World Economic Forum Fellows Design a Healthier New York City

Led by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the design consultancy IDEO, Global Leadership Fellows from the World Economic Forum spent July 14-18 collaborating across disciplines to design solutions to health challenges faced by low-income and elderly New Yorkers.

Fellows from more than 40 countries applied design thinking to several health challenges. Some fellows explored no-cost opportunities for physical activity and ways to help families make healthier food choices; others considered ways to design better hospital experiences for older adults and to shape a friendlier urban environment for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s. The fellows also conducted field research, interviewing locals and identifying opportunities for change.

Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, dean of Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and past speaker at World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, Switzerland, said,

Tomorrow’s leaders will face challenges such as rapid global urbanization, the aging of the population, and high rates of chronic diseases that disproportionately affect low-income groups. This year’s program will give the Global Leadership Fellows a solid understanding of these issues and the hands-on experience of working with affected communities to solve them.

This is the third year that Mailman has hosted the Fellows.

Read the Mailman news release here.