The world ahead : our future in the making

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Bibliographic Information

The world ahead : our future in the making

Federico Mayor in collaboration with Jérôme Bindé ; with the assistance of Jean-Yves Le Saux ... [et al.]

Zed Books , UNESCO publishing, 2001

  • : UNESCO : limp
  • : limp

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Includes bibliographical references and index

"UPL Dhaka, IPSR South Africa, White Lotus Thailand"--T.p

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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'.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part I: Towards a New Social Contract 1. Population: Is a Time-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 II: 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 III: 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 IV: 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

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