17 must-read stories for the weekend

1. Modern life can be both beautiful and serendipitous. We just need to make time to incorporate art into our living environment, says Daan Roosengaarde.

2. We need to shed light on what seems to have become a darker world, writes Sebastian Buckup on the programme for Davos 2015.

3. China’s rich history can show us the way to the future. Sun Yue of Beijing Normal University shows how  our yesterdays define our tomorrows in this in-depth video.

4. Uganda is the fourth African country to adjust its GDP in recent times. The sense and nonsense of income measures.

5. We need a second era of democracy. Don Tapscott outlines five steps to government with more integrity and accountability.

6. Disease fighting needs data. Ebola is driving epidemiologists to increasingly innovative techniques.

7. “No Gender December” headlines this week’ s gender stories from around the world.

8. Companies must help solve social problems. Professor Klaus Schwab on why business is supported by its web of stakeholders. (NZZ)

9. Women need to network but African professional networks are weaker than elsewhere, says Elsie Kanza. (FT)

10. The 10 countries with the widest gender gap. No country has eliminated the gender gap. But these are the worst. ( 24/7 Wall St.)

11. A closer Vietnam-Forum relationship. The country’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung met with Forum Managing Director Philipp Rösler in Hanoi. (tuiotrenews)

12. The case for a Global Cybersecurity. Rod Beckstrom, Director of the US National Security Centre, on the Forum ’s Internet Governance Project. (BizTech)

13. Passion, principle and science. Hans Rosling, the public health superstar behind Gapminder, is tackling ebola with everything he’s got.

14. You are not an individual. Your mind is controlled by people around you. Particularly if you are on a plane.

15. Men and women want the same thing when they graduate from business school – to balance life and work. But womens’ lives turn out greatly different to their hopes, according to this HBR study.

16. 15 books for your holiday season, if you are passionate about economic history.

17. The Grumpy Economist, Chicago’s John Cochrane, takes on Alan Blinder’ s analysis of the faults in the science of economics, and champions Deirdre McCloskey against Thomas Piketty.

Author: Adrian Monck is Managing Director of Public Engagement at the World Economic Forum.

Image: People walk on top of ‘Test Pattern’, the last installation by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda, during its opening exhibition as part of Vivid Festival in Sydney June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz