“We are called to be architects of the future,
not its victims.”
—Buckminster Fuller
Global Solutions Lab 2026
Research and development for the world
— and your community—
June 15-24, 2026
The 2026 Global Solutions Lab will be in-person and online, advanced, & more accessible to more people.
The 2026 Global Solutions Lab will use the research, problem solving/strategic planning and implementation platform— the NewWorld Game — that combines the Lab’s methodology with our unique custom-trained AIs— plus over 100 global statistical databases, a set of 400+ state-of- the-world reports from every UN agency and many international research organizations, and a dozen+ libraries of global solutions. With your perspective, knowledge, values, and experience the process of researching and developing new, innovative, affordable, regenerative, and immediately implementable strategies for achieving one or more of the UN SDGs and/or addressing your concerns at local, national or global levels will be an easier, faster, more thorough, and creative process.
2026 NewWorld Tournament
Your Lab solution can be entered in the NewWorld Tournament where it will be eligible for the award of a cash prize that is used to advance your strategy towards implementation in the real world.
Register here.
MORE DETAILS:
The Global Solutions Lab is for researching and developing the means to
“Make the world work for 100% of humanity
in the shortest possible time
through spontaneous cooperation
without ecological offense
or disadvantage of anyone.”
– Buckminster Fuller
Global Solutions Lab 2026
IN-PERSON and ONLINE— June 15–24, 2026
The 2026 Global Solutions Lab will be the 22nd Lab. It is generally focused on making real the above quote of Buckminster Fuller, and specifically, on researching and developing strategic solutions for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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Format: The 2026 Lab will be in-person and on-line. It will be an intense and every day experience. Participants will be expected to be make a substantial time contribution everyday to the work of the Lab. The Lab will use the NewWorld Game (NWG) global research and problem solving platform to aid in their research and development work. Participants in the Lab will be expected to have signed up for the NWG and have participated in a demonstration of its capabilities.
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The Lab focuses on research and developing solutions and implementation strategies to critical real-world problems that achieve one or more of the UN SDGs. Each participant is part of an international, cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary, and intergenerational Research and Design Team. This collaborative, creative effort culminates in a presentation of the Lab’s work to a group of UN, corporate, philanthropic, academic, and NGO leaders. See previous Lab work here (database) and here (books). The goal of the Lab is to not just develop additional innovative, viable, regenerative, resilient, affordable solutions— but to get these solutions implemented. NWG is a tool that will help get solutions implemented.
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Participants will learn a powerful strategic research, design and planning methodology that they will use to develop their solutions.
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Tuition: $250. Partial tuition scholarship are available.*
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Application: The number of participants in the Lab will be limited. The sooner we hear from you the better. Apply here.
*It is our conviction that no one should be denied access to the Lab for financial reasons. We have a scholarship fund for partial tuition scholarships. These funds are limited and variable according to expenses and donations. You can help by making a contribution to the Global Solutions Lab Scholarship Fund. You can do that here:
- The Global Solutions Lab was developed by and is conducted by EarthGame, a non-profit research and education NGO officially associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications.
On-line Lab Participation: What You Will Need:
The Lab has participants from all over the world. Recognizing that different parts of the world don’t all have the same level of telecommunications infrastructure, here is what you will need to participate:
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Internet connection, with as high speed of a connection as possible.
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In addition to a good internet connection, you will need a computer or iPad with video and audio capabilities. Also – you will need a relatively quiet location for having group discussions with your team members from around the world.
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Time commitment. The Lab is a serious time commitment— Participants should plan on 4 to 6 hours per day, starting around 10:00 am (Eastern U.S. time), every day (with breaks for meals). Sessions include large group, break-out teams and individual research and development.
If you want to participate
in the 2026 Global Solutions Lab,
apply here.
Questions: info@bigpicturesmallworld.com.
AI & Sustainable Development Goals
Invitation and Challenge
The powerful quote above encapsulates the ethos of the Global Solutions Lab. As we stand on the brink of technological revolutions that promise to redefine what is possible, it is imperative that we approach AI and other advances as architects, actively shaping our future rather than passively enduring it.
Welcome to the 2026 Global Solutions Lab— where we bring together four unique and powerful platforms in order to research, develop and implement the new and innovative solutions that the world so desperately needs:
First, you will have access to the expertly crafted NewWorld Game online platform that embodies more than three decades of active research and problem solving protocol and has been successfully used by thousands of researchers around the world.
Second, you will have access to the latest AI prompts and tools to help research, develop and pressure-test your solutions. You will gain hands-on experience using AI as a powerful engine for addressing the UN SDGs and other global and local problems.
Third, you will be able to submit your solution to the NewWorld Tournament where it can be awarded a cash prize for use in implementing your solution.
Fourth, and most importantly, you will be working in teams with other inspired participants from around the world. Your curiosity, passion, knowledge and collaboration will be what ultimately drives solutions for designing and building a better world.
The 2026 Global Solutions Lab is where you will be the architects of the future, using the NewWorld Game AI-assisted platform and toolkit for researching and developing solutions to the UN SDGs. This call to harness the combined capabilities of human ingenuity and artificial intelligence to forge solutions for our world’s most pressing issues is what the world needs— now.
If you are interested in learning how to use AI to solve real-world problems— by actually using AI to research and solve complex, interconnected, critical global and local problems— then participate in the upcoming Global Solutions Lab. Here you will learn what questions, what prompts, are the most effective in eliciting the answers needed for developing, and implementing, solutions. You will learn what AI is really good for, where human intelligence is essential, and how the synergy of both leads to creative, sustainable, affordable solutions for climate change, poverty, food, energy, education, health and any problem situation about which you are passionately concerned.