Pushing for Progress Around the World

The great Romantic poet and author Kahlil Gibran, who lived in the early part of the 20th century, wrote, “Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.” Those words still resonate strongly for the billions of people around the world who are working to improve conditions for themselves and others. Individuals, organizations, businesses and governments understand that the status quo cannot be sustained. Small changes can lead to larger ones that transform politics, bolster economies and shift cultures.

In this special report, students from the Joseph H. Lauder Institute for Management & International Studies offer insights gleaned from interviews, personal observations and research into both longstanding struggles and the latest trends in economies around the world. Take an engaging look at the current cryptocurrency craze in South Korea, the latte-loving turn of China’s coffee-drinking millennials, and a movement in Mexico to revive an ancient method of tortilla-making. Learn how property owners in Zimbabwe and Ghana are still dealing with the vestiges of European colonialism in clarifying their land development rights, and why affirmative action policies to address historical inequality in Malaysia and South Africa have fallen short. And dive deeply into the challenge to transform the working environments in France, which has a long history of labor-class uprisings, and Japan, where corporations are trying to modernize themselves.

Progress is incremental and fraught with failure. It requires refinement, innovation and compromise. It must be inclusive and leave no one behind. Indeed, progress is pain. But the rewards are there for those who are willing to embrace the unknown and push through to the other side.

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