Moving from scarcity of knowledge and lack of access to information to an overabundance of data comes with a downside. It is difficult to establish the veracity and impartiality of information today. With increasing freedom for everyone to make themselves heard, personal opinions, prejudices, even falsehood come to be alongside facts. In such a scenario, it is crucial to educate youth to understand the mind, its faculties, limitations and untapped potentials. This will equip them to navigate the ocean of data while thinking for themselves and forming their own impartial decisions. Imparting knowledge is increasingly becoming a less significant part of education. What is critical today is to teach our youth to think for themselves, recognize and account for their own as well as others’ blind spots, and become values-based, independent individuals who can lead society towards greater global human wellbeing.

Great achievements of the past hold invaluable lessons for the future. Often we deify the leader and celebrate the outcome, but overlook the underlying principles they reflect. The American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s is a testimony to the combined power of an idea, the catalytic role of dedicated individuals and the power of token actions in extreme circumstances. The idea of non-violence and civil disobedience propounded by Thoreau and successfully implemented by Mahatma Gandhi showed that it is possible for an unarmed, untrained and loosely organized group to take on a powerful, well armed, well trained force, with minimum casualties on either side and maximum chances of reconciliation in the future. An idea acquires power when it touches the emotions. Martin Luther King Jr. imparted those emotions and inspired them in other people. In rising to be the leader of the movement, he represented the peak of the mountain or the tip of the iceberg composed of millions of African Americans who aspired for a better life and the millions more around the world who supported his cause formed the base that held up the peak. It was their aspiration that gave power to his words and actions. King identified with the conscious, and often subconscious aspiration of African Americans and channelized their energy into a force, organized it as the Civil Rights Movement, and transformed it into an irresistible power. Insightfully, he realized that a violent solution to the problem of discrimination would only deepen the fissures in American society and lengthen the healing process. Every single act that was undertaken in the movement by individuals and groups—Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus, the Little Rock Nine courageously attending school though the Arkansas state National Guards blocked the entrance, everyone of the 250,000 people assembling in Washington DC to hear King’s dream—exhausted whatever significant or insignificant resources were available and in that sense became a perfect token act. A strong individual inspired by a powerful idea led people in well planned and perfectly organized sit-ins, stand-ins, marches, speeches, prayers and protests. The movement generated such power as to alter the legislation of the land, and more significantly, the mindset that tolerated or approved of racism. Although many contributed to this remarkable achievement, King’s actions testify to that fact that one man’s commitment can change the world. But it equally reveals the power of a mass movement directed to advance social progress. This accomplishment continues to inspire activists all over the world and confirms the inevitability of the success of movements that strive for universal human rights. It illustrates the process and defines the strategy needed for the future evolution of global society and human unity.

Progress results from human interaction. Advances in knowledge, transportation, communication, technology and industry have aided in social development only to the extent that they have brought greater numbers of people closer. It is only human ingenuity that has achieved. Historically, every event that marks a step forward in social evolution coincides with a discovery, invention or organizational innovation that brings people closer in contact. When two people meet, the knowledge, resourcefulness and capacity that they bring together grow not cumulatively but exponentially. Thus every additional connection made to the human network adds to its depth and richness. When this is done at a larger scale, between entire cultures and civilizations, the result is an explosion of creativity. Urbanization and advances in technology have accelerated this interchange between people and cultures. Unlike all other resources, human capital is inexhaustible, self-replenishing and has the potential to meet and overcome every challenge the world faces today. The logistics of bringing human minds together effectively holds the key to consciously accelerating human progress.

Higher education has continuously evolved in its purpose and methods. As the demands on education have become increasingly complex today, it becomes essential to determine the needs of the future, and evolve a system of education that equips youth to face the challenges that the 21st century will bring, and scale its yet unseen peaks. The following paper draws its inspiration from the recent WAAS-WUC course on ‘Future Education’ in Dubrovnik, Croatia that sought to explore key issues in teaching and learning, and the means for ushering in a new paradigm in education.

Everyone takes decisions and initiatives. Leaders take charge and initiate changes. Transformational leaders take responsibility for all and, guided by positive values, lead society into the future. These men and women of profound vision give expression to the subconscious aspirations of society that are striving to awaken, and act as a catalyst for their realization. Empathy, compassion, humility, emotional and social intelligence, and effective decision-making skills are characteristics of the transformational leader. Power, wealth and glory hold little value for them, they are above ego and have no thought of personal gain. They take consciousness responsibility for all, far greater than their authority warrants or requires. Espousing the collective cause, they forge ahead with great courage and conviction. Any setback or hurdle is faced with equanimity. Their original and creative thinking converts challenges into opportunities. They know that the unrealized is not unrealizable. They are able to inspire others to realize more of their potential, channelize the collective social energy and organize it into a power that accomplishes. Transformational leadership defines accomplishment in the broadest sense. One country cannot prosper at the cost of the rest of the world, one group of people cannot be secure when there are others somewhere on the planet who are insecure. No problem is isolated from all else, and a comprehensive solution is possible only for those who have overcome dualistic thinking and can reconcile apparent opposites. Transformational leaders have such an integrated view of every issue and situation, and can usher in a new paradigm of human development that ensures peace, security and well-being for all. This article analyzes the various facets of transformational leadership.

Society is the source of immense power. Over the past few centuries humanity has record­ed phenomenal growth in its collective capacity for accomplishment, as reflected in the 12-fold growth in global per capita income since 1800. The remarkable achievements in living standards, longevity, science, technology, industry, education, democracy, human rights, peace and global governance are the result of the exponential development of the capacity of society to harness human energies and convert them into social power for productive purposes. Today, humanity possesses the power and capabilities needed to fully meet the multi-dimensional challenges confronting global society. The source of this energy is people. Human energy is transformed into social power by the increasing reach, frequency and complexity of human relationships. Society is a complex living network of organized relationships between people. Its power issues from channelizing our collective energies in productive ways by means of organizing principles such as coordination, systems, specialization of function, hierarchy of authority, and integration. This immense social power remains largely underutilized. Social science needs to evolve a comprehensive, trans-disciplinary understanding of the roots of social power and the process by which it is generated, distributed and applied. This knowledge is the essential foundation for formulating effective social policies capable of eradicating forever persistent poverty, unemployment and social inequality. This article is based on a series of lectures delivered by the author in the WAAS-WUC course on “Toward a Trans-disciplinary Science of Society” at Dubrovnik on September 1-3, 2014. It traces the development of social power in different fields to show that human and social capital are inexhaustible in potential. The more we harness them, the more they grow. Unleashing, directing, channeling and converting human potential into social power can eliminate all the problems confronting the world today.

When the knowledge gained over centuries has to be presented to students through a 12-15 year study, it has to be abridged and organized elaborately. This process of encapsulating all knowledge into an educational course often results in fragmentation of knowledge and a mental divorce from life. Life knowledge that is reduced to objective principles may be intelligible to the intellect, but is incomprehensible to the imagination, creativity and emotional intelligence, all of which are important to the full development of personality. A study of Economics without the human and social dimensions, industrialization detached from ecology, or science devoid of moral accountability results in problems. Education of each part must be in the context of the whole. Knowing the whole context helps one get the right perspective to address the issue effectively. In the education of the future, the gap between abstract concept and social relevance must be bridged. The following article explores the need for contextual education and the ways in which it can be implemented.

Education is the most important catalyst of social evolution. Today higher education is in the early stages of a revolutionary transition that will have immense impact on the future of global society. This article presents an overview of perspectives explored at the World Academy's Forum on Global Higher Education conducted at the University of California at Berkeley on October 2-3, 2013. It examines issues resulting from rapid changes in educational technology and organization that impact on accessibility, affordability, quality, relevance, employability and content of higher education. It envisions establishment of a World University Consortium as a network and umbrella group to facilitate educational partnerships and linkages with other interested stakeholders at the international level, to provide a centralized source of information about latest innovative ideas and developments in this field, and to explore creative solutions to enhance the reach, quality and relevance of higher education globally.