future problem solving nationals 2023

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Future Problem Solving Programme Finals

We are delighted to host the Future Problem Solving Programme 2023 National Finals (Hybrid) at our Braddell Campus.

The Future Problem Solving Programme (FPSP) is an excellent vehicle to teach problem solving strategies across the curriculum while promoting the development of 21st Century Competencies within the students. This year, students showcased their action plans under the theme of ‘Mining’.

This year’s event also saw the inclusion of a Community Problem Solving (CmPS) Programme exhibition where students showcased meaningful approaches to solve real life problems within the community of their choice.

Platforms such as these also allow students to engage with their peers from 12 primary schools and 10 secondary schools & JCs across Singapore.

RGS has been the national convenor of the FPSP since 2009 and we look forward to hosting many more initiatives over the coming years.

Read more: [https://www.fpsp.org.sg/]

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2024 International Conference

Registration notes and tips.

• On the Participants tab, register each team member as the participant type “competitor” 
• For the Division (Dropdown?) select “CmPS Non-Competing Team Member”
• On the Competitions tab, select “Community Problem Solving Team” separately for each non-attending team member.
• On the Room Assignments tab, select “CmPS Member Not Attending” as your room assignment to ensure you are not charged for  housing fees

  Newsbrief - 30 October 2023

Future problem solving nationals.

This was the first time since 2019 that the competition has been held on site in Auckland, and our girls waved the Selwyn House flag high again!

• 2nd Place - Junior Global Issues Problem Solving Individual Booklet - Abby Wilson
• 2nd Place - Junior Presentation of Action Plan - Georgia McMillan, Chloe Donald, Sophia Wood, Isla Palmer and Abby WIlson
• 3rd Place - Primary Global Issues Problem Solving Team Booklet - Olivia Johnson, Libby Foulds, Alex Miller and Charlotte Philips

Congratulations to all the girls for these fantastic results, and to Greg Pearce and Kim Wilson for providing the coaching and care that got them there.

- Julie Calder, Principal

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Missouri Future Problem Solving Program

Teaching students how to think, not what to think., about fpspi, costs and due dates, registration form, officers and directors, coaching information.

Problem 

“opening doors to the future”.

2024 I C International Conference & State Bo wl Spotlight coming soon. Here's what happened in 2023

Ranks of royalty   click on 2024 state bowl to see nc fps state champions 2024 state bowl qualifying problem    .

Click her to read winning 2023 SCENARIOS

Click her to see nc fps's  2023 cmps projects.

2023 International Conference: Currency

NC FPS students take the stage at 2023 International Conference...

1st place GIPS Individual Junior Division Arora

Coach Harrison

6th place GIPS Team Junior Division  Baer, E Huffstetler, L Huffstetler, Lam

5th place GIPS Individual Middle Division  Venkatesh

Coach Venkatesh

Finalist GIPS Team Middle Division

Nanduri, Patil, Sattenapalli, Unnikrishnan

Coaches Nanduri & Shyamala

Finalist FIPS Individual Senior Division Mehta

Coach Mehta

Finalist GIPS Team Senior Division  Coleman, Cone, Hart, Lam

Finalist  GIPS Team Senior Division E  Nethala, E Nethala, Sureshkannan, Varikuti

Coaches Vanipalli & Venkatesh

4th Place Presentation of Action Plan Senior Division  Coleman, Cone, Hart, Lam

MAGIC = Multi-Affiliate Global Issues Competition

1st place MAGIC Ju nior  Division Jangala

Coach Jangala

2nd place MAGIC* Junior  Division Sharma

1st place MAGIC* Middle  Division Sakhalkar

Coach Sureshkannan & Vanapalli

4th place MAGIC Middle Division Samatam

1st place MAGIC* Senior Division Vanapalli

Coach Nanduri & Shyamala

​ Finalist CmPS Team Junior  Division Positive Pollinators

5th place Junior Division Scenario Zhang

Coaches Sureshkannan & Vana palli

 23-24 TOPICS RESEARCH PP1  Tourism PP2  Urbanization QP   Antarctica SB   Autonomous  Transportation IC Air Quality

TO FIND THE BEST SOLUTIONS, YOU MUST ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

Plan ahead  2024 NC FPS State Bowl YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 1 7   Black  Mountain , North Carolina TOPIC: Autonomous Transportation

Registration for new 24-25 teams & individuals in all components available in september. click here to learn more..

• Global Issues Problem Solving
• Community Problem Solving
• Scenario Writing
• Scenario Performance
• 2024 Registration
• Expression of Interest
• Resources for Purchase
• Downloadable

2023 National Finals Results - Our 30th Anniversary

Following three years of virtual competition we were thrilled that the 30th New Zealand National Finals was a face to face event at Carey Park, in Auckland.

All of our participating students did us proud. Click Here for a list of our 30th National Finals competitors.

GLOBAL ISSUES PROBLEM SOLVING

(team competition).

PRIMARY DIVISION

1st - Kohimarama School Jamie Crawshaw, Freya Coubray, Thomas Rooney White and Madeleine Sadlier Coach : Anna Crow

2nd - Medbury School Alexander Dy, Kiran Keswani, Fletcher McNeill and Hafez Safa Coach : Scott Johnson

3rd - Selwyn House School Libby Foulds, Olivia Johnson, Alex Miller and Abby Wilson Coach : Greg Pearce

JB DIVISION

1st - Northcross Intermediate Izzy Carmichael, Jason Hao, Jonathan Xu and Yigu Ye Coach : Glenis Martin

2nd - St Andrew's College Preparatory Zilong Chen, Benjamin Edward, Louis Hyland and Emmett Lawler Coach : Sonia Lewis

3rd - St. Cuthbert's College Bella Guthrie, Aydene Peter, Meera Thayalan and Annie Wang Coach : Susan Jackson

JUNIOR DIVISION

1st - St Andrew's College Preparatory Maja Clark, Alexa Collis, Alyssa Geddes and Sophie Schouten Coach : Sonia Lewis

2nd - Northcross Intermediate Alan Li, Alex Xiao, Vincent Xu and Andy Yang Coach : Glenis Martin

3rd - Northcross Intermediate Sofia Brandolino, Karry Gong, Harini Nellipudi and Gabby Talbot Coach : Glenis Martin

MIDDLE DIVISION

1st - Kristin School Junyi Guo, Oliver He, Jonathan Hu and Matthew Lee Coach : Helen Mansfield

2nd - St Margaret's College Sneha Datla, Kieva Hanlon, Phoebe James and Tilly O'Donnell Coach : Bridget Compton-Moen

3rd - Kristin School Arvin Alipourrezae, Andrew Gao, William Huang and Richard Yang Coach : Helen Mansfield

SENIOR DIVISION

1st - St Cuthbert's College Isobel Denton, Julia Sung, Bonnie Wang and Olivia Wei Coach : Jan Walls

2nd - Kristin School Ethan Freitas,Ryan Gao, Hover Guo and Jamie Wang Coach : Helen Mansfield

3rd - Cashmere High School Jacob Andrist, Ellen Doughty, Hanna North and Naomi Wilson Coach : Sue Williams

(Individual Competition)

1st - St Andrew's College Preparatory Genevieve Bainbridge-Smith Coach : Sonia Lewis

2nd - Selwyn House School Abby Wilson Coach : Greg Pearce

3rd - St Andrew's College Preparatory William Nicholls Coach : Sonia Lewis

1st - St Cuthbert's School Zara Toes Coach : Jan Walls

2nd - Westlake Girls' High Hannah Smith Coach : Kameron Sadler

3rd - Westlake Girls' High Charlotte Smith Coach : Kameron Sadler

1st - Nelson College Ollie Taylor Coach : Sarah watts

2nd - Kristin School Lily Knuckey Coach : Helen Mansfield

3rd - St Cuthbert's College Galathee Gaillard Coach : Jan Walls

PRESENTATION OF ACTION PLAN

COMBINED PRIMARY & JB DIVISION

= 1st - St Andrew's College Alison Glover, Tasmin Wingfield, Benjamin Yu and Joy Zuo Coach : Sonia Lewis

= 1st - St Cuthbert's College Bella Guthrie, Aydene Peter, Meera Thayalan and Annie Wang Coach : Susan Jackson

3rd - Northcross Intermediate Katherine Arnold, Yuto Han, Dalveena Singh and Daniel Thompson Coach : Glenis Martin

1st - St Mary's College Kassandra Bas, Lily Higgins, Cicely Warman and  Chloris Wong Coach : Monique Williams

2nd - Selwyn House School Chloe Donald, Georgia McMillan, Isla Palmer and Sophia Wood Coach : Greg Pearce

1st - Nelson College Preparatory School Jayden Coetzee, Max Harrington, Michael Lee, and Niko Neale Coach : Sarah Watts

3rd - St Cuthbert's College Regina Cao, Violet Liu, Evee Tan and Eassin Wang Coach : Jan Walls

All of the Senior Division teams competed remotely in the booklet competition, so there was no Presentation of Action Plan competition in the senior division in 2023.

COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING

1st - Kristin School Project - World within Words Jerry Chen, Matthew Lee and Sabrina Liu Coach : Helen Mansfield

1st - Glendowie College Project - RAD (Raise Awareness of Dementia) Allwin Christopher, Samuel Crump, Anthony Shen, Tomas Vazquez Toniollo and Samuel Wright Coach : Jeelie Christopher

ONSITE SCENARIO WRITING

1st - Nelson College Preparatory Troy Kelso Coach : Sarah Watts

2nd - Nelson College Preparatory Ryan Quin Coach : Sarah Watts

3rd - Takapuna Normal Intermediate School Aida Thompson Coach : Rhea Anglesey

1st - Cashmere High Elana Weaver Coach : Sue Williams

2nd - Cashmere High Sophie Campbell Coach : Sue Williams

1st - Cashmere High Moss Turner Coach : Sue Williams

Best Onsite Scenario Writer

Cashmere High Elana Weaver Coach : Sue Williams

SCENARIO WRITING

1st - Takapuna Normal Intermediate School Aida Thompson Coach : Rhea Anglesey

2nd - Nelson College Preparatory Troy Kelso Coach : Sarah Watts

3rd - Nelson College Preparatory Ryan Quin Coach : Sarah Watts

2nd - Rangiora High Euan Fletcher Coach : Dawn Haward

3rd - Cashmere High Sophie Campbell Coach : Sue Williams

2nd - Cashmere High Naomi Wilson Coach : Sue Williams

3rd - Rangiora High Lucy Spark Coach : Dawn Haward

SCENARIO PERFORMANCE

1st - St Mary's College - Ponsonby, Auckland Zoe Li Coach : Monique Williams

2nd - St Mary's College - Ponsonby, Auckland Maja Greig Coach : Monique Williams

1st - Cashmere High Ellen Doughty Coach : Sue Williams

2nd - Cashmere High Sahara Sweeney Coach : Sue Williams

3rd - Cashmere High Naomi Wilson Coach : Sue Williams

ADULT SERVICE AWARDS

30 Years Service Award Robyn Boswell - QSM - National Director

For Thirty Years of Dedicated and Selfless Service With Immense Gratitude, Above and Beyond

Special Achievement Award Glenis Martin - Northcross Intermediate - Coach

For Outstanding Coaching and Success of International Teams

Please Click here for a list of our AWESOME 2023 International Finals results

Future Problem Solving NZ

Singapore Future Problem Solving Program

Singapore Future Problem Solving

Get started today.

Global Issues Problem Solving

Global Issues Problem Solving (GIPS) is a competitive component of FPSPI which can be accomplished as a team of 4 or individual activity. Participants research …

Community Problem Solving

Community Problem Solving (CmPS) students learn powerful lessons about creating change, about dealing with local authorities and organizations, and about making a positive impact. The …

Scenario Writing

Scenario Writing (SW) is a component for those creative problem solvers that like to write as well as tell stories. Individuals (grades 4 – 12) …

The Impact of FPS

Today’s students are the first generation of the 21st century. Teachers, coaches, and parents face the task of preparing students for emerging new realities. Participation in Future Problem Solving:

• Develops critical and creative thinking skills.
• Increases awareness of the future.
• Enhances communication & collaboration.
• Utilizes an effective creative problem solving model.
• Encourages youth to actively shape their future.

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Inside the Crisis at NPR

Listeners are tuning out. Sponsorship revenue has dipped. A diversity push has generated internal turmoil. Can America’s public radio network turn things around?

Credit... Doug Chayka

Supported by

By Benjamin Mullin and Jeremy W. Peters

• Published April 24, 2024 Updated April 25, 2024

NPR employees tuned in for a pivotal meeting late last year for a long-awaited update on the future of the public radio network.

After many tumultuous months, marked by layoffs, financial turbulence and internal strife, they signed in to Zoom hoping to hear some good news from NPR’s leaders. What they got instead was a stark preview of the continued challenges ahead.

Listen to this article with reporter commentary

“We are slipping in our ability to impact America, not just in broadcast, but also in the growing world of on-demand audio,” Daphne Kwon, NPR’s chief financial officer, told the group, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.

For the past two weeks, turmoil has engulfed NPR after a senior editor assailed what he described as an extreme liberal bias inside the organization that has bled into its news coverage. The editor, Uri Berliner, said NPR’s leaders had placed race and identity as “paramount in nearly every aspect of the workplace” — at the expense of diverse political viewpoints, and at the risk of losing its audience.

The accusations, leveled in an essay published in an online publication, The Free Press, led to a deluge of criticism from conservatives, including former President Donald J. Trump, who called for the network’s public funding to be pulled. The essay also generated vociferous pushback internally, with many journalists defending their work and saying Mr. Berliner’s essay distorted basic facts about NPR’s coverage.

But NPR’s troubles extend far beyond concerns about its journalism. Internal documents reviewed by The Times and interviews with more than two dozen current and former public radio executives show how profoundly the nonprofit is struggling to succeed in the fast-changing media industry. It is grappling with a declining audience and falling revenue — and internal conflict about how to fix it.

NPR’s traditional broadcast audience, still the bulk of its listenership, is in long-term decline that accelerated when the pandemic interrupted long car commutes for millions of people. The network has begun to sign up digital subscribers who pay for ad-free podcasts, but that business has lagged far behind that of its competitors.

While NPR still has an audience of about 42 million who listen every week, many of them digitally, that is down from an estimated 60 million in 2020, according to an internal March audience report, a faster falloff than for broadcast radio, which is also in a long-term decline.

A yearslong push to diversify NPR’s staff, in part to lure listeners beyond its aging and predominantly white audience, hasn’t generated the listenership boost some executives had hoped for. But the effort, which NPR’s former chief executive called its “North Star,” had been a point of contention within the organization long before Mr. Berliner published his essay this month.

Making matters more complicated: NPR’s unusual leadership structure. NPR’s reach is the result of its hundreds of member stations around the country, many of which both pay NPR for its shows and produce their own. But the leaders of those member stations — who control NPR’s board — often have conflicting priorities and compete with the network for donors, making changes more difficult.

Together, the challenges raise questions about the long-term vitality of NPR, one of the country’s most storied and far-reaching media organizations. More than 98 percent of the U.S. population lives within listening range of at least one of the more than 1,000 public radio stations that carry NPR programming, including longtime staples like “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” Legions of die-hard listeners proudly carry tote bags emblazoned with the nonprofit’s three signature letters.

“I believe that public radio has five to seven years to reimagine itself before it’s simply unsustainable,” said Eric Nuzum, a former NPR executive and co-founder of the audio consulting and production company Magnificent Noise. “And they can’t take two or three years of that time debating a business model.”

An NPR spokeswoman, Isabel Lara, said in emails to The Times that the organization had confidence in many of its recent initiatives, including its podcast subscription business, its push to diversify its staff and its efforts to reach listeners digitally. Ms. Lara said three of NPR’s podcasts — “Up First,” “Fresh Air” and “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” — were in Apple’s top 10 subscriber podcasts.

“Our focus on the North Star has led to increased diversity in our content: the voices on the air, the sources our journalists go to, the broader range of topics and issues discussed in our shows,” Ms. Lara said. “We want to reach people where they are.”

The organization is now led by Katherine Maher, who started as NPR’s chief executive last month after leading the Wikimedia Foundation, which supports the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Ms. Maher had no professional experience in the news industry. In a January news release announcing her hire, NPR’s board said Ms. Maher would help the network “reach audiences on new and existing platforms.”

Ms. Maher was criticized this month for social media posts she published before joining NPR, including one from 2018 that called Mr. Trump a racist and expressed support for numerous progressive causes, including Black Lives Matter. NPR has said that she wrote those posts as a private citizen expressing her free speech rights, and that she oversees the organization’s business, not its editorial product.

In a statement, Ms. Maher said NPR was not alone in facing a challenging media environment and pledged to use its distinctions to its advantage.

“Its differences — as a broadcaster, a nonprofit, a federated network — serve both as unique challenges and remarkable differentiators,” Ms. Maher said. “The obstacles we face are real, but the quality of the programming and the integrity of the mission are also indisputable. They offer a strong basis from which to build our future.”

First Expansion, Then Declines

NPR sprang up in Washington in 1970 as an alternative to commercial media, less than three years after former President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill that created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a taxpayer-funded organization that partly funds both a nonprofit radio network, NPR, and a nonprofit TV network, PBS.

The founding documents of NPR stipulated that its board of directors would include many representatives from member stations, along with the general public. The goal was to ensure that the board always had the best interests of its local stations at heart.

A network of 88 charter stations banded together to bring listeners across the United States stories including the Senate hearings on the Vietnam War. NPR began making “newsmagazines” for member stations — starting in 1971 with the first broadcast of “All Things Considered” — and received grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Before long, NPR exploded. By 1983, it had nearly 300 stations and about eight million listeners. Today, more than 1,000 people work at NPR, and its audience of millions makes it one of the most influential media companies in the world.

But that growth has reversed course in recent years.

“News fatigue, digital transformation and increased competition continue to drive audience declines across platforms,” the report said.

Conflicting Priorities

To some degree, those recent declines have been balanced out by the emergence of a relative bright spot: the rise of podcasting.

Public radio podcasts, with their distinct blend of reporting and narrative, quickly won over millions of listeners and pioneered a new format. “Serial,” a gritty whodunit from the makers of the public radio show “This American Life,” became a breakout hit, leading to spinoffs and illustrating the promise of podcasting for nonprofit radio organizations.

Today, NPR is the fourth most popular podcast publisher globally, according to Podtrac, with nearly 113 million downloads in March alone. But it also faces many new competitors, including The Times, which bought “Serial” in 2020 to bolster its own growing audio business.

Corporate sponsorships — public radio speak for advertisements — grew nearly 70 percent in the five years before 2022, according to filings from NPR, generating more than $135 million that year. The vast majority of that growth comes from podcasting, which allows NPR to tap into a younger and expanding audience.

But that business took a major hit last year in an uncertain advertising market. In 2023, NPR generated $101 million in corporate sponsorship revenue, a decrease of about 25 percent from the previous year.

The growth of NPR’s podcast business has also led to tension with its member stations. If local advertisers can reach public radio listeners directly through a podcast, why would they pay for a sponsorship on a member station? In 2022, a group of executives at member stations sent a letter to NPR’s chief executive at the time, John Lansing, expressing concern that the organization’s growing portfolio had “caused distress on local stations’ sponsorship revenue.”

“If unaddressed, it will continue to impact the health of stations in an increasing way,” said the letter, which was signed by executives at many of the biggest NPR stations.

Adoption of NPR’s podcast subscription bundle, NPR+, has also lagged behind competitors’ subscription businesses. According to internal documents obtained by The Times, about 51,000 people subscribed to NPR+ as of early March, and the product has generated about $1.7 million in revenue since it was introduced in November 2022. Users can pay $8 monthly for a bundle of podcast extras or subscribe to individual shows for $2.99 per month.

In late 2022, NPR began selling fewer sponsorships, part of an overall downturn in the ad market. So, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Lansing and his team planned for NPR’s revenue to remain flat in 2023. He wasn’t prepared for what happened next. When January arrived, the “bottom just fell out” of the digital ad market, he said in an interview. Sponsorships fell $34 million compared with the previous year.

“That’s 10 percent of our revenue, and you can’t go back and get it,” Mr. Lansing said. “It’s like an airplane that takes off with half the seats sold — once it’s gone, it’s gone. ”

The scope of the shortfall became apparent early in 2023, when NPR’s leadership decided to cut about 100 positions to help make up for a $30 million budget deficit.

An Uncertain Future

In May 2022, the board met to discuss taking a big step: an ambitious membership effort that it hoped would be a big part of NPR’s future.

The nonprofit was planning to create the NPR Network, a service that would allow listeners across the United States to donate directly to NPR. In doing so, the board was wading into an issue that had generated tensions between NPR and its member stations for decades: fund-raising.

For years, NPR’s rules restricted the ways it could ask listeners for money directly. Those solicitations were supposed to be done with participation from local member stations.

Now, the board planned to suspend that rule so that NPR could ask avid public radio listeners to donate directly to the NPR Network.

There was some initial disagreement on the board over the NPR Network, according to people familiar with the meeting. Some of the directors said NPR needed to do a better job of reaching listeners directly. Others urged caution, warning that the proposal could interfere with fund-raising efforts at local stations.

After much back and forth, the board held a special session in June for a formal vote on whether to remove the rule. Ultimately, the board voted to suspend the rule, but agreed to revisit the decision in the coming years, setting up yet another debate.

‘The North Star’

Like many companies that committed themselves to confronting racial inequality in recent years, NPR put an ambitious action plan in place. Its commitment to diversity — which Mr. Lansing called NPR’s “North Star” — would be not only a moral imperative but a foundation of its business strategy.

NPR’s leaders redoubled their efforts to diversify their audience and work force and closely tracked metrics for each. They added podcasts aimed at people of color and younger listeners. They promoted people of color to high-profile reporting and hosting jobs. All of these moves were meant to ensure the nation’s public radio network would remain competitive as the country’s population continued to grow more diverse.

So it came as a disappointment to some people on NPR’s board last fall when they were presented with new internal data showing their efforts hadn’t moved the needle much with Black and Hispanic podcast listeners.

Black listeners made up roughly 11 percent of NPR’s audience in the second quarter of 2023, unchanged from the same period in 2020, according to the data. The data further showed that the share of Hispanic listeners went up only two percentage points since 2020, to account for 16 percent of the total audience. One 2020 survey , from the Pew Research Center, found that of the people who named NPR as their main source for political and election news, 75 percent were white, more than any other outlet except Fox News.

NPR’s efforts to diversify itself and its audience didn’t always live up to the expectations of the people who worked there. During a round of layoffs last year, NPR cut “Louder Than a Riot,” a hip-hop podcast that examined Black and queer issues. After that decision, the show’s editor, Soraya Shockley, who had previously worked at The Times, grilled Mr. Lansing during an employee question-and-answer session about why the show had no dedicated budget, pointing out the lack of resources supporting content that furthered diversity, equity and inclusion, or D.E.I.

“How are we supposed to support diverse programming — actually commit to D.E.I., and make it not a folly — when this company seems scared to talk about money when it is not a $30 million deficit?” Shockley asked. In a statement, NPR said the second season of “Louder Than a Riot” had comparable marketing support to other podcasts at the network; Shockley said they were never shown a marketing budget.

Later on the call, after Mr. Lansing urged employees to be more mindful of “civility” in their questions, an NPR employee wrote in an instant-messaging chat accompanying the conversation that the word “civility” is often used as a cudgel against people of color, calling the language choice “racist.”

After the meeting, Shockley filed a human resources complaint against Mr. Lansing, saying his remarks about civility amounted to “dog-whistle racism,” according to a person with knowledge of the exchange. The complaint against Mr. Lansing was referred to an outside law firm, which did not recommend any punitive action.

Mr. Lansing, who announced his retirement last fall, declined to comment on the interaction.

Still, some critics of NPR believe NPR’s “North Star” strategy has failed for a completely different reason: It has not taken ideological diversity into account. Tim Eby, who was the general manager of St. Louis Public Radio until 2020, said in an interview that while it made sense for NPR to seek an audience that looked more like the country, he wasn’t sure its approach was the right one. And its story selection has on occasion left it open to criticism that its focus on race and identity has affected its news judgment. There have been stories, for instance, on how to “ decolonize your bookshelf ” and “ thin privilege .”

“The demographics of the country being what they are, it goes without saying that if you want to have a sustainable business going forward, you have to reach new audiences,” he said. “I think the question is how you’re doing that. I think they’ve overcompensated on attempts to reach audiences that are not going to listen,” he added.

(Mr. Eby has a personal stake in the debate. An anonymous post on the Medium website accused him of presiding over a workplace that was unfair to employees of minority groups. The station replaced him. He has denied those claims and is suing for defamation.)

Mr. Berliner’s criticism this month of NPR’s North Star strategy hasn’t swayed the network’s leaders. In a statement, NPR said it was committed to a more diverse staff and on-air voices. The network pointed to its large audiences on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube as bright spots.

Many employees also pushed back against the claims in Mr. Berliner’s essay, both in public and internally. The staff of “Morning Edition” set aside more than a half-hour of one daily meeting to discuss his remarks.

Bill Siemering, an early leader at NPR who wrote a statement of purposes in 1970 that the nonprofit continues to use, said in an interview that NPR’s mission was as important today as when he first put pen to paper.

“There’s a place in society for a independent source of information that reflects the culture in a meaningful way where all the voices are heard, and where there is intentional programming to help solve some of the most critical problems facing America,” Mr. Siemering said.

Read by Benjamin Mullin

Audio produced by Jack D’Isidoro .

An earlier version of this article misidentified Soraya Shockley’s role on the show “Louder Than a Riot.” Shockley was the editor, not a senior producer.

How we handle corrections

Benjamin Mullin reports on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact Ben securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or email at [email protected] . More about Benjamin Mullin

Jeremy W. Peters is a Times reporter who covers debates over free expression and how they impact higher education and other vital American institutions. More about Jeremy W. Peters

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Title: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Discusses International Conflict, Defense and Leadership on the Hilltop

On Thursday April 25, 2024 Georgetown students gathered in the Healey Family Student Center Social Room to hear from General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about the role of the U.S. military in U.S. politics and the world. As the most senior-ranking military officer in the U.S. and military advisor to the President , General Brown shared his experiences as a military leader and students had the opportunity to ask questions. 

Vilda Westh Blanc (SFS‘27), a student who was on Dan Lamothe’s Student Strategy Team this semester, introduced the event. She welcomed Brown to the stage as well as current GU Politics Fellow Dan Lamothe to moderate the conversation.

Lamothe started the conversation by asking Brown about the current state of U.S. military operations and the threats to national security. “What makes this time uniquely dangerous, uniquely challenging?” Lamothe asked. 

Brown emphasized the complex dynamics of this moment for U.S. national security, noting the significance of threats from North Korea, China, Russia and Iran. He explained that before coming to his current position he championed the phrase “Accelerate change or lose.”

“Personally and professionally, I do not play for second place. And I am very focused on ensuring we have all the capabilities to ensure our national security,” Brown said.

Outlining his priorities for the U.S. military, Brown highlighted the importance of training skilled service members, embracing the modernization of capabilities, and creating a foundation of trust with communities and elected officials.

On the importance of maintaining trust with American people, Brown said “Having that trust is hugely important to ensure that we do the things the nation calls us to do as military members.”

Next, Lamothe asked Brown how the Israel-Hamas conflict shapes the priorities of the U.S. military. 

On the tension between current crises and future threats, Brown said “You’ve got to balance risk over time.”

 “You never want to take short-term satisfaction at the expense of your long-term goals,” Brown said.

Continuing to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, Lamothe asked Brown about what it takes to deal with such a volatile situation and what strategies the military is utilizing to keep the conflict contained.

“From the very beginning, we looked at how do we deter a future conflict and at the same time protect our armed forces and support Israel to defend itself,” Brown said. “In addition to that is making sure we were providing humanitarian assistance and minimizing collateral damage.”

“This has been a theme throughout: how do we deter a broader conflict,” Brown said. Brown further emphasized the military’s preparedness, the efforts of the U.S. National Security Council, and the role of other foreign nations.

Lamothe then asked about what initial concerns Brown had regarding Iran’s attack on Israel on April 13th. 

“First thing I’ll tell you is that I didn’t have a lot of concern because I have complete confidence in our force and they were well-prepared,” Brown said. He emphasized the work of the U.S. military in the week leading up to the April 13th attack and explained the communication and collaboration between the Pentagon and White House that happened the day of.

Turning to the topic of Ukraine, Lamothe noted that despite the recent aid package approved by the U.S. Congress, many think that “Ukraine will continue to be outgunned this year. What do you see as the likely outcome this summer?”

“When Ukraine is supplied, they have been able to be effective,” Brown said, stressing the importance of continuing to provide support.

“Even broader than this: what happens in one corner of the world does not stay in one corner of the world,” Brown added. “Unchecked aggression provides opportunity for future aggression.” 

Next, Lamothe asked about building trust in the U.S. military. “We’re in a time where there is dwindling support for the U.S. military in a lot of polls. There are concerns about American democracy at large. What does it take to build new faith in the American military?” Lamothe asked.

“Trust is the foundation of our profession. And part of that, my focus, is not only maintaining the trust we have but to continue to build upon it.” Brown added, “I think the most important thing I can do is lead by example.” 

Brown also emphasized the importance of being non-partisan as a military member. “Our oath is to the Constitution of the United States, to an ideal— not to a leader, not to an office,” Brown said. 

Students then had the opportunity to ask Brown questions.

Captain Trevor Barton, Omar Bradley Fellow and McCourt Student studying national security issues asked: “What is your assessment, as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, of the current health of the defense industrial base related to our production capability, and what can policymakers do to increase the resiliency of the defense industrial base?”

“​​There’s key things, from a policymaker standpoint, that I think are very important. Consistency is probably top of the notch,” Brown said. “What I mean by that is that there’s consistency in our demand signal from the Department of Defense in what we need. And then consistency in resourcing. When you have that consistency, that helps predictability for the defense industrial base.”

MJ Ninal (C’24), a cadet in the Air Force ROTC , asked Brown about his advice for young lieutenants in this unique time of international threats and political polarization.

 “Whatever job you’re going into, get really good at it. That’s probably the most important thing you can do. I’d also say ask a lot of questions. There are no dumb questions,” Brown said. “And when you ask tough questions of your leaders, it challenges us.”

One student asked Brown about the challenges of advising political leaders and what his advice was for fostering mutual understanding of perspectives and positions.

“When providing advice, you need to understand your boss, and your boss’s boss, and their intent and what their focused on,” Brown said. He emphasized that the perfect military solution does not always line up with what is going on geopolitically, economically and diplomatically, but understanding the bigger picture is key to effective conversations and problem-solving. 

Lewis Williams III (S’28), a student studying applied intelligence at Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies asked Brown, “What are some of your role models or individuals that have inspired you, whether civilian or military?”

Brown talked about the influence of his father, who was in the Army and encouraged Brown to apply. “This is all his idea,” Brown said. 

“I think the other thing that has been an inspiration to me has been the Tuskegee Airmen,” Brown said, referring to the first African American military aviators in the U.S. “Just in general, what they were able to do leading up to World War II and during World War II.”

Brown recounted his experience getting to talk to some of the Tuskegee Airmen and hear their stories. He remembered Brigadier General Charles McGee and reflected on the honor it was to meet him.

Brown also answered student questions about cybersecurity, use of innovative technologies in Ukraine, climate change as a national security threat, and promoting cooperation between branches of the U.S. military. 

Luke Hughes (SFS‘27) asked Brown what his message would be to incoming Georgetown students who are considering joining the ROTC.

On reasons to join, “I would say two things: One, the opportunity to serve your nation but the opportunity to gain some valuable experience,” Brown noted.

Brown emphasized the opportunities for growing as a leader, building meaningful relationships, and giving back to your community through involvement in the military.

“We need you, whether you serve in uniform or you serve in some other part of government, that’s what makes our democracy so strong,” Brown said.

GU Politics extends its gratitude to the Walsh School of Foreign Service , the SFS Security Studies Program , the Georgetown University Military and Veterans Resource Center and the National Defense Policy Initiative for co-sponsoring this event.

This article was written by Jane Wright , a first-year graduate student in the McCourt School of Public Policy.

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Tourism not only benefits host locales but those on holiday. Travel enriches their lives, expands their understanding of people and cultures, while also serving as a respite from daily life. The economic stability of such destinations depends on the sustainability of their tourist trade. As the popularity of such destinations grows, international corporations and developers typically flock to these growing places, trying to capitalize on the financial possibilities. There is money to be made in building hotels, restaurants, and in developing an area’s growing tourism industry. As outside groups seek to attract tourists and the revenue they generate, locals often struggle to maintain their location's unique appeal and ability to support local venues. As this build-up occurs, local people can have their cultures exploited, lands destroyed, and their local businesses put in jeopardy. As the tourism sector grows and expands, we are seeing the expansion of the Special Interest (SIT) market - tourists wishing to match their vacations with their interests (e.g., ecotourism, wellness tourism, event tourism, ancestry tourism, etc.). How will changing forms and trends of tourism impact tourists and hosts alike? How can the advantages of expanding tourism be balanced with the protection of destinations?

Today nearly half the world's population lives in an urban area. By 2050, that number is expected to reach 70% due to this increase in Urbanization. Urban areas and their large populations often hold power over governance, economic development, and international connectivity beyond their immediate regions. With proper planning, urban centres can provide educational and economic opportunities to residents not found elsewhere. However, they can also easily give rise to slums and increase income inequality. With growing footprints, cities are also struggling to provide basic needs, essential services, and safety. Future urban planners must address tough questions: What qualities in society should be valued most? What is fair and equitable? Whose interests will be served first? Planners must balance the speed of decision-making with the need for thoughtful, well-considered programs for development. As urban areas expand, how can we develop areas that are efficient, resilient, and inclusive?

Antarctica, the highest, driest, coldest continent, has no permanent population and is governed by a collection of agreements between fifty-four countries. The Antarctic Treaty System designates the entire continent and surrounding waters for scientific endeavours, bans military activity, and promotes environmental research and preservation. Although Antarctica remains the most remote place on Earth, it is highly regulated and heavily impacted by activities around the globe. Parts of the continent are polluted by sewage, discarded machinery, fuel products, and rubbish. Antarctica is thought to be rich in minerals and resources, though an 'indefinite' ban on mining is in place through 2048. Antarctica also holds over 60% of the Earth's fresh water in an ice sheet that contains 90% of the Earth's total ice volume. As global temperatures rise, these are breaking apart and melting faster, endangering local wildlife and entire ecosystems. Without a consistent population or a sovereign state, Antarctica possesses a unique space within political, economic, and environmental crossroads. How can Antarctica be sustainably utilized yet simultaneously preserved to best benefit our global population?

Our transport needs, desires, and realities are rapidly changing due to global growth and increased connectivity. As modes of transportation continue to evolve, increasing levels of complexity and efficiency are pursued. What role will autonomous vehicles, cars, airplanes, ships, etc., which operate without human intervention, play in this pursuit? Their development continues to increase exponentially with advancing technological capabilities. Since all scenarios are not programmable, autonomous vehicles must learn and react. They do this by surveying their environment with multiple sensors and utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to process vast amounts of data. Autonomous vehicles can deliver on demand, refuel, park, and store themselves. By creating a network of these vehicles, entire systems of transport could become autonomous, controlled by a central AI. How will the efficiency of autonomous vehicles affect the development of transportation, on land and sea, in the air, and possibly space? How will autonomous transport cope with unexpected risk situations and ethical decisions? In what ways will autonomous transport impact jobs, industries, infrastructure, and lifestyles?

Tourism Urbanisation Antarctica Autonomous Transportation Currency

Tourism Urbanisation Antarctica

Electronic devices are often replaced with the latest version at an alarmingly fast pace. These constant upgrades add to E-Waste significantly impacting the environment and reducing natural resources while consumer demand is being met. Tens of millions of tons of such materials are discarded every year worldwide. Electronic products are full of hazardous substances such as toxic materials and heavy metals that can threaten humans, plants, animals. One method of disposal often employed by developed states is to offload e-waste to low-income countries for resale or demolition. This offloading places developing nations at greater risk of exposure to toxic chemicals and materials. Meanwhile, the high rate of device upgrades in developed countries has significant consequences for both people and the environment. What impact does planned disposal have on the amount of e-waste? What incentives can be developed to promote software upgrades for existing devices? As the appetite for ever-increasing technological devices continues, what are the implications for how we dispose of these devices? How can more effective and ethical responses to recycling and disposal policies be encouraged to protect human life and the global environment in the future.

Technologically, virtual reality is widespread and expanding its application through augmented, enhanced, mixed, and other forms of digital realities. The options and opportunities for its application appear boundless through the integration of 3-D images, gaming, computer-assisted instruction, equipment simulators, and entertainment platforms. The imposition of holographic images over real-world views have applications ranging from education, archaeology, and engineering, to sports training, video games, and artistic expression. The utilization of augmented reality technology is already making significant changes to the manufacturing industry. What other industries will it revolutionize? The inclusion of haptic, visual, and auditory overlays can be both constructive and destructive to users. New opportunities are provided to individuals with disabilities. New treatments are made available to the ill. How will enhanced reality impact human interactions? Digital reality is constantly evolving with advantages for all fields. How will we deal with the fiscal, educational, and psycho-social issues that might arise?

Machines were developed to assist with dangerous and difficult jobs. At present, unskilled human labour is being replaced with robotics more quickly than at any time in history.  Advancements of such machines move technology closer and closer to lights-out manufacturing. In countries with robust national safety nets, these changes are viewed as inevitable, and they have begun to explore new human employment concepts. Robotic workers often provide for human safety as in the case of bomb disposal. Laborers are fearful of how these looming employment changes and uncertain of how their work life will proceed. A robotic workforce's effects go beyond manufacturing as university-trained individuals such as lawyers and accountants are already being impacted by automation. What will the human workforce of the future look like? Will specialized training and education be needed for a combined human and robotic workforce? What will our future work force look like? How will our future economy be impacted by robotics in the workforce?

Consumerism has promoted a 'throw-away' society – one in which people do not keep things for very long, preferring single-use and disposable items. This societal approach leads to overconsumption of short-term items instead of durable goods that can be repaired. Widespread social influencing often encourages people to focus on the consumption, ownership, and display of material possessions to mark an individual's social status, identity, and standing. This impacts the environment, lifestyles, and distribution of wealth. Consumerism stretches the world's limited natural resources. Production is dictated by consumer demand, and businesses try to provide consumers with a growing number of options, including branded goods, to stay afloat. Many products are often fads or are adapted and modified regularly to entice consumers to buy the upgrades despite already having durable ones. Constant upgrades are sought to achieve greater social standing through material possession instead of meaningful acts. How can societies value all their members while allowing for - and encouraging - individual perspectives and desires? What are the appropriate balances between local values and global aspirations for consumers?

E-Waste Digital Realities Robotic Workforce Throw Away Society

E-Waste Digital Realities Robotic Workforce

In many parts of the world, freshwater is in short supply. Water is often pumped for miles, streams diverted and reservoirs and dams are constructed to provide for the growing populations in dry areas. As water levels drop and aquifers decline, people become more concerned about preserving their water resources. More than 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water services, and more than 4 billion lack safely managed sanitation services. Differing governmental and commercial demands must be balanced so that communities have enough safe water for their needs. As available water supplies deplete, adjacent areas begin to battle with water contracts and water rights. How might the right to access clean water be achieved? How will regulations shape the future of access to water? How will water scarcity shape society?

The world is now more urbanized than ever before, and more and more people are flocking to live in large cities. Singapore was once known as the ‘Garden City,’ now it is being promoted as the ‘Garden in the City’ as new buildings incorporate trees and other greenery in their designs. Many quickly growing population centers are more environmentally aware as they expand the living spaces for their citizens. This awareness is not just a case of saving the environment and reducing emissions; it is a matter of necessity for creating healthy cities. Buildings can be designed to conserve both energy and water while improving the indoor and outdoor environment. Advancing technology is changing how architects are incorporating sustainable living practices into buildings. Light-based modulated sunlight, improved insulation, enhanced ventilation, eco-friendly building materials – are a few of the ecologically-preferred innovations changing the face and function of buildings. Some buildings now incorporate wind turbines to provide the necessary energy to power the building. Will these developments solve the problems they have set out to address? Will these change the way cities work and the way people live in them? Will these changes improve safety during natural disasters or introduce new problems?

Insects - human's best friends and worst enemies. We are surrounded by more than a million species of insects. Without them, humankind couldn't survive. Some insects destroy crops and carry diseases. Mosquitoes, which carry diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, Ross River, Zika, and West Nile viruses, kill and maim more people each year than any other animal. Others do essential jobs like pollinate blossoms, aerate the soil, decompose dead plant material, or eat other harmful insects, making them essential to the food web. As weather patterns and temperatures change, the distribution and habitat of many insect species are likely to change dramatically. The numbers of bees around the world have been radically reduced due to disease. How does the reduction of some species and relocation of others impact health, agriculture, and horticulture?

Over 1,900 insect species have been identified as suitable for human consumption and animal feed and could assure food security. Incorporating insects into the human food and medical supply indicates the ever-growing importance of insects in the world. Will insects and their products, such as genetically modified mosquitoes or manuka honey help to fight diseases? Will toasted grubs, fried crickets, and other edible insects become important global protein choices?

Mining is a long-standing means of gathering a wide range of resources vital to aspects of everyday life. The growing demands of mined materials continues to see the mining industry expand at an incredible pace. The technologies in use today and projected for the future are more minerals intensive than ever before. While technology has made mining both safer and more environmentally sensitive than any other time in history, environmental and other risks remain. Yet without the collection of these important materials, the cornerstones of society like buildings, machines, and communication would not be possible. With environmental protections varying greatly from country-to-country, how can the world collaborate on the best way to extract and share geological materials? With mining as the foundation of countless communities, how will they be impacted by the changing landscape of mining? In the future, are there new areas that might be mined for resources?

Millions of children around the world participate in competitive youth sports every year. Involvement in organized sports teaches many essential life skills – teamwork, confidence, the value of hard work, and discipline. While some competitive sports promote activity and a healthy lifestyle, others build skills such as mental agility. The hyper-competitiveness of youth sports raises concerns that children are pushed too hard to win and succeed. The sports options for youth are also evolving, as competitive e-sports emerge. Competitive sports can heighten aggression, pressure to win, and put children – who are still growing and developing – at risk for injuries. In many places, increasing costs of club sport-memberships and insurance exclude those who need social interaction and fitness the most. The costs of maintaining and running facilities can also limit the accessibility for youth. How much should we push young people to participate in competitive sports? Do the benefits of structured competition outweigh the costs of over-competitive behavior and possible injury? How does participation in sports impact the well being of youth and their families?

Traditionally, clothing and accessories have all been developed to fill basic needs. They provide warmth, protection from the elements or injury, and even serve to attract attention. Recently, the industry for wearable technology has transformed the way we think about clothing and accessories. Wearables have rapidly expanded to include heating elements, internet connections, watches, body monitors, and more. As more people grow accustomed to wearables in their daily lives, the possibilities for what the technologies can do are virtually limitless. They already monitor vital signs, send information to medical professionals, and even give individuals the ability to soar like a bird in personal flight suits. Smart sports uniforms can now reduce and identify injuries by regulating body temperature, supporting muscles and tendons, and gauging the force of impact. Attire with virtual reality functions is currently being developed to push this sector even further. How will wearable technology enhance or jeopardize real-life experiences and connections with others? Where in the world could wearable technologies allow humans to survive? What advantages or disadvantages are inherent in the inclusion of technology in our clothing and on our bodies?

Humans have always impacted the environment. Over time, the effects have increased as industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, processing of natural resources, the burning of fossil fuels and more technologies have developed. Examples of human’s impact on the environment are everywhere.

Feeding the world’s growing population has adverse environmental effects such as overgrazing, deforestation, and agriculture-induced soil erosion. Water pollution from pesticides and fertilizers impacts the quality of water available for specific populations. Clearing of land and overfishing result in loss of biodiversity and disturbances to ecosystems. Industrialization and urbanization cause the release of toxic solid, liquid, or gaseous waste materials and are the catalyst for serious environmental hazards. Water pollution as a result of poor disposal of sewage wastes, solid wastes, and other industrial wastes, may spread diseases and create an unfit environment for human activities. Industrialization has also increased consumption of natural resources for the production of goods, leading to a significant loss of nonrenewable resources and excessive waste. Activities like mining and dam construction cause habitat destruction. Trends like “fast fashion” contribute to why the fashion industry is the second-leading cause of pollution in the environment. What are our challenges moving forward to create a balance between basic human needs and our need to preserve or create an environment that is fit for continued quality human existence and growth?

What if your doctor could diagnose you before you experience symptoms? Using information from an individuals’ genetic and molecular profile, researchers have begun to create patient-specific treatments with a level of precision never before seen. Personalized Medicine enables healthcare providers to use a patient’s cells to combat precisely identified diseases at an unprecedented pace.

Researchers at universities, biotech companies, laboratories, and pharmaceutical companies are continually making discoveries. Doctors and other healthcare professionals continue to explore how these discoveries can help patients and increase our knowledge about diseases. The pharmaceutical industry is developing medications that tailored to an individual patient’s genetic makeup. The costs of genetic tests are decreasing as their availability increases. Even with better affordability, how accessible will individualized advanced treatments be? Will insurance companies cover them? The increasing specificity of personal health information raises many concerns about the protection of personal data. How will Personalized Medicine account for the impact of external/environmental factors on an individual’s health?

Most people dream of visiting new and exciting places to experience culture, cuisine, and local entertainment through travel. Transportation technology makes it easier and faster than ever before to get from one country to another although travel can be very expensive and time-consuming for many people. Heightened safety concerns often mean changing security requirements and government screening processes for crossing borders.

Some experts believe that technology may begin to replace in-person travel. VR-AR-MR (Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality / Mixed Reality), are immediate, involving, engaging and immersive types of entertainment that can accessed anywhere in the world. This could cause travel to boom if people, having used these technologies, want to experience the world “for real.” People may be increasingly comfortable in both worlds: the physical real world, and the digital world that is constructed instantly and repeatedly to fit what each person wants and chooses, using immediately responsive networks.

How will the time, technology, and expense associated with travel impact the future of international travel and tourism?

Approximately one-third of our lives is spent sleeping. For nearly a century, scientists have been able to record brain activity and see the dynamic changes during sleep. Lack of sleep can affect brain function, especially memory, language, and emotional balance. Physical effects include fatigue, stress and health problems including heart disease and obesity. Today, technology on our wrists can measure sleep habits and movements.

Globally, businesses developing sleep aids are witnessing significant growth due to the rising incidence of sleep disorders. This has been exacerbated by the growing senior population. It is manifest in increasing demand for sleeping pills due to stressful modern lifestyles and increasing numbers of initiatives by various health organizations to increase awareness about sleep disorders. Sleep medications often have undesirable side effects and patents of major sleep drugs expire. Wakefulness aids, stimulants and prescription drugs such as coffee, energy drinks, benzodiazepines and even illegal drugs are gaining in popularity as a perceived solution to the need to perform effectively despite sleep deprivation.

How might our over-scheduled lives and increased digital presence disrupt natural circadian and sleep patterns? Can the benefits of sleep be replicated? What new technologies might be available to help people monitor and adjust brain wave activity during sleep? Will scientists discover more about the genes that enable functionality with less sleep?

Gamification isn’t just about leisure time digital or other games. Gamification applies the theories of game development that make games so alluring and creates sustained attention. Players and teams win points and rewards by completing designated tasks. Minecraft, for example, has been used by teachers for everything from computer science to social sciences to creative writing. Fitbit and tracking apps on the iWatch are increasingly popular and encourage competition – with yourself or with a group.
Gamification helps users focus on tasks that might normally be boring, and the process might be applied to fields such as customer loyalty, education, health, recreation, job training, self-improvement, household chores, fundraising, and activism. Gamification is being used by corporations to make marketing interactive, but it’s also being used to benefit individual health and well-being.

Is there a relationship between gamification and tech addiction? How might gamification impact education and learning, inside and outside formal schools, or even in the workplace? What are some of the ethical implications, particularly around user privacy? What role will companies have in the creation of tech products to “hook” their users or the use of gamification as an educational tool? Can gamification enhance human interactions?

Nearly half of the world’s population (more than 3.5 billion people) live in poverty. Of those 3.5 billion people, 1.4 live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $US 1.25 per day.

Across the globe, many people struggle to have and sustain basic needs such as food, clean water, basic medical supplies, and adequate shelter. Some people are forced to leave their homes to travel to other places or countries to find menial work to send money home to support their families. Due to poverty, many people are unable to access education. Some adults deliberately suffer from malnutrition so that their children can have the food that is available. Children in severe poverty are often orphaned or they have been sent away because their parents cannot afford to care for them. Healthy food can be very difficult to come by for the poor due to lack of financial and monetary resources, meaning that they depend on cheap, unhealthy foods to sustain their lives.

What can be done globally to assist those suffering from extreme poverty? How can we reverse this trend in order to decrease the adverse impact of poverty on future generations?

A spacecraft in orbit? A biosphere on extraterrestrial ground? Private and governmental organizations are already planning missions to set up research stations or even colonies on the Moon and Mars. Many see opportunities to learn more about our solar system, leading to a better understanding of Earth and ourselves; others question whether such missions are even feasible. One private agency is already seeking volunteers for a Mars mission. Space ventures provide an impetus for advancing knowledge and technologies with applications in space, as well as on Earth. Entrepreneurial and scientific opportunities abound to explore, to mine, and to engineer under distinct conditions. Pioneers will need to plan for a sustainable long-term stay, which will require vast investments of people, money, and other resources

Drones are among the most hyped products for aviation enthusiasts in recent years. Although originally developed for military use, drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can be cool gadgets used for recreation. They can also be powerful tools for commerce, scientific research, agriculture, entertainment, photography, transportation, disaster relief, search and rescue, surveillance, and policing. UAVs can carry payloads and can be controlled remotely by a human operator or by an onboard computer. Basic drone models can be operated with little skill or training. Regulations on the use of UAVs are already in place in nations around the world, but technological advancements and expanded applications may outpace their regulation. While UAV use is growing exponentially, concerns are also escalating. Privacy intrusion, airspace violation, criminal use, surreptitious military operations, accidental crashes, terrorist threats, and other issues have raised alarms.

What does the future hold for UAV technological advancements and accessory enhancements? Will access to UAVs be equitable? How will the pending prevalence of drones in our daily lives affect society overall, especially in areas of personal rights and safety?

Hunger remains a concern in the developing world, and the resources required for food production are limited. About one-third of food produced globally is lost or wasted, leaving millions of people hungry and valuable resources squandered.

Food loss refers to a decrease in food for human consumption during production, post-harvest, and processing stages. Causes include poor harvesting techniques, weak infrastructure (markets, transportation, storage, cooling, packaging), contamination (bacteria, fungus, insects), and corruption. In addition to reduced availability, food loss contributes to higher costs, hurting farmers as well as those who cannot afford to buy their food.

Food losses that occur at retail and consumption stages are called food waste and refer to behaviors such as discarding edible food. Quality standards based on perfect appearance, misused “best-before-dates,” and careless consumer attitudes contribute to waste. Food waste is more common in the industrialized world, while food loss is a greater concern in developing nations.

Can food loss prevention combat hunger and raise incomes in developing nations? Can food waste be decreased without sacrificing quality or safety? What roles might technology or regulations serve? What are the economic, environmental, psychological, and societal implications? Can we improve global food security while meeting the needs of diverse consumers?

With exponential change and fast-paced trends in society comes an increase in stress. Stress can be physical, mental, or emotional. Living conditions, as well as societal and personal expectations, can lead to higher levels of stress-related hormones. In some parts of the world, people find it difficult to cope with longer work hours and less leisure time as they attempt to meet society’s perceived expectations. Social media is a constant presence, delivering both subtle and overt pressures.

Most people experience stress, but individuals respond differently. Stress can be a useful motivator in the face of challenges or danger, but negative impacts can result from excessive stress. Medical and psychological problems can emerge or be exacerbated. Scientific data show that physical activity and relaxation techniques are samples of ways to reduce these negative impacts.

What are the personal and societal impacts of stress? Do different countries and cultures deal with stress the same way? How can we promote healthier lifestyles that help people to cope with stress?

Each year, approximately 52 million people suffer from infectious diseases around the world.  Seventeen million deaths per year result from these diseases. With affordable global travel and more people living in cities, infectious diseases may spread rapidly across the globe.  How can the spread of infectious disease be controlled?  How can the health of people around the world be safeguarded?

Toxic materials are everywhere: heavy metals in electronics, flame retardants in furniture and clothing, pesticides in our food, and harmful chemicals in plastics.  Poisonous chemicals are linked to cancer and birth defects.  Although certain chemicals are known to be hazardous, current regulation systems allow them to continue to be brought into homes via many products.  How can we become better aware of the dangers associated with toxic wastes?  What will happen if we increase our reliance on these materials? 

Philanthrocapitalism is a form of philanthropy in which entrepreneurial ideas, practices, and wealth are used to tackle global challenges. As the divide between rich and poor increases around the world, the number of billionaires is growing. Some of the planet’s wealthiest people have become philanthrocapitalists, pledging to invest time, energy, skills, ideas, and large amounts of money towards worthy causes. This may have a positive impact on the people, groups, and causes that are chosen for support, but there are questions about this form of philanthropy.

Will the efforts of philanthrocapitalists actually lead to deep, sustainable results? How will their causes be chosen? Do individual philanthrocapitalists have the expertise to address the world’s most significant problems? Will this model of philanthropy present conflicts of interest as it influences the priorities, donations, or behaviors of average people? Does philanthrocapitalism transfer the power and responsibility of social change away from governments and charitable organizations to an elite few? How might philanthrocapitalism benefit or harm the generations of the future?

Biosecurity is a worldwide, cross-border problem. With the number of noxious pests, plant diseases, genetically modified crops, and displaced species increasing around the world, monitoring and controlling the movements across national borders is becoming increasingly difficult. Environmental changes may exacerbate the problem by altering the range of habitats and upsetting the natural balance. Equally difficult and a major concern is the implementation of measures to reduce the effect of these current issues on native flora and fauna as well as serious damage to exports. Even though a number of countries have stringent safeguards in place already, smuggling or lack of knowledge makes policing biosecurity difficult. Some countries have little or no policy for restricting the movement of plants and animals across borders. Customs officers can make some positive impact, but they are limited by the constraints of their job and the porous nature of many borders. Besides, what seems like necessary safeguards to some are seen as unnecessary constraints on trade and economic growth to others. How might development in new technologies assist in regulating and monitoring biosecurity issues? How can countries cooperate with each other in dealing with cross border contamination?

Education is considered to be the pathway to an informed, future-focused population. In many countries, education is publicly funded by the central government or by state governments, with options for privately funded schools. In some countries, school funding/regulation is largely local and tied to property taxes. Other countries struggle to fund education at all. In addition to differences in funding, other economic and social factors contribute to educational disparities: family earnings, health status, gender, political participation, and social class.

Who should provide educational funding? Should intervention occur in communities or countries where social factors influence the quality of educational opportunities? Already, some international programs such as International Baccalaureate or international exams like Cambridge and PISA claim to give a fair indication of educational achievement around the world, but do results help or harm educational equality? As connectivity spreads around the world, how will universal access to interactive and personalized networks of education evolve? Will access to these virtual networks equalize opportunities in the future?

The genes of organisms can be altered using biotechnology techniques. New genes can be inserted into plants and animals to create new varieties and breeds or to lessen certain genetic activity such as susceptibility to disease. Since 1970 GM has helped produce greater numbers of crops with higher nutritional value and has been prominent in animal agriculture. Critics claim there are serious ethical, ecological, and economic issues with GM techniques. For example, GM crops can cross-pollinate with non-GM crops creating unpredictable characteristics in plants. Bioherbicides and bioinsecticides can be added to crop seeds, but are not always effective. Resistant weeds now infest 75 million acres of land across the world. Domesticated animals are being genetically modified to produce proteins that have applications for human medicine – proteins to control blood clotting or kill cancer cells, for example.

What will be the long-term impact of genetic modification of plants and animals? If plants and animals are genetically modified to resist current pathogens, will new, more resistant pathogens develop? Already, GM has led to international controversy and trade disputes, protests, and restrictive regulations on commercial products containing genetically modified organisms.

The developments in the use of technology in the medical field have been dramatic in recent years, covering both issues of medical treatment and the delivery of medical services. For instance, the use of advanced electronics in the production of prostheses and other organ replacements has given some sign of the possible extent of technology application into the future. With greater technology advancements, very expensive and specialised disposable items are being used during surgical and medical treatments.  It is suggested that in the near future an inability of access to these technologies for public or poorer private patients will lead to a resurgence of more basic reusable equipment being favoured.

With more advanced devices, there may also be problems with medical workforces, as company representatives  may be the only people specifically trained to use the technology, rather than medical staff. Medical robots may be replaced by sentient beings or robots comes into play, as well as patients a inspected by virtual doctors  Patients may also be able to ‘print’ their own drugs at home, bypassing the pharmacy system. All these developments have and will have implications for government regulation, the cost of healthcare (and who pays for it), as well as the impact on social relationships and community-based service employment that, in this decade, is the main form of employment.

Identity theft is a form of stealing someone’s identity. Most often, identity thieves steal personal financial information, buy things for their own gain, and pay for none of it. Frequently, identity thieves gain access to personal information through business and government databases that are not secure. Dates of birth, full names, bank account details and identification numbers are part of the information sought by identity thieves. Stolen identities can be used to fund other crimes such as illegal immigration, terrorism, or drug crimes. It can be extremely difficult to find and prosecute identity thieves as they are often from different countries than the individuals whose identities they are stealing and they obtain personal details online.

Victims of identity crime can be held responsible for crimes committed using their identity and may have to fight for years to clear their names. In addition to the damage done to individuals, identity crime costs governments large amounts of money every year. Great collaboration between global governments and organizations will likely be needed to combat identity theft in the years to come. Individuals and businesses will also need to protect themselves. <br>How should individuals and organizations work together to protect identities from theft? How will identity thieves adapt their practices as more time and effort is invested in protecting identities? What information will be the most valuable to thieves in the coming years and decades?

Farmers, pet and animal owners, and scientific researchers have many different ways of treating animals in their care. Fewer than 30% of countries have animal welfare laws, and existing laws are not always enforced. Researchers assert that it is important to be able to use animals in research to test drugs and new medical procedures that can help both people and animals. Sometimes endangered animals are kept in captivity at a high cost in order to protect their limited populations. Animal shelters are often filled with feral animals or those that have been abandoned by their owners. Wild animals in many parts of the world come into conflict with human activity.

In the future, how might research impact human understanding and treatment of animals? Are zoos useful educational tools or unethical exhibitions? Are certain animals entitled to more rights than others based on cultural or intelligence differences? How can humans be better stewards in the treatment of animals? Who decides the appropriate treatment of animals and their role in society?

Language is the soul of a culture. The survival of a culture may depend on the language used for rituals and to describe cultural ideas, beliefs, and understandings. What is the impact on culture when its language disappears? By some estimates, of the six thousand languages left on Earth, 90% are expected to disappear or be endangered before the end of this century. In New Zealand, government and community initiatives are trying to revive the language of indigenous people, but even so it is in a precarious state. Many indigenous peoples around the globe don’t have support to prevent their language from disappearing. Will anyone be able to read the rich literature embodied in the disappearing languages in the years to come? What oral traditions will be lost? What responsibilities, if any, do governments, institutions, and communities have towards preserving endangered languages?

Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other natural disasters are big news when they occur. Front-page news and internet feeds bring us the details of staggering statistics and images of loss of life and property. Recovery work such as rebuilding homes, infrastructure, and businesses go on even when the news moves on to the next big story. The human factor such as recovery from emotional, mental, and physical stress is a painful and difficult journey for survivors of natural disasters, often taking many years after the disaster strikes. A disaster recovery plan (DRP) often proves inadequate especially since it is often developed only after a disaster. Government agencies, insurance companies, charitable organisations, celebrities, and individual volunteers respond with immediate help, but long-term support can be difficult to sustain. How can relief efforts be best utilised, coordinated, and sustained to assist survivors? How can the people, communities, and countries that are affected by a disaster begin to recover from their losses and cope with their changed lives? How will the impact on psychological and physical health be managed?

The world today is increasingly interdependent with the advent of interconnectedness. The Internet brings individuals living in diverse places together for innovative opportunities in global collaboration. Physical space may no longer define a workplace. Many local and international corporations are able to employ people without them having to step out of their homes or countries. Developed countries outsource jobs to other countries where labour may be cheaper and labour laws less regulated. How might a more global workplace affect local and national economies? Some firms downsize their workforce in favour of automated systems that require less human input. These changes create a pool of workers who, besides being out of work, are often unprepared for other jobs. How might employers develop innovative ways to work globally? Is the growing trend of working globally online benefiting current workplace trends? How might this affect the world economy? What economic or educational changes might better prepare governments, businesses, and workers for a global workplace?

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, Second Life, wikis, blogging, tweeting - all of these words have entered our lives in the last few years. The impact of Web 2.0 and the rise of associated social media have changed our lives in many ways that we are only just beginning to understand.

Regimes have fallen because of the use of social media; careers can be jeopardized due to past and present social events posted on social media; people all over the world are able to collaborate in real time to work and to play. Some people think social media has a detrimental effect on people’s social lives; others believe it is a new and exciting way of socializing and developing relationships.

How might social media continue to impact our lives? Who will monitor the truth and accuracy of social media? Will social media lead to increased social isolation or enhanced global collaboration? Is there a need for controls, monitoring, or restrictions on social media? Do the positives outweigh the detrimental effects? Does any government have the right to legislate the use of social media by its citizens?

An increased interest in food and health has occurred around the world. Many questions have been asked on this topic: Where are food products produced? How? Why? Who produces food products? How far have these products traveled? How long have they been stored? How is food tracked from “farm to table”? A huge number of food products are now chemically-enhanced and processed. Foods may be labeled as “natural flavors,” but these do not necessarily come from the original product. Strawberry flavoring, for example, may have started out as a bacterial protein. Are preservatives safe? How might the addition of flavor enhancers, vitamins and minerals, phosphate additives, and sugar and fat substitutes affect our overall health? What are beneficial reasons for using processed foods? What processed foods should we avoid? Genetic engineering is still under study and remains controversial. Nanotechnology represents the latest high technology attempt to infiltrate our food supply. Do these new technologies pose serious new risks for human health?

Propaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. Selective messages are used to produce an emotional rather than rational response from the audience. Common media for transmitting propaganda messages include news reports, government reports, historical revision, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and posters. Propaganda shares techniques with advertising and public relations.

With growing trends in communication, how will propaganda be spread in the future through digital media? How can wealth of individuals, groups, or countries advance a particular agenda? In a number of regional and global conflicts, including both World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Balkan Conflict, and more recently the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, propaganda has more typically referred to political or nationalist uses of these techniques. Examples of these techniques include the following: instilling panic, appealing to prejudice, creating a bandwagon, demonizing the enemy, stating half-truths, and providing a scapegoat. Propaganda usually exists on both sides of a conflict, but is often perceived as negative in nature. What are some positive examples of present-day propaganda? What are some negative examples of present-day propaganda?

Through the use of performance enhancing drugs, personal trainers, speed-enhancing swimsuits, technologies for body and brain, people can enhance their potential in physical, emotional, and cognitive abilities. As time goes on, humans will be offered even more ways to enhance their potential in unprecedented ways: cybernetic body parts, memory-enhancing or erasing drugs, technologically advanced sports equipment, and/or humans/computer interfaces, etc. Will the definition of “human” change? Many ethical issues surround these advances: Should sports people be able to enhance their performances in any way they like? Should parents be able to choose IQ or mood boosters such as drugs or brain implants for their children? What impacts might exist with the disparities between the “haves” and the “have-nots”? How far might the human brain and body be pushed? To what extent can we “perfect” the human body? What “enhancers” do we have presently? What are the dangers, as well as benefits, of powerful new technologies that might radically change the lives of human beings

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