World Solve

Addressing bridges at risk of collapse is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving children without safe places to play. Conventional approaches have proven insufficient. The required intervention must integrate community knowledge, data and appropriate technology while remaining affordable, privacy-preserving and operable with minimal external support. Strong solutions will articulate measurable impact metrics, risk mitigation strategies, and a plan for sustained operation by local actors after the pilot phase.

Sculptures or murals that spontaneously shift material without notice erase the original artistic intent and public memory. The challenge is allowing responsive or living art while documenting and preserving the creator’s initial medium and message.

The problem of gender segregation in school sports continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Long-lived infrastructure and environmental decisions can impose costs on people who cannot vote today. The unresolved problem is creating legitimate institutions that represent future people without removing accountability from current citizens. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.

Addressing under-representation of girls in science and mathematics is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

The problem of weak science and technology education continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Addressing crushing levels of student debt is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

Addressing university education priced beyond most families is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

Regulatory systems that license strong emotional odours can suppress natural human signalling and create enforcement disparities. The problem is managing genuine public nuisance without policing private affective states through smell.

Infrastructure maintenance that fills gaps with glowing commercial messages turns every walk into an ad exposure. The challenge is funding public repairs without converting the pavement itself into continuous commercial real estate.

If people live substantially longer, societies will need new models for work, learning, housing, dependency, and end-of-life care. Existing systems are not designed for decades of post-retirement life or multiple phases of dependency. The solution must produce useful coordination and accountability while minimizing collection of sensitive personal and behavioral data. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.

The problem of high rates of early school leaving continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Social bonds structured as time-limited agreements with automatic termination notices can undermine trust and long-term support networks. The problem is allowing intentional relationship boundaries without making every connection provisional and transactional.

The problem of digital divide preventing poor children from studying online continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Clocks that accelerate or slow according to local output targets fracture shared temporal reference. The challenge is maintaining a common civic time base while still allowing local performance incentives.

Addressing absent or unreliable internet in rural schools is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

The ability to freeze aging in specific organs or features while others continue creates new forms of body modification and potential health imbalance. The problem is ensuring medical safety, informed consent, and equitable access without enabling permanent physical stratification.

The problem of missing books, devices and learning materials continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Homes that charge more for greater daylight access can deepen housing inequality and incentivise light-blocking in poorer units. The challenge is valuing natural illumination without turning it into a luxury surcharge that harms health equity.