Halcyon Identifies

HALCYON IDENTIFIES NEW RESPONSES TO THE MOST URGENT PROBLEMS THAT WE FACE COLLECTIVELY.

 

Small doses of vitamins could make a huge positive difference to the world’s health, especially if focused on the most important period in anyone’s nutritional life - i.e. the first 1,000 days.

 

Every day average life expectancy rises by six hours, and many babies born today may live to 100+, while experts are hoping to gain further clues about rejuvenation from organisms naturally resistant to ageing and dying.

 

A newly available tool reportedly has the potential to use DNA technology to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) quickly and accurately.  With minimal training, a health care worker can deliver these results in about two hours.

 

Religion is bound for extinction in nine countries where it is already in decline, claim researchers using mathematical models.

 

Research suggests lonely people are at greater risk of developing illnesses, such as heart disease and certain cancers and that the effect on mortality of loneliness is comparable with that of smoking and drinking.

 

The global food price index got back to an all-time high – essentials like maize and sugar up over 70% in six months - with severe consequences for hundreds of millions of poor people worldwide.

 

Between 1978 and 2008 – a period in which charities got much more sophisticated, using new fundraising techniques, the average proportion of income given to charity stayed low and barely rose, from 0.3% to 0.4%.

 

A planned 'super-dairy' triggered much opposition, particularly regarding animal welfare, and concerns about its impact on the environment and local residents.

 

The rapid rise in smartphone ownership could lead to rapid growth in micro-volunteering.

 

New academic research underlines the power of ritual, in business as well as in personal life, in helping individuals pay attention and be fully present in the moment.

 

As global population increases and people become wealthier, agricultural production will need to likewise increase, but food systems may become more stressed because of competition for water.

 

Recent estimates suggest that around 210m people - representing an unemployment rate about of 7% - were jobless globally by mid-2010.

 

Disabled people who've had difficulty using public buildings, facilities and services such as shops, transport and websites may benefit from a new 10-year strategy to improve accessibility and promote equality.

 

A growing band of scientists known as "ecopsychologists" believe that we have an innate need to be close to the natural world on a daily basis in order to safeguard our physical and mental well-being.

 

A new study shows that migrant workers have suffered most in the aftermath of the global recession.

 

A new global analysis of extinction risk has revealed that plants are now as threatened as mammals, with one in five of the world’s plant species threatened with extinction.

 

About 80% of the world's population lives in areas where the fresh water supply is not secure, according to a new index of water threats that includes issues such as scarcity and pollution.

 

"Dissensus" is the encouragement of divergent rather than convergent - or consensus - approaches to crisis: indeed, some claim dissensus as nature's way of adapting, which has worked well historically.

 

A new ranking of the most charitable countries, The World Giving Index is based on three factors - giving money to an organisation, volunteering for an organisation, and helping a stranger.

 

Globally, more than 61% of individuals 15 or older - just over 3 billion people - finished at least some secondary school education during their lifetimes as of 2010, up from 36% in 1970 and from 50% in 1990.

 

Public, unaffiliated "big ideas" events generally start with a question.  Someone who has some relevant expertise gives a very brief, informal talk.  After that a discussion develops in a free and unstructured manner.

Women work 67% of the world's working hours, yet they earn only 10% of the world's income.

 

Paradoxically, our growing freedom to make an ever greater number of choices in our lives can create extreme anxiety, and feelings of inadequacy and guilt.

A global foundation helps people who are significantly impaired by a physical limitation in their daily lives, and helps improve their integration into the wider society and economy.

 

In the decades ahead there is likely to be a good deal more pressure arising from forced migration from those areas of the world that are already suffering.

 

 

Global defence spending is up 8% per year and yet it’s possible that major wars (i.e. conflicts causing 1,000+ violent deaths a year) may be declining; 10 years ago, there were 15 major wars worldwide - today, seven.

 

Vaccines have saved the lives of millions worldwide, yet still, in 2009, in low-income countries, two out of five deaths in children under five were due to pneumonia or diarrhoea.

 

An online memorial site allows family and friends to gather and remember loved ones through stories, photos etc.

 

Global poverty reduction needs broad support across civil society as much as grand goal-setting, via an international social norm that sees the persistence of extreme poverty in as morally unacceptable.

 

Developing explicit statements about organisational values can be fraught with problems.

 

A new lens on women and girls as powerful change agents looks at their role in economic growth, public health, political stability and beyond.

 

Volunteering across boundaries is increasing, as organisations start to connect the dots across their leadership development, corporate social responsibility, and corporate strategy efforts.

 

The World's Most Ethical Companies designation recognises companies that go beyond making statements about doing business "ethically" and translate those words into action.

It is claimed that the malaria parasite has been responsible for half of all human deaths since the Stone Age.

 

700m or so extra people may move to cities by mid-century and may double or triple demand for health services, transport, energy, housing, sanitation, food and water.

 

Biofortification may help make staple foods - which provide millions of poor people with calories but which do not always contain enough of the micronutrients required for good health - more nutritious.

 

The Association for Living Values Education is an international NGO comprising independent, locally-run organisations committed to promoting values in education. 

 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature claims to help the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.

Human Rights Watch aims to focus international attention wherever human rights are violated, give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes.

 

Google Earth Outreach claims to give non-profits the knowledge and resources they need to visualise their cause and tell their story in Google Earth and Maps to hundreds of millions of people.

The European Values Study is an ongoing, cross-national, and longitudinal survey about basic human values, focusing on life, family, work, religion, politics and society.

 

GoodSearch is a search engine which claims to donate 50% of its sponsored search revenue to charities and schools designated by its users.

 

Global Voices shines light on places and people other media often ignore and develops tools, institutions and relationships to help all voices, everywhere, be heard.

 

The Global Ideas Bank aims to promote and disseminate creative ideas to improve society, by encouraging the public to generate these ideas and then participate in the problem-solving process.

 

The Encyclopedia of Life, a global partnership between scientists and the public, aims to make freely available to anyone knowledge about all the world’s organisms.

 

Global wind power capacity increased by 31% in 2009, contributing 2% to global electricity consumption.

 

A global shift towards a vegan diet may be vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, says a UN committee.

 

New academic research is examining how earlier societies used the past to form ideas about identity which continue to affect our present.

 

Cities are starting to commit to "compassionate solutions" and community service to meet the needs of all their citizens.

 

Neuroscientists are beginning to explore techniques that could erase bad memories from our minds.