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New Salzburg Global report explores the first KFAS-Salzburg Global Leadership Initiative, and examines what it means to be a good leader in today's world
Over the past 50 years, the world has become more connected, both in terms of time and space. However, this has also coincided with significant global changes, such as the Global Financial Crisis, geopolitical tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects of climate change. Additionally, there have been significant demographic changes, such as an aging population and a decline in fertility rates, which have created generational conflicts.
At the same time, technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way we interact with each other and the world around us. This has created a need for new connections between individuals, families, and nations. There is also a need for greater cross-cultural connections, especially considering the increased diversity within societies caused by migration and other globalizing factors.
As a result of all these changes, the value, roles, and boundaries of existing connections have become uncertain, and a simple expansion of connections could lead to unexpected conflicts in the future. Therefore, it is essential to reimagine the types of connections that we need across individuals, families, states, generations, technologies, and nature. This requires reimagining policies and institutions to support these new connections and sustain our progress into the future.
From October 9 to 13, 2023, Salzburg Global, in partnership with the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, hosted Uncertain Futures and Connections Reimagined: Connecting Generations, the first in-person convening of the multi-year KFAS-Salzburg Global Leadership Initiative. The program brought together a cohort of 35 international, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary Korean and global thought leaders to create new connections and tackle global challenges.
This report is a collection of insights from the Fellows of the program and the Salzburg Global team, and covers some of the themes discussed at the program, such as demographic transitions, financial sustainability, diverging values, immigration, and intergenerational mobility. This report showcases diverse perspectives on what it takes to be a good leader in today's world, one thing linking them all: the importance of empathy.