True Blue
Sylvia Earle, a finalist for the 2020 Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, behaves like a woman running out of time, which she is. The world’s foremost oceanographer—the Jacques Cousteau of our era, dubbed “Her Deepness”—she is on the road most of the year, and has logged countless hours underwater since her first dive, in a […]
Democracy in America
The U.S. election has come, but not quite gone as President Trump continues to resist the otherwise apparent victory of Joe Biden. Notwithstanding that drama, what did the voting tell us about America, Americans, and democracy? Scott Miller, political and business consultant, and Josh Steiner, investor and adviser to Bloomberg LP, are deeply immersed in […]
Objections Sustained
Sara Hossain can sound ambivalent about her role as honorary executive director of BLAST, the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust. “I don’t like running a large organization and I really don’t want to keep on doing that,” she says, “because there are many aspects of it that a lawyer is not best skilled for […]
Save the Date – December 8-9, 2020!
We invite you to join the Tällberg Foundation in celebrating the 2020 winners of the Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize on December 8 and 9 from 10:00AM-11.45AM EST / 16.00-17.45 CET as part of a virtual workshop. The theme underlying this year’s meeting is “Making Democracy Work” which will encompass a range of interviews, panels and performances. […]
Data Minded
Nithya Ramanathan won’t deny that she loves engineering puzzles. “I just find them really fun to solve,” she says. “But ultimately I get pretty bored unless I’m solving that bigger, human-centered problem.” The computer scientist and C.E.O. of the non-profit Nexleaf Analytics is talking about really big problems here—climate change, pandemics, infant mortality—and about designing […]
Burning Down the House
“Basically, we are telling our kids and our grandkids that we don’t care about them when we burn the Amazon… This is something that can’t happen anymore.” — André Guimarães Fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest surged in October with the number of blazes up 25% in the first 10 months of 2020 compared to […]
Amazonian Armageddon
Once again, the Amazon is burning—and deforestation may be approaching a tipping point that could turn the world’s largest rain forest into dry savanna or even dessert. What are the potential consequences? Why aren’t we terrified? Who should be doing what? In this episode of New Thinking for a New World, Alan Stoga talks to […]
Online Conversation: Right/Wrong
On October 28, Juan Enriquez presented his latest book for members of the Tällberg Foundation network. How rapid changes in technology could lead to rapid changes in ethics and, more importantly, how we can have civil conversations. Juan Enriquez is one of the world’s leading authorities on the economic and political impacts of life sciences. […]
Believing It’s Possible
As founder of the Open Source Pharma Foundation, which is creating a crowd-sourced alternative to the pharmaceutical industry, Jaykumar Menon feels he may have met his moment. Just a couple of years ago, “We were considered crazy people,” he says. “And now I think we were shown to be prescient. Everybody in the world is […]
Dealing with a Dragon
“Everybody is saying, ‘Oh, why isn’t China being so meek and so docile anymore? Why is it showing his teeth?’ The simple answer is that, it is what all great powers do.” “It would be best for the world for China to emerge as a happy dragon, rather than an angry dragon…The West is handling […]
Has China Won?
The competition between China and the United States is the defining geopolitical reality of the 21st century. The evolution of its new Great Game will determine whether our collective future will be one of prosperity or disaster. In this episode of New Thinking for a New World, Alan Stoga talks to Kishore Mahbubani, the renowned […]
The Ripple Effect
Jared Genser’s client list reads like a Who’s Who of democratic aspiration: Václav Havel, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Liu Xiaobo, and Anwar Ibrahim to name a few. But the international human rights lawyer will never forget his first, James Mawdsley, who was imprisoned in Burma in 1999, with a 17-year sentence for handing out leaflets. […]
As the World Turns
Jan Eliasson—Swedish and global diplomat, former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, accomplished conflict mediator—considers himself a “concerned optimist.” As he surveyed the world in a New Thinking for a New World podcast with host Alan Stoga, sometimes he seems more concerned than optimistic—and that troubles him. “I am now very worried about where we […]
Happy (?) Birthday
The United Nations turned 75 this year—but the pandemic overwhelmed its birthday party. The UN, built in a different world, has succeeded in its core mission: preventing World War III. But is the UN, as it is now constructed, relevant to the problems of the 21st century? In this episode of New Thinking for […]
Our Wildlife, Our Selves
More than two decades ago, in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka made a connection that most of the world is only now beginning to get: The well-being of humans and animals are inextricably linked. About half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas live in the park—around 650 at the time, a population that […]
Cooperation, Competition, or Confrontation
Coping with a Dangerous World “I think that this is a period of increasing danger.” “You can draw a direct line from the unenforced red line in Syria in 2014, to the annexation of Crimea, the invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese land grab in the South China Sea.” “We always ask, ‘should we […]
Battlegrounds
Do you think we live in a world that is increasingly dangerous, full of not just Great Power competitors, but potential enemies? A world of winners and losers, where conflict and even war are possible? Such a world is described by General H.R. McMaster, a highly decorated U.S. military officer, former national security advisor and […]
Writing on the Wall: Bahia Shehab
Historian. Street artist. Professor of graphic design. Bahia Shehab lives the future she believes in for her students: multi-disciplinarity. “I think if I were only a historian or only an artist or only an academic, I wouldn’t have survived,” says the Lebanese-Egyptian finalist for the Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, who lives and teaches in […]
Ugly, Uglier, Ugliest: Migration at a Time of Covid
“When I was in Lesbos, there were over 9,000, 10,000 people in the streets with little food, little water, and nothing else… literally lines of people stretched for miles and miles along the road.” – Myrto Xanthopoulou “We saw busloads of Venezuelans choosing to return to Venezuela saying that as the situation got worse and […]
Online Conversation: Triple shock
The triple shock of pandemic, lockdown and economic collapse has rocked countries, communities and citizens around the world. Imagine the impact on refugees and migrants, caught in mid flight between their dangerous homes and less-than-welcoming destinations. The dramatic burning of what had been described as Europe’s largest refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece—probably started by desperate […]
Migrants (barely) Surviving
Like a great magician, the pandemic has drawn our attention away from things that are hiding in plain sight. One of those has been the plight of millions of refugees and migrants who are in refugee camps or trying to escape from war, violence, poverty or other scourges. In this episode of a New […]
Announcing the 2020 Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize Finalists
Seven Global Leaders Selected From 2,165 Nominations Winners to be Announced in November Stockholm and New York, September 30, 2020 — Today the Tällberg Foundation announced seven finalists for the Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, which is given annually to leaders from a wide range of disciplines and countries whose work is global, based on […]
Reshuffling the Global Deck
“We have entered a world which we’ve not experienced for a long time … The most populous nation in the world is acquiring the economic and military and political might to go with that size.” “You cannot make global politics or globalization something apolitical. You cannot take the politics out of human life and human […]
A World Divided
The world’s a mess. The great powers today, the Chinese and the Americans, seem to disagree on most things. The UK has left the EU and the Europeans are split North against South, East against West. China’s pushing its neighbors. Russia’s pecking at Europe’s borders. Although each of those has its own story, is there […]
Bearing Witness
Earlier this month, the migrants and refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos were again homeless after fires, probably set out of desperation, destroyed Europe’s largest refugee camp, Moria, on the Greek island of Lesbos. Moria, intended for 2,200, housed more than 12,000 people under horrible conditions that worsened when COVID-19 hit. Myrto Xanthopoulou, a […]
Power to the People
“What building a state and what building a society means … is for people to come together, discuss, and agree on a shared way forward.” “When they come to power through military means, they tend to then rely on those same instruments to wield power.” —Peter Biar Ajak Independence!! A war won; a people freed. […]
Africa Agonistes
South Sudan celebrated its hard-won independence in 2011, but today is considered one of the most fragile, even failed states in the world. What went wrong? Why are democratic governance and prosperity so elusive for the people of Sudan and much of the rest of the Horn of Africa? Peter Biar Ajak has answers and […]
Europe’s Union: Better after Covid?
“The European project has suffered and suffers from a structural blame game from the member states.” —Ana Palacio “You need to have a common platform within the European Union… otherwise, things will definitely go apart.” —Magnus Schöldtz The pandemic has exposed the fragility of governmental institutions around the world, and the European Union is no […]
A Silver Lining to the Covid Disaster?
Closed borders, hoarded medical equipment, confused policies, nasty summits. By any measure, the pandemic has not been the EU’s finest hour. But has it been bad enough that even Europe’s current leaders realize they must do better? Might the failures of the last months result in a brighter future for Europe? Ana Palacio, former Minister of […]
Talking Turkey
“We have a neighbor who is important, big, but still very aggressive, very assertive, and looking for adventures.” “Erdoğan wants to dictate the terms of the game.” —Constantinos Filis A weird year threatens to become even weirder: war between Turkey and Greece, two NATO allies with a long, fraught history, has suddenly become a possibility. […]
War, What is it Good For?
Turkey and Greece are locked in a struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean that feels like it belongs more in 1920 than in 2020. Is war possible? Will Greece’s European allies come to its rescue? What happens if Turkey’s aggressive president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan miscalculates how far he can push the Greeks? In this New Thinking […]
A Turkish Game of Thrones
“You can’t play Russian roulette any longer in diplomacy. You don’t know what’s coming up next…” — Nabil Fahmy “We are now living … not in a world order, but world disorder. We will see more chaos, more disorder, and more uncertainty…” — Cengiz Çandar Power abhors a vacuum, and the combination of “America First” […]
Sometimes History Rhymes
One hundred years ago to the month, the collapsing Ottoman Empire was finally out of its misery in the Treaty of Sevre. However, in an echo of American author Mark Twain’s dictum that history never repeats, but sometimes rhymes, President Erdogan of Turkey today seems set on creating a new Ottoman power with reach from […]
There is No Solution Without You
“What Covid has done is to apply an extraordinary and unusually powerful microscope to worldwide governance. And much of what we see through that lens of the microscope is not pretty.” —Cardinal Michael Czerny Covid-19 has been a world-wide disaster—one that refuses to end. Although some countries and their leaders have performed extraordinarily well, many […]
Are We Really All in This Together?
Why do we seem unable to work together to manage our common home? Is the Covid pandemic considered “global” while Ebola was not, because Covid has laid waste to rich countries, while Ebola did not? Is the failure of governments that we see almost everywhere actually the failure of citizens for not demanding more of their leaders? Cardinal […]
Africa on the Run
“The journey to development has been stunted.” —Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr “Because there’s less external pressure on the continent now than there has ever been, we are beginning to see African countries coming together to figure out how they’re going to solve their problems.” —Carole Wainaina Numbers can be misleading. Global health data suggest that Covid-19 has […]
African Possibilities
At least so far, what plagues Africa is less Covid-19, than its consequences: collapsed economies, an industrial world that is closing to Africa, a deceleration (if not reversal) in globalization, a new “Cold War” (this time between China and the West), severe climate change, and the urgent need to grow and develop faster to serve […]
You May Choose to Look Away, But Never Again Say You Do Not Know
“The demand for exploitation is not just something that is related to poverty. It is related to a certain kind of human volition, which is global and somehow we have normalized it.” — Sunitha Krishnan Why do nations, rich and poor, in the 21st century, tolerate widespread slavery and human trafficking, including the buying and […]
STOP SLAVERY NOW!
Why do nations, rich and poor, tolerate widespread slavery, human trafficking and even the buying and selling of young children in the 21st century? These abominations exist everywhere and at a scale that makes them one of the largest global criminal enterprises. How is that possible? In this episode of New Thinking for a New […]
It’s (Still) The Economy, Stupid!
“In all of the West, we run into a divided society. Those who are smart enough to play on the stock market are fine; they can live. Those who are educated to play in the digital economy are also fine. And those who were the hard-working laborers for distribution and simple workers, they will get […]
The Covid Economy: Your Bust, My Boom
Like everything in life, Covid is producing losers and winners, not the least from the tsunami-like global recession it has spawned. It’s even possible that the pernicious economic effects will linger long after the pandemic has faded—and that the winners will still be winners. That’s one of the issues explored in the latest episode of […]
Can America halt its decline — and does it want to?
“We’re shocked, for example, that trains don’t work. We are shocked that the digital infrastructure is not good … America doesn’t not just invest in itself; Americans don’t invest in each other.” —Christine Loh What’s wrong, America? What has turned the global superpower and self-defined moral leader into a nation whose president insists the country […]
“What’s happened in 2020 is very promising.”
Those words have not been spoken by many this year. But Jorge Castañeda—Mexican educator, diplomat, former Foreign Minister, and frequent critic of the United States—believes that all the turmoil of a mishandled pandemic, economic recession, racial unrest, extreme political partisanship, and palpable anger throughout society might just be providing the impetus the country needs to […]
Is America Finished?
Why has America stopped investing in itself? Why do things—from cell phones to highways to schools to trains—work so much better in so many countries that used to look to the United States as their model? Tällberg’s New Thinking for a New World podcast explores those questions and others with Christine Loh who is a […]
America: Darkness Before the Crack of Dawn?
Maybe this mess—a resurgent pandemic, collapsing economy, screaming politicians, and deep racial inequalities laid bare—is exactly what the United States needs. Maybe the outcome will be a more normal country, instead of one that thinks it is exceptional. That might be better for Americans as well as for the rest of the world, argues Jorge […]
Are “we” capable of fixing all that is breaking? Or is it too late?
Looking for silver linings may be an integral part of the human condition. Even during the bleakest moments—like during a global pandemic, a global recession, leadership failures and profound social stress almost everywhere—we try to find bits and pieces of positive energy and new ideas. In this episode of Tällberg’s “New Thinking for a New […]
On the Outside, Looking In: America in the Era of George Floyd
“Do I think that the U.S. is a racist country? Oh yes. Yes. This is a country that was built on that premise of the negation of humanity of part of its people.” —Faustin Linyekula “I think the United States is a racist country … I was appalled when I went to the U.S., at […]
Is America Racist — if so, will it ever not be?
American Carnage or American Dream? It matters to everyone everywhere whether or not the United States is in terminal decline or (painfully) resetting the basis of its democracy and its society. If the former, the global order will change in incalculable ways, for better or for worse. If the latter, life after the pandemic could […]
The time for Climate Action is NOW
A recent global survey conducted by the Tällberg Foundation showed widespread enthusiasm for aggressive action to mitigate accelerating climate change*. Overwhelmingly, respondents said: Accelerating climate change is a major threat to their individual lives and is already directly affecting their communities; Two thirds believe that it’s not too late to prevent catastrophic consequences from climate […]
Shared problems; shared destinies
The global pandemic and global recession have led many leaders and countries to turn inward. But Ahmed Reda Chami, President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of Morocco, understands that giving up on global solutions is both shortsighted and doomed to fail. As he said in a recent New Thinking for a New World […]
First, help yourself – A Moroccan leader on coping with life after Covid
Like everywhere else, Morocco must cope with the potentially overwhelming health, economic and political consequences of the pandemic. But unlike most places, the country has a well-designed, focused strategy to mitigate the worst of what is happening and, possibly, to position itself—and the rest of Africa—for a better future. In this episode of the Tällberg […]
Is It Possible to Be Optimistic About Climate Change?
Tomas Anker Christensen, Denmark’s Climate Ambassador, and Daniel Martínez-Valle, Chief Executive Officer of Orbia, a Mexican-based multinational operating in more than 40 countries, recently discussed the lessons of the pandemic and why they are fundamentally optimistic that catastrophic climate change can be avoided. “We’ve learned during this pandemic … that many of the things that […]
The Millennial Future
In the midst of a global pandemic, many countries, leaders and people have turned local. That is not all bad: some people are working to strengthen their local communities, exploring new grassroots solutions and showing support for local businesses. Could these contribute to a new normal that is more people-oriented and more sustainable? Is it […]
Is It Possible to Be Optimistic About Climate Change?
For the first time in 75 years, the whole world is focused on the same problem and, in the process, mobilizing unprecedented political will, state authority and fiscal resources as well as relying on scientists to build evidence-based policies. How do we transfer all of that energy to addressing even the larger, more […]
Q&A from Disruptive Technologies Webinar
On May 6, the Tällberg Foundation co-sponsored a webinar on “Disruptive Technologies: Good, Bad and Ugly” with Kenya’s Strathmore Business School. The conversation among George Njenga, Strathmore’s Executive Dean, and Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize winners Anne Goldfeld, Fio Omenetto and Rafa Yuste was moderated by Tällberg’s chairman, Alan Stoga. A recording of the webinar can […]
Survey: Climate Change at a Time of Covid
While we are all focused on the pandemic, climate change continues to accelerate with consequences that are likely to dwarf the impact of Covid. How are you thinking about the climate and what needs to be done? We at the Tällberg Foundation want to engage with you as we explore the parameters of the new […]
Is Europe’s Future Green or Black?
The global Covid-19 pandemic has exposed deep fissures in the global political and economic fabric. For democracy to survive, the social contract needs to be reimagined; economies needs to be re-engineered and climate change – that is now accelerating at a pace that could quickly dwarf the consequences of the pandemic – needs to be […]
The American Condition
In this week’s podcast episode, Scott Miller and Josh Steiner explore the potential impact of the pandemic on longer term trends shaping the United States. What is the state of the Union? Has the American dream become American carnage? Covid-19 has laid bare many pre-existing fissures and deep distress in American society. Can the exhausted […]
Recordings from Webinars
Webinar: Disruptive Technologies: Good, Bad and Ugly Recording from Wednesday May 6, 2020 A panel of innovation leaders will discuss their efforts to create new technologies and new solutions to some of the challenges of our times–and what could go wrong, even when innovators have the best intentions. Panelists: Dr. George Njenga, Executive Dean of Strathmore, […]
Taking Democracy’s Temperature
The Tällberg Foundation deeply believes that democracy is the form of government most likely to produce the best outcomes for people everywhere. Unfortunately, it didn’t take the pandemic crisis to demonstrate that many democracies and most of their leaders are falling short. Why? We decided to ask our global network, surveying more than 500 people […]
Webinar: Global Order Amidst Global Disorder
The global architecture built in the late 1940s served mankind well. Yet the global system has evolved: Cold War, the United States as the sole superpower, the emergence of China and today’s hodgepodge of multiple power centers. What’s next—and what might be in Egypt’s and, more broadly, the Middle East’s best interests? Date: Thursday May […]
Webinar: Disruptive Technologies: Good, Bad and Ugly
A panel of innovation leaders will discuss their efforts to create new technologies and new solutions to some of the challenges of our times–and what could go wrong, even when innovators have the best intentions. Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 8am New York, 2pm Stockholm, 3pm Nairobi The panelists are: Dr. George Njenga, Executive Dean of […]
Tällberg SNF Fellows
The Board of the Tällberg Foundation is establishing a community of global leaders who are committed to exploring the challenges facing humanity and then imagining creative solutions that reach across boundaries and borders. The program is called the Tällberg/Stavros Niarchos Foundation Fellows, or Tällberg SNF Fellows. Fellows are individuals who have demonstrated commitment to the Tällberg Foundation’s […]
Climate After Covid
Christiana Figueres—climate activist, one of the key architects of the Paris Climate Agreement and 2016 Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize winner—passionately believes that the pandemic offers a unique opportunity to focus on constructive climate action. In this New Thinking for a New World podcast, she discusses the possibility of leveraging the massive political and economic resources that governments […]
The Value(s) of Democracy
Democracy is under huge pressure everywhere, made worse by the global pandemic. Too many governments in too many places are failing to deliver on the basic social contract with their citizens. In this podcast, celebrated photographer and human rights activist Shahidul Alam of Bangladesh discusses these issues from the perspective of a country which struggles […]
Will Democracy Survive Covid-19?
Democracy and democratic institutions were under severe pressure well before the novel Coronavirus appeared. Could the added burden of the pandemic break the back of democracy as we have known it? How worried should we be by governments proclaiming wartime powers and instituting new kinds of location and information tracking, all in the name of […]
Understanding Coronavirus and Its Implications
In this podcast, Anne Goldfeld, a scientist and doctor with deep pandemic experience, discusses what we know about Covid-19, what we still need to learn and why it is a global problem that demands a global response. Anne, who is Senior Investigator of the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and a Professor of Medicine […]
What Is a Thought?
Rafael Yuste, a professor of biological sciences at Columbia University and a 2018 Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leader speaks with Alan Stoga, the Tällberg Foundation’s chairman about recent and prospective progress in neuroscience. They discuss such questions as could our evolving understanding of the human brain lead to a new Renaissance? What are the implications of this […]
Civilization, Interrupted
Written by Alan Stoga, Chairman, Tällberg Foundation “The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind…. By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six […]
Grappling With the Unknown
In this week’s episode of the Tällberg Foundation Podcast, we listen to a conversation between Anne Goldfeld, Faustin Linyekula, and Saul Griffith who share their perspectives on the future and their relationship with it. The three 2019 Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize winners discover how their respective expertise – medicine, dance, and fighting climate change – are all […]
Brain Guys
Q. What do hydra polyps, mice and Columbia University neuroscientist Rafael Yuste have in common? A. The Tällberg Foundation Rafa, a 2018 winner of the Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, is one of the most accomplished neuroscientists in the world, whose pioneering work and leadership helped launch what has evolved into the global BRAIN initiative. His lab at […]
What Is the Future of Democracy?
In our second episode of the Tällberg Foundation Podcast, we listen in on a panel conversation addressing these questions. Panelists: Kenneth Lusaka (The Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Senate, Parliament of the Republic of Kenya), David Sperling (Research Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Strathmore Governance Centre; Kenya ) and Ulrika Karlsson (Special Advisor on Global […]
Unpacking a Tällberg Workshop: Hopes, Concerns and Red Threads
Our initial podcast was recorded in Nairobi, Kenya, after a Tällberg Workshop. Three members of the Tällberg Foundation community reflect on “New Thinking for a New World.” Optimism or pessimism about the future may have less to do with facts, and more to do with filters: young or old, local or global, African or western. […]
What will the world look like in 2030?
Welcome to the 2020s! “Three things are true at the same time. The world is much better, the world is awful, the world can be much better.” Max Roser, Oxford University We asked members of the Tällberg community to define their fears, their hopes and their expectations for the new decade. Not predictions, as much […]
A Conversation with Rafa Yuste
On January 31, 2018 Winner, Rafa Yuste, hosted a group from the Tällberg Foundation network for a tour of his lab, a presentation of key aspects of his research, and a discussion of the profound ethical implications of the current explosion of knowledge about the brain. Rafa’s current work, using laboratory mice, focuses on investigating […]
Names of the Dead
Three of the intertwined strands of DNA that standout in the Tällberg Foundation’s genetic make-up are learning through conversation, leveraging cultural experiences to deepen understanding, and engaging with the natural world. The result, sometimes by design and often by accident, is a kind of experiential learning that engages the intellect as well as the emotions. […]
Celebration of Great Leadership in Kenya
During the week of November 11, the Tällberg Foundation—in partnership with the Senate of Kenya and the Strathmore Business School—celebrated great leadership and great leaders in the form of the 2019 Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize winners. Anne Goldfeld, Saul Griffith and Faustin Linyekula received their awards in Nairobi on November 13th from William Ruto, Kenya’s […]
Tällberg Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya
Tällberg in Kenya – New Thinking for a New World The Tällberg Foundation, launched in 1981, exists to provoke thinking—and action based on thinking— about the issues that are challenging the evolution of liberal democracies. Those challenges are profound: the world that we have known since the mid 20th century, which produced unprecedented peace as […]
Shaping the Future
On April 11 at 6:30 pm at the Italian Academy, Columbia University in New York the Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize winners Nicolas Guérékoyame-Gbangou, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Rafael Yuste had a conversation about the challenges facing leaders today. The conversation will be moderated by Vishakha Desai, Vice Chair, Committee on Global Thought, Senior Advisor for Global […]
Tällberg Workshop in Cairo, Egypt
We live at a time of profound changes in global and regional political structures, real time climate change, increasingly disruptive technologies (whose potential—good or bad—beggar the imagination), and collapsing trust in leaders as well as in institutions. Too many people in too many countries are too afraid of their futures. The workshop will parse these […]
Thought experiments
Answer: The Tällberg Foundation’s recent workshop, “Inside Every Utopia is Dystopia,” which was hosted by Fio Omenetto at Silk Lab at Tufts University in Boston, on January 17th. Prominent scientists—including two recent winners of the foundation’s Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, Omenetto and Rafael Yuste—engaged with engineers, academics, NGO leaders, investors, artists, designers, and more (see […]
Inside Every Utopia is Dystopia
We are all aware of the accelerating pace of technological innovation. What alternative futures are available, how can we choose among them, and who should make those choices?
Got Silk?
Omenetto’s work leans on the Utopian side of the scale, which is why he was awarded the foundation’s Eliasson Global Leadership Prize in 2017. An interdisciplinary research facility that investigates materials at the interface between technology and life sciences, Silklab’s goal is to create innovations and find solutions using naturally derived, abundant, sustainable materials. Like […]
Show of leadership
“Conventional wisdom is that great leadership is in short supply today,” said Tällberg Foundation chairman Alan Stoga, introducing the 2018 Eliasson Global Leadership Award winners to the audience at ITAM, in Mexico City, on November 15. “Too many countries, companies, and institutions are badly served by leaders who lack the vision, imagination, and moral compass […]
Something to talk about
In the 35 years since a Swedish businessman named Bo Ekman created the Tällberg Foundation, both the world and his organization have changed dramatically.But, as the foundation’s current chairman, Alan Stoga, noted last month in Mexico City, Ekman’s central tenet may be even more valuable today: “His idea was that intelligent, questioning, respectful, non-partisan conversation […]
A Tällberg Workshop in Mexico City
Our daily news feeds tell the story of a transformational time: Trade and financial sanctions picking apart long established global supply chains; Voters increasingly choosing anti-establishment candidates in rejection of the centrist politics of more than half a century; Borders being raised or reinforced against people and ideas that are seen to threaten national identity; […]
Announcement: Winners of the the 2018 Eliasson Global Leadership Prizes
To be honored at ITAM in Mexico City on November 15 New York, NY, USA – October 17, 2018 – Today the Tällberg Foundation announced the winners of the 2018 Eliasson Global Leadership Prizes, that are awarded annually for extraordinary leadership—in any field and any country—that is courageous, optimistic dynamic, rooted in universal values and […]
Disruption
The 21st Century is quickly evolving into an era defined by global disruption, as socio-economic changes and groundbreaking technological advancements are seemingly having a major impact and are turning upside down standard modes of operation, models and assumptions in every area of life, including the field of philanthropy. The conference examined, among others, the effects […]
Hegira/Journey
This is a Tällberg Foundation production. The film was first shown at the Tällberg workshop in Tangier: Can we Bend the Arc in the Age of Migration? on May 10 – 12, 2018. Do you want to use this film? Show it to a bigger audience? Please contact us at info@tallbergfoundation.org
Can we Bend the Arc in the Age of Migration?
In March, 2016 the Tällberg Foundation convened a workshop on the Greek island of Lesvos to explore the dynamics of mass migration under the flag of “A Clash of Civilizations.” Instead of a “clash”—or, for that matter, much “civilization”—we experienced the horrific, hopeful, feared and fearful reality of people desperate to find new lives largely […]
Alternative Futures
We are organizing a series of one day meetings at various labs and companies around the world, with a view to understanding some of the disruptive technologies—in AI, life sciences, robotics, nanotech, etc—that seem likely to change the world as we know it. We want to provoke a conversation between scientists and technologists on the […]
Polarization in the 21st Century: YOU’RE WRONG! (and I am right)
Social and political polarization is a new (or at least, dramatically intensifying) force that is having a huge impact on political discourse, public policy and electoral outcomes in many democracies such as in the US, in Europe and in the Americas. It may be an important compounding factor in the ongoing erosion of the centrist […]
Honoring Jan Eliasson
Stockholm Sweden and New York, U.S.—October 23, 2017 The Tällberg Foundation today announced that it is naming its leadership prize in honor of the international and Swedish diplomat, Ambassador Jan Eliasson, who most recently served as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. The prize is given annually to outstanding leaders in any country and any […]
Winners of the Eliasson Global Leadership Prize
The Tällberg Foundation Announces Winners of its Eliasson Global Leadership Prize Mr. Alonso, an architect, co-founder and executive director of Instituto Elos based in Santos, Brazil was selected for his dedication to participative leadership, mobilization and community building; Ms. Heller was chosen for her tireless efforts to provide competent legal support for refugees who must cope […]
Leadership in the 21st Century
Leadership in the 21st Century: “The times, they are a-changin’ ” November 28-29, 2017 New York, USA It’s been more than half a century since Bob Dylan first sang the words that became an anthem for the turbulent 60s, an era when “revolution” or, at least revolutionary change seemed to be in the air. Today […]
Future rhymes
Mankind is confronted by profound changes: in our planet, in how societies organize and function, in increasingly worn-out institutions, in the possibilities of science and technology. Even though some of those changes could be positively transformative, the dizzying—and seemingly accelerating—pace of change is overwhelming our collective capacity to cope…. Continue to read Alan Stoga’s contribution […]
Leadership for a Better Future
The 2016 Tällberg Leadership Workshop in Amsterdam will celebrate the accomplishments of our 2016 Global Leaders and create a space where they can tell their inspiring stories. This year, our leaders are women whose remarkable qualities spur us to question what kind of leadership is required to counter the challenges of the 21st century. Leadership […]
To Lead or Not to Lead?
The Tällberg Foundation has a history of recognizing and engaging pathfinding leaders who are seeking to make a difference in an increasingly complicated global environment. We believe that the times demand leaders who rethink assumptions, imbue their work in a deep commitment to ethical action, leverage challenges into opportunities and nourish networks of engagement. Identifying, […]
The Global Leadership Prize winners 2016
Amsterdam, Netherlands – November 29, 2016 – The Tällberg Foundation announced today the winners of its Global Leadership Prize for 2016: Sunitha Krishnan from India and Christiana Figueres from Costa Rica. Ms. Krishnan was chosen for her untiring advocacy on behalf of women and children who are victims of sex crimes and trafficking. Ms. Figueres […]
Clash of Civilizations?
The Tällberg Workshop on Lesvos. Clash of Civilizations? March 2016 As at all Tällberg Foundation meetings, the goal of this workshop was to question and explore, without prejudice, the dynamics of an issue which has enormous consequences not only for the refugees fleeing political and economic instability but for the people of Europe who are […]
The White Desert
At the forefront of climate change research, our journey revealed some key findings including that sea levels could rise by a dozen meters in our lifetime, because of the level of CO2 already released into the atmosphere. This video is about Greenland and Climate Change. The poles are melting, and one degree of atmospheric temperature […]
Abrupt Climate Change
E: One of the concepts that we’ve heard about during the last few day is what you scientists call “abrupt climate change”. I am used to thinking about climate change in terms of centuries or millennia, but this appears to be a dramatically different concept. JW: Abrupt climate change is interesting; it really didn’t enter […]
Learning journey to Greenland
EGRIP (http://isaaffik.org/users/egrip-camp) is an international project and the EGRIP camp, established during the summer of 2015, is in the center of the East Greenland ice stream and is the successor to a multiyear science program. Dr. Dorthe Dahl Jensen from the University of Copenhagen and the Niels Bohr Institute, Ice and Climate Program, will lead […]
US Election Analysis
The short introduction is in Spanish, but the presentation is in English beginning at 2:42 minutes
Does Europe Need Brexit?
Published on YaleGlobal, 9 June 2016 By Alan Stoga NEW YORK: The conventional wisdom is that the British exit from the European Union — Brexit — would be bad for everyone: the British people, the United Kingdom, the European Union and even the United States. While that may be true, in the age of Trump — the unconventional presumptive Republican nominee for US […]
Everything old is new: power in the 21st century
Tällberg Workshop in Helsinki, Finland Everything old is new: power in the 21st century Tällberg Workshop in Helsinki June 2015 For years the tension has been growing between the obvious need to address issues beyond the reach of national politicians—like climate change, mass migration, weapons proliferation—and national politicians’ unwillingness to act in the interest of […]
The Global Leadership Prize winners 2015
On November 11, the Tällberg Foundation announced the winners of our Global Leadership Prize for 2015: Jamila Afghani from Afghanistan and Martín von Hildebrand from Colombia. Ms. Afghani was chosen for her work promoting a new understanding of women’s rights in Islam among her country’s imams. Mr. von Hildebrand was selected for his work to […]
What’s leadership got to do with it?
What’s leadership got to do with it? in Stockholm, Sweden November 2015 We considered leadership from a number of perspectives and guiding questions: What are the new questions being asked of leaders today? What do we need to understand, identify and cultivate in the next generation of global leaders? How would we know a great […]
Bridging gaps and crossing borders
TechCamp Scandinavia – Bridging gaps and crossing borders, which will be held in Malmö, Sweden on October 1- 2, 2015. The evolving dynamics of identity, culture and communication are essential to the development of democratic, open and free societies. The media, traditional and online, have a crucial role to play in these developments. Indeed, the […]
TW@C
The Tällberg Workshop at CERN (TW@C) aimed to explore the implications for mankind and society of the accelerating pace of evolution, in all its dimensions: the cosmos, the planet, homo sapiens, technology, and social organization. We live in a fracturing world where the pace of change has become a source of further change; the more […]
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The Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize invites you to nominate an innovative, risk-taking, ethical candidate for a chance to win their leadership prize.
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Last week @Tallberg joined us for 'Magic of Leadership' #PivotWeek2021
Combining interactive magic, conversation on transformative leadership, a meeting with the great apes of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest & the amazing capabilities of sweat
Recorded event https://trello.com/c/3gDILUDD/8-2pm-gmt-magic-of-leadership-with-the-t%C3%A4llberg-foundation-90mins
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