Leadership in Thought That Leads to Action

A global organization addressing humanity’s urgent challenges and emerging opportunities

560
Fellows

90
Countries

12
Programs

About The World Academy

WHO WE ARE

WAAS is an association of committed individuals drawn from diverse cultures, nationalities, occupations and intellectual pursuits conscious of the profound social consequences and policy implications of knowledge, and united by a common aspiration to address the urgent challenges and emerging opportunities confronting humanity. Today the Academy includes more than 560 elected Fellows from more than 90 nations collaborating with a global network of partner organizations founded on faith in the collective power of human aspiration and values.

HOW WE THINK

The Academy strives to evolve solutions to the world’s pressing challenges by transcending the limits of national self-interest, disciplinary perspectives and conventional thinking while integrating knowledge with universal values and social responsibility. The inclusion of Art in the title of the Academy is intended to foster a marriage of the objective and subjective dimensions of knowledge essential for cracking the ‘genetic code’ of consciousness and social evolution. Great Art and Science are supreme expressions of humanity & creative imagination.

Featured Projects

Global Turbulence
Exploring events related to the rising levels of global turbulence, highlighting the underlying factors and generating solutions.

The Global Peace Offensive
A proactive, dialogue-driven peace-building approach within civil society, spearheaded by the academic community.

Trauma Informed Care
Developing a trauma-informed, online chabot designed to provide reliable, scientifically grounded answers.

Upcoming Events

Global Existential Risk Governance for Human Survival: Chinese Perspectives on Enhancing Cooperation

15 October, 2026 / 6:30-8:30 CEST /Online / Beijing International Fortune Center, Beijing. Today’s geopolitical turmoil is often interpreted as a consequence of a major transition, from the ‘unipolar moment’ of the 1990s to a new post-hegemonic world with a more multipolar distribution of power. The rise of China is perhaps the single most powerful driver of the transition, as the work of the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) has highlighted.

Dialogues With the Past: Timeless Wisdom For Contemporary Peacebuilding

25-27 October 2026 | Athens, Greece. In a time of global division, environmental strain, and moral uncertainty, the call for peace has never been more urgent. Yet true peace cannot be achieved through politics alone — it must be rooted in wisdom. The Dialogues4Peace World Series invites scholars, thinkers, and practitioners to rediscover the timeless principles of harmony, balance, and justice found in ancient civilizations — from Greece, Egypt, China, and India to Israel and its biblical wisdom, as well as Indigenous and spiritual traditions across the world.

Solutions to Global Turbulence: Peace, Prosperity, and Freedom

Online / 8-11 September, 2026. The flagship annual conference of the World Academy of Art and Science WAAS@66 builds directly on the findings of the 2025 conference that explored concrete, integrated solutions for global turbulence. This year's WAAS@66 Summit builds directly on these findings to explore concrete, integrated solutions for global turbulence. Its objective is to transform the growing awareness of causes and solutions into practical strategies that can lead to action. The conference will be organized across three one-day civilizational themes—Peace, Prosperity, and Freedom.

Presentation of the Holy Land Confederation Plan

Online | Sept 7, 2027 | GPOC TALKS: Inaugural Edition- This session presents the Holy Land Confederation (HLC)—a comprehensive plan developed bilaterally to enable a sustainable two-state solution. This model preserves the individual sovereignty of both Israel and Palestine while fostering joint governance of shared resources, reciprocal residency rights, and an open Jerusalem.

21st Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems

Spain | 30 Aug to 3 Sep 2026 | Special session: “Sustainability Science and Technology for Human Security” focuses on sharing knowledge about methods, policies, and technologies that promote sustainable development by reducing reliance on natural resources and supporting a shift to a knowledge-based economy.

Synthetic Societies: Human Vulnerability and Systemic Fragility in a Context of Rising Algorithmic Power

Joint Symposium / 03 July, 2026. As algorithmic systems increasingly mediate social and political life, we are transitioning into "synthetic societies"—environments where opaque, automated decision-making shapes human behavior. Experts explore the growing tension between rapid technological consolidation and human vulnerability.

Averting Water Bankruptcy: Global Water Supply Risks and Countermeasures

Online Webinar / 10 June, 2026. As the world approaches "water bankruptcy"—a structural collapse of our most vital resource—experts warn that current management systems are failing to meet the competing demands of agriculture, energy, and the rapidly expanding AI sector.

PLANETARY ARTS WEBINAR: Ethical Arts on a Planetary Scale: How Can We Achieve Well-Being for Everyone?

Online Webinar / 06 June, 2026. As the global community faces unprecedented challenges, the intersection of art, ethics, and sustainable development offers a vital pathway toward collective well-being. This webinar examines how creative expression and embodied practices can foster planetary harmony, bridging the gap between individual action and shared future prosperity.

WAAS Talks on Science for Human Security: Future with Fusion Energy

Online | May 27, 2026. WAAS had initiated the Program of Sciences for Sustainable Development, which became a specific initiative of the Coalition. The WAAS Talks on Science for Humans Security: Future with Fusion Energy is the nineth webinar within the Program.

Cognitive empires, Colonising the mind

Online / May 20, 2026. A new form of power is emerging, one that operates not through territory or industry, but through the human mind itself. In this next phase of the Information Age, the primary strategic asset is no longer land, labour, or even data, it is cognition. As digital platforms evolve into AI-driven environments, they no longer simply distribute information; they shape perception in real time.

PLANETARY ARTS WEBINAR: Aesthetic Rights in the AI Era: Arts, Human Agency, and the Governance of Human Experience

Online Webinar / 15 May, 2026. Humanity is entering a civilizational transition in which artificial intelligence increasingly shapes not only information and economies, but also perception, identity, representation, and the conditions of human experience itself. This webinar introduces the concept of aesthetic rights as an emerging framework at the intersection of human dignity, arts and culture, AI governance, and democratic futures.