Tag: World Economic Forum (WEF)

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on October 29 that South Africa’s unemployment rate increased from 29.0% in 2019 Q2 to 29.1% in the third quarter. This was the highest jobless reading since 2003, and South Africa now has the joint fourth-highest unemployment rate out of 182 countries tracked by Trading Economics.

An essential component of the rule of law is the existence of impartial courts where disputes are resolved fairly without favouritism to one of the parties. This is important for the economic welfare of individuals in a country because no modern economy can survive without individual property rights or contracts.

SA’s top companies are starting to embrace the concept of fair and responsible remuneration, and some have even adopted and disclosed a living wage that goes beyond the national minimum wage.

Government needs to take bold and rapid action to extricate the country from the economic quagmire in which it finds itself. The local economy is struggling to generate the growth needed to address high unemployment and inequality, as well as arrest the declining productivity that has eroded the country's global competitiveness.

Despite education taking up the lion’s share of national budgetary spending in South Africa, it is disheartening to still see stories about broken pit toilets, leaking roofs and unqualified teachers. Some stories lament how schools which were built in 1994 still have three pit toilets and only one tap, with parents and teachers making improvements using their own funds.

Before the introduction of the South African Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, women had no formal recognition as equal citizens. As shocking as that may sound, only in 1996, did the bill of rights rectify this.

A digital initiative focused on increasing the digital intelligence quotient (DQ) of children aged 8-12, #DQEveryChild, has increased digital citizenship in children worldwide by 10% on average, reducing cyber-risk exposure by 15%.

The Coalition for Digital Intelligence (CDI), a platform created in association with the World Economic Forum (Forum) and formed jointly by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), IEEE Standards Association (IEEE), and DQ Institute, has today launched the DQ Global Standards Report 2019 which is the world’s first attempt to define a global standard for digital literacy, skills and readiness across the education and technology sectors.

The modern working world is changing at a rapid pace, across every industry. With constant changes in technology and the way we operate in business, it is vital for individuals to update their thinking frequently in order to keep up.

It’s that time of year again where more than 3,000 of the world’s top leaders including heads of state, central bankers and representatives from many of the world’s top companies converge on the little town of Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).