International organization
Appears in 3 stories
Inscribed Spring Festival as intangible heritage in 2024
Every winter, China empties its cities. Some 9 billion passenger journeys—more than the total global population—occur over 40 days as hundreds of millions of migrant workers return to their home villages for Spring Festival. This is Chunyun, the largest annual human migration on Earth, and it transforms not just Chinese society but global supply chains that depend on Chinese manufacturing.
Updated Feb 3
Lead coordinator of global Education for All initiatives
In 1970, fewer than half the world's teenagers attended secondary school. By 2017, more than three-quarters did. Primary enrollment hit 104 percent globally—meaning virtually every child of primary age was in school, plus millions of older students catching up. College attendance nearly quadrupled, from 10 percent to 37 percent.
Updated Jan 22
Active coordinator of global literacy efforts
In 1820, roughly 88% of humanity could not read. Today, roughly 87% can. This inversion—achieved across two centuries through compulsory schooling laws, cheap printing, and coordinated global campaigns—represents one of the largest capability expansions in human history. More than 5 billion people now possess a skill that fewer than 100 million held two centuries ago.
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