Global Futures - Megatrends Project Wins Rockefeller Foundation Grant

WASHINGTON, DC (December 16, 2010) - The Bertelsmann Foundation has secured a two-year grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to expand the futurechallenges.org web platform, which provides high-quality dialogue about global issues facing policymakers, civic society and the media. The platform is the venue for publicizing the results of the Bertelsmann Foundation's Megatrends Meta-Analysis (MeMA) project and discussing them with a global audience.

The generous financial support makes possible the integration of the MeMA project with selected findings of research supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. The information and data from both sources will create a detailed online resource for research and discussion of six topics that the Bertelsmann Foundation has identified as megatrends affecting the globe in the 21st century. These megatrends are:

  • economic globalization
  • demographics and migration
  • global governance
  • energy and natural resources
  • global security
  • climate change and biodiversity

The web platform futurechallenges.org seeks to:

  • provide a new platform for policymakers to integrate into their planning real-time findings on the megatrends
  • use new-media tools to engage global audiences in discussions on and analyses of the megatrends
  • draw awareness to the interaction among the megatrends

The support for futurechallenges.org will help the online knowledge platform create global networks that can contribute to the MeMA project and further disseminate its results. The site will offer multimedia and interactive displays of data and findings.

The Bertelsmann Foundation's MeMA project was established in 2009 and is a collaborative effort among staff in Washington, DC and at the Bertelsmann Stiftung in Guetersloh, Germany. The project has already completed its first phase, which assessed the current state of the megatrends. It is nearing completion of its second phase, which focuses on the interactions among the megatrends.

The platform futurechallenges.org, still in its Beta phase, already offers a collection of preliminary findings on these topics. It also provides discussion groups led by bloggers worldwide.

For more information, contact Andrew Cohen, Bertelsmann Foundation Communications Director, at andrew.cohen@bertelsmann-foundation.org or at +1.202.384.1996.

ABOUT THE BERTELSMANN FOUNDATION: The Bertelsmann Foundation is a private, non-partisan operating foundation, working to promote and strengthen trans-Atlantic cooperation. Serving as a platform for open dialogue among key stakeholders, the foundation develops practical policy recommendations on issues central to successful development on both sides of the ocean.

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