The World Ahead: Our Future in the Making

by Federico Mayor, Jérme Bindé

Overview

Will humanity survive the coming century? Are we threatened by a demographic time-bomb? Will there be food for all? Can we eliminate poverty? Are we, in our cities, heading for a kind of apartheid between the affluent and the socially excluded? Will new information technologies increase the gap between rich and poor - or, on the contrary, open up opportunities for lifelong distance education for all? Are women going to win their legitimate place in society? Is it true that many languages are in danger of extinction? How can we forestall global warming and the onward march of the world's deserts? Will there be wars over access to shrinking supplies of water? What are the prospects of running out of affordable oil and gas; and can we harness solar energy?

This book looks at the major challenges of the future. Packed with the latest information and scientific understandings, it traverses a rich tapestry of crucial issues, threats and choices confronting humanity and proposes a new start based on four broad contracts: social, natural, cultural and ethical.

In a world where problems are taking on increasingly global dimensions, we must come up with global solutions. We need to turn a culture of violence into a culture of peace. The choice is stark: either a 21st century with a human face or the grimacing mask of a 'Brave New World'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781856498753
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/01/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.15(d)

About the Author

Federico Mayor is the outgoing director general of UNESCO. He has served as minister of education and science in Spain, president of the University of Grenada and as Member of the European Parliament.

Jerome Binde is director of UNESCO's Analysis and Forecasting Office. An alumnus of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, and member of the French University (agrege), he was assistant professor at the Ecole polytechnique.
Federico Mayor is the outgoing director general of UNESCO. He has served as minister of education and science in Spain, president of the University of Grenada and as Member of the European Parliament.

Jerome Binde is director of UNESCO's Analysis and Forecasting Office. An alumnus of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, and member of the French University (agrege), he was assistant professor at the Ecole polytechnique.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: Towards a New Social Contract
1. Population: Is a Tmie-Bomb Ticking?
2. The Scandal of Poverty and Exclusion
3. Humanizing the City
4. The Future of Urban Transport: Safer, Cleaner, Closer
5. Women Make the World Go Round
6. Winning the Fight Against Drugs: Education, Development and Purpose

Part 2: Towards a Natural Contract: Science, Development and the Environment
7. Developing with the Earth
8. The Advancing Desert
9. Is Water Running Out?
10. Will There be Food for Everybody?
11. Feeding the World: Are Biotechnologies the Answer?
12. Towards the Revolution of 'Energy Efficiency'

Part 3: Towards a Cultural Contract: From the Information Society to the Knowledge Society?
13. The New Technology Revolution: Information, Communication and Knowledge
14. What Future for Books and Reading?
15. An Endangered Heritage: Languages
16. Education at the Horizon 2020: With or Without Distance?

Part 4: Towards a New Ethical Contract
17. Will There be an 'African Miracle'?
18. The Divedends of Peace and Global Security
19. What Future for the United Nations System?
20. Towards a Culture of Peace

Conclusion: Towards an Ethics of Future

Index

Editorial Reviews

"This volume could serve as a text in an introductory college course on globalization, or as background for an educated citizen." --Choice

"Will appeal to anyone involved in the field of social development." --Social Development Issues, 2002

From the Publisher

UNESCO's former director-general and the director of its analysis and forecasting office address the demographic, environmental, technological, cultural, and global security pressures towards creating a new social contract. Their recommendations include providing funds for universal access to basic services, developing cyber-laws for cyber-crimes, and ensuring females equal access to education and economic decision-making. Distributed by Palgrave. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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