How frontier technology is unlocking the potential of young leaders

Technology is becoming a critical tool for leaders around the world to accelerate and scale up their work to solve global challenges. Whether it is by making it easier to communicate or to approach problems with a fresh perspective, today more than ever, technology is an indispensable tool allowing leaders to impact.

A leading example of how this works, and how we can nurture even more leaders, is the Global Shapers community’s adoption of cutting-edge technology.

The Global Shapers community is a network of young people who are driving dialogue and change, while the Global Collaboration Village is a digital extension of the World Economic Forum. Critically, the Village uses immersive technology to enable impact. Both initiatives aim to connect and empower leaders to drive positive change in their communities and the world. The Village enhances this mission by providing an extended reality (XR) platform that features interactive experiences that can be accessed by diverse voices across geographical boundaries.

As both a Shaper and member of the Global Collaboration Village team, I’ve witnessed firsthand how both XR and the digital transformation of the World Economic Forum empower young people to drive meaningful change. I’ve taken part in events where participants have said that, were it not for the Village, and the way it allows people from around the world to exist in the same environment, understanding decisions on a more empathetic level and connecting data on issues like Arctic warming to real-world impacts, would not be possible.

When it comes to transitioning from the concept of empowering young leaders to making it a reality, a crucial aspect is ensuring inclusive access to influential platforms regardless of geographic distance or technological proficiency. Through the Village, we can give everybody a chance to be part of, not just observers of, the Forum’s mission of improving the state of the world, as we did with the climate realities session at Davos. This milestone session harnessed XR technology and was the first time the Forum had hosted a discussion where all the attendees joined from outside of Davos, while the speakers were onsite. This demonstrated the power of XR technology to bridge geographic divides and facilitate meaningful global dialogue.

Immersive technologies enhance human interaction and collaboration. Inside the Village, XR technology allows participants to experience co-presence, fostering real, meaningful connections. A recent study found that remote work using virtual reality resulted in a 58% greater sense of closeness to colleagues, showing how these technologies strengthen human connections even across distances. By providing platforms that enhance communication and collaboration, the Village ensures technology brings people closer together, empowering collective action and shared experiences.

During this year’s Global Shaper Summit, Shapers in locations ranging from Nigeria and Jamaica remotely participated in the Summit, rather than just observing, enabled by the Village’s technology that allows for co-presence — the sensation of being present with others in a virtual space despite physical distances. This overcame the geographic boundaries for the Shapers who did not make it to Geneva, allowing full and equitable participation and interaction. The practical application of these collaborative efforts will come to the fore again for the Initiative Deep Dive session, which included both on-site and remote curators, all of whom were leaders responsible for guiding and coordinating the activities and initiatives of their respective hubs. The session jumpstarted the development of collaborative guidelines on how over 500 hubs worldwide can use the Village as a key platform for engagement, extending towards the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos and beyond.

Building on the theme of human interaction, the Village is designed to be inclusive, offering accessible entry points to immersive technologies for all participants. While high-end VR headsets can provide a deeply immersive experience, over two thirds of participants in the Global Collaboration Village engage through 2D access, i.e. via laptop or desktop computer. This commitment to accessibility highlights the effectiveness and versatility of technology.

Beyond inclusivity, the Village is a powerful tool that can accelerate the impact of Shapers’ volunteer-led social initiatives. Young leaders often face constraints such as limited resources, geographical barriers and lack of access to influential networks. The Village helps overcome these challenges by being a platform where we can connect, collaborate, and share our ideas on a global scale.

Following the Summit, the Village team will invite several Shapers to collaborate on showcasing their projects in the Village, fostering a rich exchange of knowledge and experiences with participants outside their existing channels. This will enable Shapers to co-create solutions that are not only innovative but also grounded in a deep understanding of the unique contexts we each represent.

As we continue to navigate an increasingly complex and interconnected world, the need for inclusive and innovative approaches to problem-solving has never been greater. The Global Collaboration Village represents a significant step towards realizing this vision by harnessing the power of XR to create a more equitable and participatory global community.

By broadening access to the World Economic Forum, the Village is not just enhancing our ability to address challenges — it is fundamentally reshaping the way we collaborate and create solutions for a better future.

The Village is part of a pivotal shift in equipping young people with the tools and opportunities to drive social change initiatives and achieve better outcomes for people and the planet. As we continue to leverage these innovations, we move closer to achieving our shared mission: improving the state of the world

The Global Collaboration Village is a world Economic initiative, in partnership with Accenture, and powered by Microsoft Mesh.