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Our latest updates, thoughts, and events — as they roll out.
Demos Helsinki is currently involved in 14 Horizon Europe projects. From exploring the societal impacts of new technologies to tackling climate challenges, these projects reflect a growing demand for research that sparks systemic change. Discover how we are working across disciplines to shape fairer, more sustainable futures.
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These three research projects are: 1) Reducing polarisation via material participation (MaDem); 2) Coastal waters under pressure – safeguarding a healthy Gulf of Finland in a changing geopolitical and environmental landscape (CoWup); and 3) Safe Water for All (WaterFall).
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We are pleased to announce that the UNDP’s Istanbul Innovation Days (IID), taking place in March 2025, will focus on shaping the next generation of public institutions for a secure and prosperous world.
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While it is argued that smart city development is at an impasse, we argue that it is at a crossroads. It is possible to simultaneously develop and adopt new technologies and strengthen people’s rights, and this People-first vision presented in this report will show how.
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At Demos Helsinki, we have been working towards societal transformation for the past 15 years. Now there are 50 of us and we work all over the world. In 2019, we worked in 138 projects in almost 30 countries. Societal transformation is in great demand.
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We find it easy to imagine apocalypse and disaster; or to imagine new generations of technology. But we find it much harder than in the past to imagine a better society a generation or more into the future. In this paper, Demos Helsinki Fellow Geoff Mulgan sets out thoughts on what, how, and who to address this gap.
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Europe cannot simply build its way out of the housing crisis
April 15, 2025
There is an anticipated challenge in housing that few are talking about yet. The conventional tool that cities have always had to address housing crises — building more — will not be sufficient. How prepared are cities for this scenario? More importantly, how can cities address housing justice while also averting ecological and biodiversity crises from worsening?
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What’s going on with GDP? Rethinking economic success
March 7, 2025
For decades, GDP has stood unchallenged as the primary measure of economic success. As calls to move beyond GDP grow, two approaches have risen to prominence: supplementing it with broader measures, or abandoning it altogether to redefine economic success. What is the best path forward in the debate on GDP?
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Care, ageing, and how to amplify our imagination
December 9, 2024
How do societies make most of the extraordinary good luck of ever-longer life expectancies? How can nations be strategic as they manage the huge demographic shifts of the years ahead? How do we handle the transition of care needed over the next few decades? Demos Helsinki Fellow, Sir Geoff Mulgan, is unpacking these questions below in a personal and cross-functional account.
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