Tourism at a Turning Point: The Next Generation of Policy Making

Reading Time: 3 minutesTourism holds extraordinary potential as a catalyst for positive change. If driven by data, innovation and collaboration, it can strengthen communities, build more resilient economies and support healthier ecosystems. Tourism’s future, and its capacity to bring inclusive prosperity, rests on the ability to measure what matters, anticipate what is coming and act with purpose. Is the sector ready to do so?

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Tackling tourism pressures: How Dubrovnik Became a Smart City Model

Reading Time: 4 minutesOnly a decade ago, visitors were advised to avoid Dubrovnik during peak season due to near-continuous congestion in its narrow UNESCO-protected streets. Today, Dubrovnik stands as an emerging European model for sustainable, people-centred tourism. How can cities combine strategic governance, digital tools and community engagement to protect cultural heritage while ensuring a high quality of life for residents?

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Distance makes the heart grow fonder: Can identities within diaspora revitalise rural regions from afar?

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhilst the strong emotional attachment to one’s home can be leveraged to bring back migrants that tackle skills gaps, diaspora populations that remain abroad can bring other benefits back home too. Engaging the diaspora should be understood as more than an effort to entice people to return home. Strong local identities endure long after migration, and policymakers can harness this attachment to mobilise skills, knowledge and investment from afar.

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From empty desks to full homes: Can office conversions solve the housing crisis?

Reading Time: 5 minutesIn the Paris region, over 5.6 million square meters of office space sit vacant. At the same time, demand for housing (especially social housing) has reached critical levels, with fourteen applications per allocation on average. This mismatch – between empty offices and overcrowded homes, raises important issues about how we can make better use of the built environment to meet urgent housing needs. 

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Reigniting investment: How SMEs can lead the way

Reading Time: 4 minutesSince the global financial crisis, business investment has struggled to recover, with real investment still 23% below its pre-2008 trend. The world isn’t short of good ideas or businesses, nor of finance. Yet the actual investment needed to fuel growth, jobs and the twin transitions continues to fall short. Can smarter policies on SME financing reignite investment and lead our economies to their best selves? 

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Why cities must build, not buy, the infrastructure of intelligence

Reading Time: 4 minutesAcross the world, cities are quietly delegating the details of daily life to new artificial intelligence (AI) systems that make data driven recommendations about how resources and priorities are distributed. What begins as a promise of efficiency can also quietly define the invisible architecture of who controls public life. The work ahead calls for civic imagination and for ambitious leaders who can link algorithms to accountability.

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From informality to inclusion: Sharing Latin America’s rural resources

Reading Time: 4 minutesLatin America’s rural communities produce much of the food, energy and minerals the world depends on. Yet for many rural residents, the promise of lasting prosperity often remains out of reach – because despite this wealth, insecure and informal work is widespread, undermining livelihoods, services, and long-term opportunity. But with the right tools and trust in place, rural regions can move from informality to inclusion. 

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COGITO Talks… La République des Hyper Voisins

Reading Time: 21 minutesThis conversation dives into how a small gathering in a local restaurant blossomed into a powerful neighbourhood network grounded in trust, conviviality, and mutual support. From organising a 1 500-person street banquet to creating WhatsApp groups that connect thousands of residents, Patrick and Marion share how intentional social ties can strengthen safety, wellbeing, and even help older neighbours remain in their homes. 

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