Twenty-four must-read stories for the weekend

1. A quarter of the world’s young people are unemployed. Judith Rodin on the best and most innovative ideas helping emerging economies boost job opportunities.
2. How tech-savvy is your country? Find out in our Networked Readiness Index, which ranks the top 10 countries best at embracing technology.
3. What have we learned from Argentina’s debt default? Kenneth Rogoff on why the global system for sovereign debt workouts remains in need of repair.
4. Is an ageing population a blessing or a burden? We need a new and positive narrative that turns the over-60s from a problem into an asset, writes Alexander De Croo. Check out our new report on sustainable security systems.
5. Is this Africa’s century? It could be – but only if the continent becomes better integrated, says Paul Kagame, Uhuru Kenyatta and Yoweri Museveni.
6. Haiti’s fight against cholera. The UN’s Ban Ki-moon calls on the international community to help Haiti in its battle against the epidemic.
7. The paradox of strict investment treaties. Why is it that developing countries agree to binding investment rules that don’t appear to serve them well? Peter Nunnenkamp and Martin Roy investigate.
8. Olafur Eliasson on art and Africa. The Danish-Icelandic artist talks about his latest work and what it’s like to create a project on the moon, in our latest arts podcast.
9. How Africa can achieve inclusive growth. Seven of the world’s 10 fastest-growing countries are in Africa, but can this rising tide lift all boats?
10. Abenomics is working for Japanese women. Forum research backs up this analysis of Shinzo Abe’s efforts to reduce the country’s gender gap. (FT Alphaville)
11. How video games have the power to change real lives. A thought-provoking piece on the real-world benefits of virtual reality, with a special focus on Project Syria, an immersive simulation premiered at the Annual Meeting in Davos. (Guardian)
12. Egypt ranks 100th for foreign investment impact, according to this article based on the Forum’s Network Readiness Index rankings. (Daily News Egypt)
13. Philippines infrastructure is becoming strained. Forum economist Thierry Geiger explains why. (New York Times)
14. Is multitasking ruining your life? Follow this discussion inspired by Marissa Mayer’s admission that she checks her smartphone more than 150 times a day. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
15. What college can’t do. Joshua Rothman on why colleges should not be monasteries that provide an escape from modernity.
16. Does wealth depend on race, gender and ethnicity? Why we’re getting the inequality debate wrong.
17. Will a robot take your job? Silicon Valley is hedging its bets.
18. The case for a maximum wage. It may not be as outlandish as it sounds.
19. Don’t blame age for declining US entrepreneurship. Demographics may be contributing to the problem, but they aren’t the primary cause.
20. Is Japan’s ageing population slowing inflation? A new working paper from the IMF studies the evidence.
21. Rosetta’s rendezvous. A European Space Agency probe makes historic contact with comet 67P/CG.
22. Young and growing: how the global population is set to change.
23. Nerds v the empire: the basic message of nerd culture is one we need to hear.
24. The technology headquarters of the future: what will the offices of the future look like?

Author: Adrian Monck is the managing director of Public Engagement at the World Economic Forum, and a professor of journalism at City University London.

Image: Scientists and mission control workers check their monitors at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) main control room in Darmstadt REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach