18 must-read stories for the weekend

1. Meet the 2015 class of Young Global Leaders. A community connecting Japan’s youngest female mayor, an Afghan technology entrepreneur and peers from across the globe, who can help transform our century.

2. “Such an open platform for cooperation has almost limitless potential.” Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, on the transformation of the World Economic Forum.

3. 5 quotes to inspire action on education, as a Forum report shows how skills are changing in the digital age.

3. Corporate China’s secret weapon? Not socialism but social policy. Chinese companies are embracing corporate social citizenship to win on the world stage.

4. “We woke up to explosions and gunfire.” Yemen’s ‘tweeting minister’ on the role of social media in managing crises.

5. The real energy crisis. The furore over falling oil prices hides a world where half the population lacks a decent power supply.

6. 5 shifts driving tomorrow’s leadership. Goodbye hierarchies. Hello radical transparency and constructive conflict.

7. What does it take to be a Young Global Leader? Find out more in this week’s podcast.

8. Campaigner George Monbiot criticised corruption rankings. He railed against indexes produced by Transparency International, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. And we answered. (The Guardian)

9. A day after she faced abuse in Parliament, Smriti Irani is honoured by a global forum. “The World Economic Forum has selected the BJP politician as a Young Global Leader.” (Scroll)

10. Jordan will use the Forum’s Dead Sea meeting to send a message to the world. (Jordan Times)

11. Can we avoid real estate bubbles? Cites two Forum reports. (Real Estate Conversation)

12. Australia’s workforce is one of the best positioned to thrive “in the rapidly evolving technological world of the 21st century, according to a global study from the World Economic Forum.” (Australian Financial Review)

13. Did milk drive economic development? “Lactose tolerance actedlike a Malthusian productivity boost, raising population density in 1500 … Places that were densely populated in 1500 tend to be relatively rich today.”

14. Money doesn’t make you mean. But thinking about money? That can make you act more selfishly, say experimental psychologists.

15. Can you grow your economy and cut carbon emissions? “The UK’s carbon emissions saving for 2014 is the largest on record, for years when the economy was expanding. The 9.2% carbon saving was accompanied by a 2.6% increase in GDP.”

16. A scientist corrects the New York Times. Davos veteran Professor Andrew Maynard points out that wearable technology is not as harmful as cigarettes. “There is exactly nothing about a wrist-based wearable that, from the IARC report, would suggest that it could cause cancer.”

17. Is this 3D interactive chart the future of data visualisation? Or does it confuse more than it clarifies?

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

Image: Tourists stand on the Salar salt lake of Uyuni, January 11, 2014. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier