Carney in Davos 2026: "The power begins with honesty"

Overnight in Davos, Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered what I suspect will be recorded in future history text books as an era defining speech. It is profound, accurate, and very relevant to another "Middle Power" like Australia.

Here is the full text of that speech:

"It’s a pleasure – and a duty – to be with you at this turning point for Canada and for the world.

Today, I’ll talk about the rupture in the world order, the end of a nice story, and the beginning of a brutal reality where geopolitics among the great powers is not subject to any constraints.

But I also submit to you that other countries, particularly middle powers like Canada, are not powerless. They have the capacity to build a new order that embodies our values, like respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of states.

The power of the less powerful begins with honesty.

Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great power rivalry. That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.

This aphorism of Thucydides is presented as inevitable – the natural logic of international relations reasserting itself. And faced with this logic, there is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along. To accommodate. To avoid trouble. To hope that compliance will buy safety.

It won’t.

So, what are our options?

In 1978, the Czech dissident Václav Havel wrote an essay called The Power of the Powerless. In it, he asked a simple question: how did the communist system sustain itself?

World Woman Mentoring Programme 2026 announced the intake in 200 countries

How the Global Women’s Mentoring Program Emerged

From the Vital Voices initiative (1997–1999) to U.S. Department of State support and a worldwide network

Global mentoring for women did not appear overnight. It grew out of a public-policy idea in the late 1990s, evolved into an independent international organization, and later expanded through public–private partnerships that connected women leaders across countries and industries. Below is a clear narrative of how this global mentoring model formed—along with the people and formats that helped it scale.

1) The origins: a U.S. State Department initiative (1997)

In 1997, the U.S. Department of State launched the Vital Voices Democracy Initiative. It is often described as an effort to make the promotion of women’s rights and women’s leadership part of U.S. foreign policy. In Vital Voices sources, this early stage is linked to the roles of Hillary Rodham Clinton (then First Lady) and Madeleine Albright (then U.S. Secretary of State).

This moment mattered because it framed women’s leadership not as a side project, but as an international priority—creating space for programs that could operate across borders and sectors.

2) From a government initiative to a global organization (1999)

By 1999, that initial government-led effort had matured into an independent NGO: Vital Voices Global Partnership. The organization was created to further expand a global network of women leaders and leadership-development programs through international partnerships.

This transition—from a government initiative to an independent global institution—was essential. It allowed the work to become more scalable, more flexible, and more strongly rooted in long-term international collaboration.

3) The shift to “global mentoring” through Fortune + the U.S. Department of State + Vital Voices (since 2006)

A major leap took place in May 2006, with the launch of a flagship format often referred to as the “global mentoring program”:

Fortune – U.S. Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership — a public–private partnership between Fortune Most Powerful Women, the U.S. Department of State, and Vital Voices. The program identifies influential women from around the world and connects them with top U.S. executives from the Fortune Most Powerful Women community.

The power of this model was in its design: pairing global women leaders with senior U.S. executive mentors and surrounding that mentorship with a structured program—creating both personal transformation and professional networks that lasted beyond the official timeline.

Leaders and mentors came from major U.S. and European companies and organizations such as Time Inc., IBM, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, Estée Lauder, People Magazine, the European Association for Business Development, 100% Media Holding, the Global Development Alliance, Accenture, CVS Health, AIG, Aetna, Walmart, BNY Mellon, Ernst & Young (EY), Google, The Coca-Cola Company, ExxonMobil, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, Fidelity Investments, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Xerox, DTCC, Electronic Arts, The Nielsen Company, MiniBoss Business School, BigBoss Business School, Marvell Technology Group, Match Group, Blackstone, H&R Block, Beam Suntory, Sesame Workshop, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Burson-Marsteller, Morgan, Solera Capital, INFOMIR, LAUDER ME, BOSS Magazine, World Woman Magazine, and many others.

4) A parallel branch that became a global movement: the Mentoring Walk (GMW)

Alongside formal mentoring partnerships, another approach emerged that made mentoring more accessible, replicable, and community-driven:

Global Mentoring Walks (GMW) — a “mentoring walk” format that Vital Voices describes as originating from the practice of Geraldine Laybourne. She invited young professional women to discuss career questions during a morning walk. Over time, this simple idea evolved into a scalable model adopted by Vital Voices communities around the world.

The mentoring walk’s strength is its simplicity. It does not require complex infrastructure, yet it creates real connection and meaningful guidance—making mentoring feel less like a formal appointment and more like a human conversation.

The significance of four individuals in the development of the Global Women’s Mentoring Programme

1) Hillary Clinton — the initial impetus and a political “window of opportunity”

In Vital Voices historical accounts, the organization’s origins are linked to the 1997 government initiative associated with Hillary Rodham Clinton (alongside other leaders of that period). Her impact was to help institutionalize women’s leadership as part of the international agenda—an approach that later enabled the initiative to transition into an independent global organization and partnership-based programs.

2) Geraldine Laybourne — creator of the “Mentoring Walk” as a scalable mentoring technology

Vital Voices directly credits Geraldine Laybourne as the source of the mentoring-walk idea: a fast, human, repeatable practice that turns mentoring from a one-time meeting into a mass movement (with GMW taking place in dozens of countries). Her contribution is a format that partners and program alumnae can easily replicate anywhere.

3) Alyse Nelson — institutional leadership and continuity of partnerships

Alyse Nelson is identified as President & CEO and a co-founder of Vital Voices, and she has led the organization since 2009. Her role has been to sustain and develop the “architecture” of global programs—supporting partnerships, refreshing formats, and ensuring that global mentoring continues to grow in relevance and reach.

4) Olga Azarova — extending the model and launching WWC-based mentoring in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia

Olga Azarova participated as a laureate of the FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Global Mentoring Program 2015 (in partnership with the U.S. Department of State and Vital Voices). She is described as the founder of the Mediaholding 100% and World Woman Club (WWC) and an initiator of mentoring programs within it. Her significance lies in transferring the practices and standards of international mentoring into a sustainable club infrastructure—adapting the global model into ongoing mentoring systems across regions. 

Join World Woman Mentoring Programme 2026!

Davos 2026: Day 2 Scandals & Controversies

📍 1. Fake VIP Pass Scams Targeting Delegates

One of the biggest surprises on Day 2 at Davos was a rapidly spreading scam involving counterfeit “VIP passes” for the USA House — a privately funded venue celebrating U.S. innovation and history.

• Attendees were misled into buying or presenting fake passes that didn’t grant real access, forcing the venue to publicly warn visitors that counterfeit credentials would not be honoured.

• The incident triggered complaints, confusion at entry lines, and frustration from delegates who thought they had priority treatment.

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🇺🇸 2. Trump’s Controversial Greenland & Tariff Rhetoric

Political tensions dominated Day 2, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric causing significant controversy:

• Trump’s remarks about a strategic interest in Greenland and proposed tariffs on European goods sparked strong backlash from EU leaders and market volatility.

• European political figures and finance ministers reacted openly at Davos, condemning the stance as destabilising and potentially undermining the rules‑based global order.

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🌍 3. Trade Tensions Escalate Between U.S. and Europe

Continuing the geopolitical friction:

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged European nations not to retaliate, even as markets fell and political pressure mounted. Economic analysts called this approach controversial, given rising concerns about global trade friction.

• EU leaders debated suspending approval of major trade deals in response to U.S. tariff threats, further underscoring how Davos discussions spilled out into economic confrontation.

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🧭 4. Rule‑of‑Law Debate Fuels Public Disagreement

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered one of the most charged statements of the day, warning that the global political environment is drifting toward a “world without rules.”

• Macron criticised “imperial ambitions” and unilateral actions that he argued threaten the stability of international norms — a clear rebuke of several US policy positions mentioned at the forum.

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📉 5. Broader Context of Institutional Trust Issues

While not specific to Day 2 itself, recent background controversies continue to shape the environment at Davos 2026:

• The World Economic Forum opened this year amid ongoing discussions about leadership changes and whistleblower allegations around its founder — issues that have dented confidence in the Forum’s governance.

These developments show that even at settings designed for high‑level dialogue, real‑world frictions and disputes can rapidly surface — shaping not just discussion, but global economic and political dynamics.

Davos 2026 — Day 2 Highlights

On Day 2 of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, Switzerland, discussions deepened around AI, economic transformation, geopolitical tensions, and leadership confidence, bringing out both opportunities and challenges facing global business and policy leaders.

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🤖 AI Beyond Content — Into Action

AI emerged as a central theme — not just in generating content, but in driving enterprise systems and workflow automation. Experts noted that discussions have moved beyond basic generative models to “agentic AI” that can reason and operate in real environments, including commerce, logistics, and payments.

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💼 Business Confidence and AI Adoption

CEOs and executives expressed mixed sentiments:

• AI adoption remains uneven, with over half of companies not seeing tangible benefits due to limited foundational investment and strategy gaps.

• Leaders were urged to rethink traditional leadership objectives as AI and digital transformation reshape productivity and competitive advantage.

Sessions also brought in insights from global leaders and top executives on economic uncertainty, productivity, and resilience in the face of rapid technological change.

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🌍 Geopolitics, Trade, and Global Rules

Geopolitical tension was another defining thread of Day 2. Several prominent leaders sounded alarms over the erosion of established international norms and the risks posed by unilateral actions and protectionist policies. French President Emmanuel Macron, in a widely discussed address, warned that the world risks drifting toward a “world without rules” where power dynamics could outweigh cooperative frameworks.

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🧠 Leadership Conversations and Webcasts

Day 2 also featured forward‑looking conversations hosted by platforms such as Axios House, with industry leaders from sports, finance, and technology discussing strategies to stay competitive in rapidly evolving sectors.

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📊 What’s Emerging from Day 2

Key trends highlighted include:

• The shift in AI dialogue from simple generation to reasoning and enterprise action.

• A critical need for stronger organizational strategy to harness AI value.

• Heightened awareness of geopolitical fragmentation and challenges to multilateral cooperation.

• Continued integration of cross‑sector leadership insights into future planning.

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Day 2 at Davos 2026 reinforced that today’s global agenda is not just about innovation or growth, but about responsible, strategic leadership — especially in an era where AI’s promise intersects with shifting economic and political landscapes.

BETT 2026: How and Why Pedagogy Must Evolve in the Age of AI

Ahead of BETT 2026, London’s global education summit

By Dawn Taylor
Founder and Director, Challenge Innovate Grow | Author of “Behind the Algorithm”

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🌍 Bett 2026: A Turning Point for Global Education

As the world’s largest education technology event, Bett UK 2026 in London promises to be more than a showcase of tools — it will be a stage for the deep, system-wide rethinking of education in the age of AI. This year’s sessions will probe the biggest questions in learning: not just what students need to know, but how they should think.

One of those critical sessions comes from Dawn Taylor, whose writing and leadership are reshaping how schools view pedagogy in an AI-rich world. Her talk — “The Changing Role of a Teacher in the Age of AI” — sets the tone for a new era of teaching.

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📘 The Conditions of Learning Have Changed

For centuries, the basic structure of learning remained unchanged: teachers held the knowledge, students received it, and understanding was measured through recall, repetition, or application. It made sense in a world where information was scarce, slow, and stable.

The internet changed that — and now, AI is accelerating the transformation. We no longer teach students to find information; now, we must teach them to judge it.

Generative AI doesn’t just retrieve answers — it produces them: structured, polished, and confident. Yet behind this confidence often lies flawed logic, hallucinated facts, or unchecked bias. In this world, the learner’s job is no longer to build from scratch — it is to critically evaluate what already exists.

This changes everything.

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🧠 Teaching Thinking — Not Just Content

Whether students use ChatGPT, Google, or a textbook, the challenge is the same:
They must learn to think, not just to answer.

Surface fluency is no longer enough. Learners must question, compare, test, and justify. Can they defend an idea? Challenge it? Improve it?

These cognitive skills don’t develop by chance. They must be taught explicitly. Teachers must model critical thinking, make their own reasoning visible, and build time for students to practise — regularly and across all subjects.

This is not a “soft skill”; it’s now a survival skill.

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🔍 Making Learning Visible

A polished final paragraph tells us little about how a student got there — and with AI, that problem is even worse.

What teachers need is visibility into the process:

• What choices were made?

• What reasoning was used?

• What doubts were raised?

• What sources were trusted — and why?

Well-designed tasks allow us to see these decisions. When students compare alternatives or revise weak reasoning, we learn far more about their understanding than any final draft can reveal.

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🧠 Developing Judgement in the AI Age

AI can be articulate — but not always accurate. So the most important skill now is judgement:

• Can learners verify a claim?

• Do they trust cautiously?

• Can they explain why they believe something is true?

These are the building blocks of 21st-century intelligence.

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✏️ What This Means for Everyday Teaching

When learning conditions shift, the work of teachers must shift too. But this doesn’t diminish their role — it deepens it.

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

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1. Tasks Must Reveal Thought, Not Just Output

AI can generate both answers and “reflections.” One piece of writing no longer proves understanding.
Teachers need multiple checkpoints: quick comparisons, source checks, audio notes, collaborative discussions — ways to make thinking visible across the process.

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2. Learning Behaviours Must Include Verification

Verification isn’t optional. It must be embedded in daily habits.
Routines like “show your source” or “what’s a counter-view?” help students build intellectual honesty and deeper confidence.

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3. Assessment Must Capture Process, Not Just Product

A single score on a final draft won’t do. We need formative evidence: annotations, reasoning logs, short reflections — all of which offer richer insight into how students think.

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4. AI Must Be Acknowledged Transparently

Used well, AI becomes part of the learning journey — not a shortcut.
Students should state when they used it, how, what worked, and what didn’t. This reflection belongs in the assessment evidence, not hidden behind the scenes.

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 It’s Not Just a Teacher’s Job — It’s a System-Wide Shift

AI hasn’t replaced the teacher — it has amplified the parts of teaching that are most human:

• Judgement

• Understanding

• Meaning-making

But no teacher can do this alone. Systems must align. Governments, curriculum bodies, school leaders, and assessment authorities must work together to ensure what we teach, what we assess, and what we value all support the same vision.

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Join the Conversation at Bett 2026

Session: The Changing Role of a Teacher in the Age of AI
When: 21-23 January
Where: Teaching & Learning Theatre, Bett UK 2026, London

Dawn will share practical frameworks and examples for how schools can adapt today — with clarity, realism, and purpose.

AI has changed what it means to learn.

Now we must decide: how do we teach in this new world — and what kind of thinking do we want it to create?

Davos 2026: Key Early Highlights

Davos 2026: Key Early Highlights

1. High‑Profile Participation & Geopolitical Shift

Davos 2026, the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, has drawn around 3,000 global leaders from business, politics, and civil society. Among them are U.S. President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration, reflecting a pronounced U.S. presence on the agenda.

Trump’s attendance — his first in person at Davos in six years — is widely seen not just as ceremonial but as a signal of geopolitical influence, shaping discussions on trade, economic policy, and global power dynamics.

His speech, expected mid‑week, is anticipated to emphasize economic reform priorities, including proposals on markets and national economic resilience.

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2. Shifting Agenda: Geopolitics, Growth & Dialogue

Although the official theme of Davos 2026 is “A Spirit of Dialogue,” the tone of discussions reflects broader global strain:

• Geoeconomic conflict — i.e., the use of tariffs, sanctions, and trade policy as tools of geopolitical influence — has emerged as a top global risk, surpassing conventional armed conflict in expert surveys.

• Focus areas include artificial intelligence, economic growth, supply‑chain resilience, and innovation strategies rather than solely environmental or climate issues.

These shifts indicate Davos is adapting to a world where strategic competition and technological power play increasingly shape priorities.

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3. Diplomacy & Ongoing Talks

Beyond high‑level panels, real diplomacy is underway:

• Ukrainian officials are using the forum to continue sensitive negotiations with U.S. counterparts on conflict resolution mechanisms and post‑war recovery frameworks.

This underscores Davos’s role not just as a summit for ideas and networking but as a platform for behind‑the‑scenes diplomatic engagement amidst ongoing global conflicts.

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4. Economic Engagement & National Pitches

Several countries and sub‑national actors are leveraging Davos to boost investment and reposition themselves economically:

• India has deployed one of its largest ever delegations, including state governments, to pitch growth opportunities and attract capital for AI, infrastructure, semiconductors, and renewable sectors.

• India’s “Partner with Bharat” campaign at the forum reinforces this push toward attracting global strategic investment partners.

• The Indian state of Gujarat is separately promoting investments in defence, semiconductors, and green technology sectors.

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5. What This Means for the Global Order

While the forum has historically signaled multilateral cooperation, several trends from the early days of Davos 2026 suggest a more contested landscape:

• The dominant presence of U.S. policy priorities (including U.S. realpolitik framing) may signal a shifting balance from consensus‑based global governance toward power‑centred diplomacy.

• Geoeconomic confrontation being named as the top risk highlights a world where economic tools rival military tools as strategic levers.

This does not mean Davos is irrelevant — rather, it reflects Davos’s evolution into a forum where the major cleavages of 2026 — economic competition, tech dominance, security dilemmas — are openly assessed and negotiated.

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Early Takeaways (Before Full Conclusions)

So far, early results and signals from Davos 2026 include:

• A strong U.S. imprint on discussions, especially around growth, security policies, and economic priorities.

• Geoeconomic risk and technology governance rising to the forefront of global concern.

• Diplomacy in motion on persistent conflicts, including Ukraine.

• Active national investment outreach, especially from emerging global actors like India.

• Continued debate over the relevance and direction of multinational cooperation in a fragmented global environment.