Heading to Dubai today (a 15-hour direct flight!), coming back to San Francisco next Monday.

Last year I wrote about this remarkable new initiative by the World Economic Forum here (proposal) and here (reflections, emerging discussion). This year’s update:

• Overview: Network of Global Agenda Councils
• List of Councils: Here
• List of Members: Here
• Members of Ageing Society Council: Here
• Info on 2009 Summit: Here
• Report from 2008 Summit: Here (opens PDF in new window)

Twitter: #WEFDubai. Will tweet during the event, and blog about it next week.

(Please note that this is my personal take at the discussions that took place in Dubai as part of the Global Agenda Council on the Challenges of Gerontology put together by the World Economic Forum, and builds on the work of my colleagues, but it does not represent a formal document or statement of position. Simply put, we would like to engage your brain in defining the challenges and outlining/ executing the solutions).

Context: The Challenges of the Aging Society

The world is aging. This is occurring in two ways: through shifts in the age structure that will eventually lead to many more people reaching older ages than ever before, and through continued success in extending life. Less than 100 years ago, life expectancy was between 30 to 40 years. Today, close to 800 million citizens are 60 and over.

And aging in healthier ways. Aging has incorrectly been associated with decline and decay, when in fact many people live healthy into older ages. There has been a synchronous extension in life expectancy and quality of life – the average 65-year-old today is much healthier, physically and mentally, than the average 50-year-old of 100-150 years ago – when most existing institutions were envisioned and created.

Healthy life can be further extended with existing knowledge. The fact is the onset and progression of fatal and disabling diseases, disorders, and disability can be postponed using well-researched basic measures of public health, environmental and behavioural changes, and medical technology interventions. The same methods may be used to improve or maintain mental and physical functioning.

Our healthcare and retirement systems are on bankruptcy track – their premises are outdated. Existing institutions, policies and attitudes do not reflect the points outlined above, having been developed for a society that no longer exists. We need to get on the right track: Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine seeing a top sheik from Dubai, wrapped in traditional Arab clothing, exclaim “Yes We Can” in front of the 800 experts gathered during the Summit of the Global Agenda that just took place in Dubai, co-organized by the World Economic Forum and the Government of Dubai. This same sheik added that “we build the future with our own hands”.

You can read more about the main points of the Global Agenda Councils conversation here: Discussion Highlights. Below go some of my own still-jetlagged reflections.

The financial crisis has made obvious the obvious: that we live in a truly new and global world.

And that business as usual will lead to global disaster – we need new approaches to collectively adapt to and thrive in this new environment. The answer is not to go back to any old paradigm, which simply will not work in a new reality, but to imagine and build a better new way of doing things.

Some of the attendants urged us to “reboot” the system. I don’t think that a “reboot” is enough – we need to upgrade to a new operating system. We can call it Planet Earth 2.0.Based on the group discussion we had on Sunday morning, let me propose some of the architectural principles that should underlie any emerging Planet Earth 2.0 operating system. Read the rest of this entry »

My apologies for not writing in a few days…the Global Agenda Summit in Dubai has required all my attention – I will summarize the great experience when I land back in San Francisco tomorrow night.

The concepts of night and day do become challenging when working for a few days in a place with a 12-hour time difference with one’s home base. Sleep is indeed very important to maintain top cognitive shape…which leads me to a fascinating news announcement:

Health insurance firms offering online cognitive therapy for insomnia (Los Angeles Times)

- “helping consumers get a good night’s sleep has become a priority for most of the top-tier U.S. health insurance companies, including WellPoint, Aetna, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente and several Blue Cross plans. Their new programs don’t involve sleeping pills. Instead, insurers are advocating the use of cognitive behavior therapy. Traditionally, the therapy has been done largely through face-to-face sessions, but many of the programs are now available online.”

- “And use of sleeping pills has skyrocketed. A study this year Read the rest of this entry »

As mentioned before, the World Economic Forum asked me to write “an 800 words summary of your most compelling actionable idea on the challenges of gerontology”, in preparation for the Inaugural Summit of the Global Agenda that will take place November 7 to 9th in Dubai.A good number of SharpBrains readers and clients offered their insights – and expressed an interest in reading the draft. So below you have – a proposal to create a Global Consortium for Neurocognitive Fitness Innovation, building on our existing market research and advisory services work. Your thoughts?

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The Context

Growing Demands on Our Brains: Picture 6.7 billion Primitive Brains inhabiting a Knowledge Society where lifelong learning and mastering constant change in complex environments are critical for productive work, health and personal fulfillment.

Welcome to Planet Earth, 2008.

Further stretched by increased longevity: Now picture close to 1 billion of those brains over the age of 60 – and please remember that, less than 100 years ago, life expectancy was between 30 to 40 years. The rapidly evolving Knowledge Society is placing new and enormous demands on our “primitive” human brains. And the longer our lifespans, the more obvious the “cognitive gap”. Hence, from a health point of view, the growing Read the rest of this entry »

I announced two months ago (Global Agenda Councils: The Challenges of Gerontology) that I had been invited to join a very stimulating new initiative by the World Economic Forum.

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Update (November 2nd, 2008): my proposal is to create a Global Consortium for Neurocognitive Fitness Innovation. Thank you for your comments below!

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Next month, 700 experts will meet to drive an interdisciplinary agenda covering 68 topics (see below); 16 of us focused on the Challenges of Gerontology.

Dubai To Host 700 Of The World’s Most Influential Leaders From Academia, Business, Government and Society At First World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda (I didn’t write the title of the press release…)

- “The World Economic Forum, in partnership with the Government of Dubai, will hold its inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai from 7 to 9 November 2008. The Summit is a new, unique gathering of Read the rest of this entry »

Here are the dates and locations of some upcoming events where I will be presenting. Please introduce yourself if you are attending!

>> September 4-5th, San Francisco, CA: several Brain Health Promotion sessions, at the American Society on Aging conference.

>> October 9th, Vancouver, Canada: Exercising Our Brains 101 and Navigating The Brain Fitness Maze, at the British Columbia Seniors Living Association annual conference.

>> October 11th, San Jose, CA: The Science and Practice of Brain Fitness, at San Jose State University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. (Information here).

>> October 23rd, Pocatello, Idaho: Cognitive and Emotional Training for Healthy Aging, at the Idaho Conference on Health Care. (Information here).

>> November 1st, Berkeley, CA: The Science and Practice of Brain Fitness, at UC-Berkeley’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. (Information here).

>> November 7-9th, Dubai: Global Agenda Councils Inaugural Summit in Dubai, organized by the World Economic Forum. (Information here).

>> November 17th, New York City: The Emerging Brain Fitness Field: Research and Implications, at New York Public Library.

>> December 5th, San Antonio, Texas: The Emerging Brain Fitness Field: Overview of Research and Tools, at the International Council on Active Aging conference. (Information here).

As always, I will share the main take-aways via this blog. I hope to meet some of you down the road!

My brain is honoured to have been invited to participate-together with the rest of my body of course- in a new initiative by the World Economic Forum. Of course I have accepted, given that the Global Agenda Councils have this fascinating charter:

- “Global Agenda Councils will challenge prevailing assumptions, monitor trends, map interrelationships and address knowledge gaps. Equally important, Global Agenda Councils will also propose solutions, devise strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of actions using measurable benchmarks.”

- “In a global environment marked by short-term orientation and silo-thinking, Global Agenda Councils will foster interdisciplinary and long-range thinking to address the prevailing challenges on the global agenda.”

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Update (November 2nd, 2008): my proposal is to create a Global Consortium for Neurocognitive Fitness Innovation. I will keep you informed via this blog.

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The Read the rest of this entry »