The Outlook on the Global Agenda 2012 is a briefing for those answering the call to action to address the state of the world. Produced by the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Agenda Councils, it is the zenith of the Network’s annual work cycle that takes this group of 1,500 world experts through issues-based collaborative workstreams culminating in an Annual Summit held in the United Arab Emirates.

In October 2011 in Abu Dhabi, discussions were dominated by the euro crisis, the political gridlock facing the world’s biggest markets in the United States and Europe; the critical loss of trust in many societies in the institutions of leadership and governance; resource scarcity; demographic challenges; and the impact of new technologies on the way we live, work and relate to each other.