Volume 5

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Adequately responding to our deteriorating environmental and social situation is a matter of increasing urgency. An obstacle to achieving a concerted response is the way that we have normalized “convention,” or as some authors claim “thoughtless convention.” The author takes on this obstacle (i.e., convention, thoughtlessness) as the primary subject of this paper. We... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This essay deems education and employment as the two separate but interrelated spheres of socioeconomic life which have consistently been the subject of observation and analysis in the fields of education, sociology, anthropology and development. The focus is on how education relates to employment, women’s status, and more recently on the sustainability of... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Interest in system change is rising, driven largely by growing awareness that flawed economic and political systems are the root causes of climate change and other major challenges. This paper summarizes a whole-system framework (Global System Change - GSC) and practical implementation strategy (System Change Investing - SCI) that can guide and accelerate system... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In “Five by Five: Redefining Education for the 21st Century,” the author explores the necessary transformations in education to meet the demands of the evolving world. Reflecting on the outdated 20th-century model, he emphasizes the need for adaptability, creativity, and technological proficiency in the current era. The essay covers five key aspects. The author... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The Hybrid Model, powered by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for future education, enriched with Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), stands today as an advanced educational learning model. It ingeniously combines the strengths of ICT and generative AI to reshape the educational experience. Numerous academic institutions and organizations are... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article delves into the pivotal role of transformative leadership in shaping 21st century healthcare, advocating for a model that marries human security, global leadership, and collaborative innovation. It underscores the imperative for leaders to steer healthcare systems towards holistic approaches that address the multifaceted challenges of today, such as... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article discusses the issue of localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how this is critical for achieving human security globally. It notes that while the SDGs have been successful in generating consensus around sustainability, progress has been lacking and many targets may not be met. A key obstacle is that the SDGs have not been properly... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article discusses how the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in January 2024 highlighted the growing connection between technology and human security. CES, held annually in Las Vegas, is one of the largest technology conferences in the world. In recent years, the organizers recognized the role of technology in addressing major social challenges and partnered... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for development of a new strategic plan for the work of the Academy to 2030. Its aim is to invite suggestions from WAAS members and partners regarding priorities for future work. It traces the origins and historical development of the Academy leading up to the present and provides an overview of recent activities and... Read more

Part 1 of this issue underscores the critical themes of Human Security and Education. Both themes are inextricably linked to the World Academy of Art & Science’s overarching mission. The articles in the first part explore the role of human security as a unifying frame of reference and effective force for addressing a wide range of high priority social objectives. They highlight the validity... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Physics is the basic natural science that studies fundamental constituents of matter and related entities, with the main goal being to understand how the universe behaves. Its contribution to human security is, therefore, at least twofold. On the one hand, physics contributes valuable knowledge to addressing various critical issues confronting the world today,... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article argues, on the basis of insights1 drawn and generalized from six recent global events identified as relevant in this analysis, that the notion of Human Security as currently presented needs further refinement. The six global events (2019-2023) are: The COVID-19 Pandemic, The Ukraine War, COP-27 in Egypt, The World Cup in Qatar, The Arab-China Summit in... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract As global threats to human security have expanded significantly in recent years, the reasons and opportunities for innovative technological and educational solutions are more abundant than ever in modern human history. In addition to significant environmental, social, and economic threats to sustainability, the COVID-19 epidemic depleted both health issues and... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract A key priority for Human Security in the 21st Century is the prevention of existential threats to human civilisation to ensure the well-being of our future generations. This article describes the significant and escalating nexus between human security and existential threats and outlines the main risks to humankind from existential threats, considered under the... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Human Security has had a checkered history since its formal announcement in the 1994 UNDP HDR. This paper argues that current circumstances should be exploited to recontextualize security to better acknowledge planetary realities. Humans’ security is only one of three fields of planetary security and needs to be considered in concert with the other two; states’... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article explores the complex and multifaceted nature of human security, which extends beyond protection from military threats to encompass physical, food, health, financial, community, political, and environmental dimensions. It traces humanity’s historical challenges, including natural disasters, epidemics, and food shortages, and highlights how technological... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Among the topics discussed is the current crisis of civilization, to which the institution of war in an era of all-destroying thermonuclear weapons strongly contributes. Another issue that is discussed is the human emotional tendency that might be called “tribalism”. It is our tendency to be kind and altruistic towards members of our own group, and extremely hostile... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In the second decade of the 21st century, humanity again faces existential risks related to the risks of global wars. The collective decision to make wars obsolete (or not) will be the crucial choice that will determine our capacity to survive and thrive. Yet since the global security architecture has been established in the aftermath of World War 2, the notion of... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract One of the most overlooked but significant phenomena in today’s world and the world of the future is that our future must be organised and shaped according to values. Women naturally hold the keys to implementing these values and should ideally be the caretakers of the future world. The masculine world of numbers and models based on past experience is inadequate to... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The UN Secretary-General is currently preparing a New Agenda for Peace, which is expected to broaden the traditional framework of security as it relates to relations between nations, to also include the notion of Human Security which focuses on well-being of individuals and communities. This Human Security framework integrates traditional peace and security... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Achieving Human Security For All (HS4A) is a process that depends on our ability to imagine a future state that is different to present conditions, under which HS4A remains elusive. Only a very few eminent thinkers have recognised, however, that imagination is its own unique and important noetic or cognitive function independent of rationality, giving us access to... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article addresses existential security, an aspect of security that has to do with the sustaining of the individual as a physical and mental being as well as the larger context of this individual. The ‘larger context’ can mean many things, including physical reality at different scales, socioeconomic realities, cultural conventions, the political state of the... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract While the overall theme selected by the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) for the 2023 6th Future Education Conference was that of Human Security, the particular panel* in which I contributed the presentation upon which this article is based focused more explicitly on Education and less obviously on Security, with a particular emphasis on experimental ways in... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In order to ensure security in the education system and, thereby, educate a creatively thinking and acting person, it is necessary to reform education, filling it with a cultural component. The modern educational program urgently needs cultural content and should include an in-depth study of ethics, aesthetics, world cultural traditions and heritage, examples of... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article explores the need for transformative change in higher education institutions (HEIs) to help address the complexity and existential risk resulting from multiple interconnected crises. First, it acknowledges that the rate and direction of change in HEIs have been inadequate and that, despite well-rehearsed obstacles and enablers, much more needs to be... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Everybody needs to wake up to the reality of the Anthropocene. At present, humanity appears ill equipped to cope effectively with the mounting problems that it has itself created; we urgently need to update and upgrade the way we educate and train people since, at present, their competences to see the problems we have created and find effective ways to cope with... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Education has been evolving through a complicated roadmap to serve varying objectives from the understanding of the world we live in through training of servers of production lines, after the first industrial revolution (IR1) to other commercial targets throughout the next three industrial revolutions. With the current scientific and technological progress, human... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Zero-sum power politics is a fundamental threat to human security. Synergetic relations among nations are proposed to improve human security. Among existential threats to humanity, the most immediate and little understood is the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) before agreements are in place for its management. Examples of potential beneficial... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract * The global challenges confronting humanity are interlinked and interdependent. They are all global in nature, and none of them can be addressed successfully by individual nations acting on their own. In order to effectively navigate the closely interconnected world that we live in and address its challenges, we need new levels of organization and strategy, and the... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The importance of human security has always been a concern for the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), which has served as a platform for intellectual debate and the exchange of global ideas. WAAS has influenced the understanding of development beyond economic growth, advocating for a focus on people’s opportunities and choices. It played a significant role in... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Executive Summary  This brief identifies critical issues and corresponding policies for effectively introducing the UN concept of human security into the curriculum of global mainstream higher education. Human Security is a comprehensive framework developed by the United Nations for achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. It links them all together into an... Read more

In support of the HS4A global campaign on Human Security For All initiated by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and the World Academy of Art & Science. This is the second in a series of Cadmus special issues in connection with the Human Security for All (HS4A) Campaign being conducted by WAAS and the UN Trust Fund for Human Security. As we approach the halfway mark in... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The human security index consists of three key components: economic fabric index, environmental fabric index, and social fabric index. These three components include various different indicators like health, education, diversity, peacefulness, governance, food security, environmental vulnerability, protection and sustainability, measures of human, societal, and... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract As a Youth Delegate of the Republic of Serbia, from the Institute for Political Studies, in Belgrade, Serbia, and a representative of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), I summarize in this report the most capturing sessions I attended during the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – COP27, which took... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF If we look in detail at the dozens of Green Deal agendas globally and the UN SDGs, we will find that around two-thirds of them relate not to private goods but to global commons. Given that 85% of our global wealth is privatised already and we have a lot of liquidity on the capital market, we need to look carefully at how we can generate the money we need without privatising... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The quest for human security has pitted the individual against the collective throughout history. Individualism and collectivism are two competing philosophical and social movements that have divided the world for centuries and trace their origin back to ancient times. They are founded on different interpretations of the value and place of freedom and equality in... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The demand for human security is growing proportionally with the exponentially growing complexity of the existential threats born in the Anthropocene. After discussing the Meta Crisis as a steppingstone for problem solving, the paper aims to give hope by arguing that human security is tightly related to the implementation of the UN SDGs within Planetary Boundaries... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Faced with global threats that are today looming over mankind—some of them possessing an irreversible nature—and looking into the eyes of our descendants and the forthcoming generations, it is inevitably up to “Us, the Peoples” to fulfil our essential duties, now that we are aware of the seriousness of the situation and we know, at last, that we are equal in dignity and able... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Human security is the state of being secure from danger, fear, and anxiety for all humans and social groups. The roots of these insecurities were clearly recognized in the Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 within the resolution Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Most of... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The semantical as well as the practical implications of ‘human security’ need to be re-adapted due to the constantly changing kind of vulnerabilities of all people around the planet, independent of their place, culture, status or beliefs. Today major threats are of global nature, which can affect anybody. With this, the international organization of the efforts to... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Finally, after many years of resistance, the majority accepts the scientific evidence that we live in what Paul Crutzen, Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, defined as the Anthropocene Era, because humanity has left a major impact on not just the planet but all life forms. (Crutzen and Stoermer, 2000). Nowadays, with the rising frequency and magnitude of... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Human security is a comprehensive paradigm to assess and understand the deepest needs of the whole human family. The concept of human security transcends the traditional reduction and limits of security to national security, border security, military security, or cybersecurity, to encompass other incontrovertible aspects and multifaceted dimensions of human existence... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas in January 2023 was a remarkable event and projected a powerful message to the leading companies in the industry and the rest of the 115,000 business and global press representatives who participated. For the first time, CES 2023 adopted a theme for the conference and projected it to participants through... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Change is urgently needed. Ideas that can generate change are critical at this time and age where humanity is facing multidimensional crises that are characterised by complexity. Human security is that idea that can help us address the crises in their entirety because it‘s comprehensive, integrative, people-centered and goes beyond conventional disciplines and... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The notion of Human Security has regained traction in the public domain, mostly following the disruptive impact of the global pandemic and the geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe. The concept, however, was molded during the second half of the twentieth century, as scholars, policy makers and the public became ever more disillusioned with the focus on national... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract WAAS should be credited for its contribution to promoting integrated, multidisciplinary approaches to tackling global problems, emphasizing the importance of science, education and culture in their entirety, in recognising their close interdependence and interconnection. In the Millennium Development Goals and in the Human Development concept before, there was one... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In this paper, we provide in-depth critical analysis and reflections on how technology, innovation and digital literacy can help to bring awareness on the need for a new dimension and approach to foster a transformational attitude towards education. Learning drives change, and if we aim to make an impact, there is a need to enable collaboration between different... Read more

Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Humanity confronts complex, multidimensional challenges to the security of the people and the planet we live on. These threats continue to defy resolution by means of the existing policies, institutions and actions of nations around the world. In spite of unprecedented and remarkable achievements, our sense of insecurity continues to rise. A fundamental change is... Read more