Positive Corner

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP What makes a society happy? The current study , Global Mapping of Happiness, with data from 97,220 people in 66 countries, provides a remarkable answer: Societal well-being does not primarily arise from as many people as possible focusing on their individual happiness. A social environment in which the actions and freedoms of individuals are able to promote the well-being of others is particularly important. (ref. https://www.tandfo

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP First, the concrete, positive development in our global coexistence: According to a recent WHO report, the global number of road deaths fell by 21 percent between 2011 and 2025, despite more than one billion additional vehicles being on the roads. (ref. https://www.who.int/news/item/20-07-2026-road-deaths-fall-by-21--globally-but-stronger-action-is-needed-to-save-lives ) This is remarkable for several reasons, as the development als

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP The POSITIVE CORNER has completed its first half-year. Reason enough to look back and summarise the posts so far: POSITIVE CORNER #0: Welcome! Good news is good news: Despite all the challenges facing the global community, it is important not to lose sight of the many positive developments in the world. There is much to report that can inspire and motivate people. None of it must be taken for granted. The Positive Corner is a cont

ref. https://e360.yale.edu/features/sahel-groundwater-climate-monsoon ➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP A recent report from the Sahel highlights an unexpected, sustainably positive development and an important aspect of the ω-dimension of leadership (see below). Following the extreme droughts of the 1960s and 1970s, rainfall has been returning since the 1990s, leading to revegetation. A key, albeit unforeseen, reason for this is the effort undertaken in Europe and

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω -DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP The latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) send an encouraging signal: Between 2013 and 2023, the global number of blood donations increased by around 20 percent. More than 85 percent of the approximately 120 million donations in 2023 came from voluntary, unpaid donors. "These data show encouraging progress, particularly in the growing contribution of voluntary unpaid blood donors worldwide [...]" emphasizes Dr Ted

ref: https://www.science.org/content/article/breakthrough-2025# ➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP The scientific journal Science has declared the rise of renewable energies the "Breakthrough of the Year 2025." Solar and wind energy are increasingly being chosen because they are economically attractive and strengthen energy independence. This wasn't always the case, but is the result of long-term, consistent, and forward-looking management by countries and institutio

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω -DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP Respecting diversity, or rather individual and cultural differences, is a key element for fulfilling coexistence and collaboration among people worldwide. In our now "global village," this topic has recently and rightly received considerable attention. Perhaps it wasn't quite so pressing in times when globalization was still in its infancy. It has always been important, though. For some time now, however, the discourse surrounding

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω -DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP Uruguay demonstrates that a small nation can have a major impact and thus serve as a model for the development of other countries: In around two decades, the country has almost entirely switched its electricity supply to renewable energy. In a recent post, the World Economic Forum (WEF) highlights that Uruguay has transitioned its grid to clean energy in 20 years (ref. https://www.weforum.org/videos/uruguay-switched-its-grid-to-cle

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω -DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP Over the past two decades, billions of people worldwide have gained access to electricity for the first time – a quiet but significant advance that is fundamentally changing our understanding of global development. ref. https://ourworldindata.org/number-without-electricity A different perspective on energy and development Twenty-five years ago, depending on the source, approximately 1.5 to 2 billion people lived without electricity

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP The data from the Human Rights Index show that, despite setbacks, the protection of fundamental human rights worldwide has improved significantly in recent decades – an encouraging finding for all those working towards humane forms of coexistence and governance. A worthwhile look at 50 years of progress Those who only follow the daily headlines could easily overlook how much the living conditions of many people have improved since t

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP A large-scale, scientific research in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany: Through their local schools, young people in these countries were offered the opportunity to voluntarily abstain from using their mobile phones completely or partially for three weeks and, if they wished, to participate in a scientific study that aimed to measure the effects on their physical and mental health. The high participation rate among the young

➡️↗️⬆️TOWARDS THE ω-DIMENSION OF LEADERSHIP A number of previous posts in the POSITIVE CORNER have already highlighted the far-reaching successes of cooperation between countries and internationally networked actors for the global common good. These successes do not happen by chance. The ability and willingness to cooperate is a profoundly human and social phenomenon. If scientific evidence is required to support this, a very well-founded study has recently been published in

Following the POSITIVE CORNER #14 report that the tropical rainforest is recovering significantly better than expected, there are also other signs that the efforts to protect the global ecosphere, some of which have been ongoing for decades, are coming into effect. Further, more recent, hopeful examples: A recent study from the renowned Tulane University shows that after decades of global decline in mangrove forests, the trend has reversed since the 2010s, and the area lost s

How can we make the right decisions to solve global problems when even highly educated people often get their assessments of the situation very far and systematically wrong? This was one of the core ideas of the Swedish researcher Hans Rosling, who began conducting scientific research over 20 years ago into the extent of our systematic misconceptions about the state of the world. The regular studies he initiated repeatedly show that even monkeys, when making a random selectio

...than we thought - luckily for us! The renowned science journal Nature reports on the promising results of an international research team. For the first time, researchers have demonstrated in a large-scale study that once-cleared rainforest recovers significantly more robustly and effectively than we may have feared. If previously agricultural land within the rainforest is left to its own devices, flora and fauna recover remarkably well – even without costly interventions.

It is a widely used claim the chinese word for crisis is a combination of the chinese sign for danger and the sign for chance. While this does not seem to be exactly the case (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_word_for_crisis) it seems appropriate to interpret the chinese word as associated with "turning point". The current increases in fossil fuel prices are but one indicator of the crisis our respective energy supply systems are suffering from, However, there are s

We may think plastic waste in our oceans is mainly floating at the surface. A much bigger problem, however, seems to be the waste that sinks down to the ocean floor. If not removed, it stays there for a long time, gradually becoming microplastic that invades our food chain and that can hardly be removed at this state any more. The EU has launched the "Restore our Oceans & Water" mission which has brought together 13 highly renowned universities and tech leaders from 9 countri

Three 16-year-olds from India are among the 7 winners of The Earth Prize 2026 representing the regions of North America, Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Oceania and Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East, one of the being announced each day of this week. The Asian Winners invented “Plas-Stick,” a simple, low-cost powder made from waste tamarind seeds that pulls invisible microplastics out of drinking water so they can be removed with a small magnet. Designed for

In the 1980s, the ozone hole came to symbolise an environmental problem that had spiralled out of control: satellite images showed a dramatically thinned ozone layer over Antarctica, the media ran headlines such as ‘Mortal danger in a can’, and the term CFCs became a global warning signal. Today, four decades later, the same monitoring programmes tell a different story: the ozone layer is recovering – slowly, but measurably. This positive news is no coincidence, but the resul

This 10th POSITIVE CORNER post (#0 - #9) is dedicated to 10 emerging technologies which have great potential in preserving or even restoring planetary health. While the massive distribution of certain technologies throughout the process of global industrialization (e.g. car mobility and energy supply based on fossil fuels) has led to mankind facing severe future challenges, smart and joint application of new technologies might as well be part of the remedy. Explore the recent