Main Conference Session

S1

Understanding the Megatrends of the 21st Century – A Critical Step Towards Getting the World We Want

26
Jan

13.00 - 14.30 HRS. (BKK)

Over twenty-five hundred years ago the Chinese general Sun Tzu noted that success in any undertaking is intrinsically linked to knowledge when he wrote “to know your enemy and to know yourself, in a hundred battles you will never be defeated”. The theme of PMAC 2022 is “The World We Want: Actions Towards a Sustainable, Fairer and Healthier Society”. If knowledge is power, then to be successful in achieving the world we want we need to be well informed about the challenges ahead. As has been noted elsewhere, PMAC 2022 aims to take a long view by focusing on the ‘mega trends” that are shaping the 21st century and the complex interplay between them, and how they are already reshaping our global health landscape. By understanding these “mega trends” and how they are likely to impact on the world around us is a critical step towards “knowing your enemy” and being victorious in achieving the world we want.

Session 1 will provide an overview of those trends that are mostly likely to define the future world we will live in, as well as identify actions that the world can take to minimize the impact of those trends that could be most destructive and maximize those that could be most beneficial.

Understand how ongoing and emerging mega-trends spanning evolving demographic changes, expanding environmental degradation, social and economic inequities, the recalibration of geo-political alliances and power, and looming technological revolutions are likely to impact the health of the world’s population and identify actions to make the world’s social, political and economic systems better able to cope with these changing dynamics.

Following PMAC2022 expand the outreach of Session 1 by publishing an article based on the substance of the Session 1 keynote and debate in a science journal that targets the general public.