World Solve

gig workers without benefits or protections remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.

Addressing privacy protections that are too weak 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.

Companies can use AI to generate legal language that's technically accurate but deliberately obscures consumers' actual rights, making it harder to understand what protections truly apply. Improving genuine clarity in these documents remains unresolved.

Implanted medical devices like pacemakers increasingly connect wirelessly for monitoring, but security protections for these devices haven't kept pace with the sensitivity of what's at stake if they're compromised. Closing this gap remains an urgent but underaddressed challenge.

Many popular games include purchasable randomized rewards that closely resemble gambling mechanics, and current age protections and regulations remain inconsistent across different countries and platforms. Protecting younger players from this remains an unresolved policy and design challenge.

Workers lack contracts, benefits, and protections. Gradual formalization and portable benefits can strengthen security.

Migrants face low wages, poor conditions, and legal barriers. Stronger labor protections and complaint mechanisms are needed.

Platform workers often have no benefits or stability. Regulatory frameworks for gig work can extend protections.

Development encroaches on parks and open areas. Urban greening policies and protections are needed.

Restrictions on NGOs limit advocacy. Legal protections for civil society are needed.

Weak or absent data-protection laws in some countries leave citizens' personal data vulnerable to misuse by companies and governments alike. Regional data-protection frameworks modeled on best practices could improve safeguards.

Ride-hailing and delivery platform workers often have no formal contracts, benefits, or dispute-resolution mechanisms. Portable benefits platforms tied to worker digital IDs could extend protections across platforms.

The majority of workers lack formal contracts, social security, or legal protections, leaving them vulnerable to economic shocks. Digital tools that gradually formalize small businesses without heavy bureaucracy could extend protections.

Millions of workers migrate for jobs in construction, domestic work, and agriculture but face exploitation due to weak bilateral labor agreements. Digital worker-rights registries and stronger bilateral labor treaties could improve protections.

Renters in informal settlements have little recourse against unfair eviction or unsafe conditions due to absent legal frameworks. Simple digital rental-agreement templates and dispute-resolution hotlines could improve tenant protections.

Logging, charcoal production, and agricultural expansion are destroying rainforest that regulates regional and global climate. Community-based forest monitoring using satellite and drone imagery could help enforce protections.

Over 80% of African employment is informal, meaning no pensions, health insurance, or job security for most workers. Digital tools to formalize informal businesses gradually could extend protections without heavy bureaucracy.

Millions of delivery drivers and ride-hailing workers in South and Southeast Asia operate without employment benefits, workplace injury compensation, or collective bargaining rights, leaving them economically precarious.

Millions of informal recyclers form the backbone of Asian urban waste processing, yet they work under dangerous, toxic conditions without official recognition, equipment, or social safety protections.

As secondary cities across Asia rapidly commercialize, low-income slum residents without formal title deeds face forcible evictions without fair compensation or viable alternative housing.