I have been thinking for some time now that we are in a time of paradigm change that is greatly affecting how we see our world. We are moving from the top down control model of the industrial revolution to a participatory grassroots model that is often much harder to see – because it is distributed from the bottom up and takes many forms.

In technological terms, many of these new ideas show up in global competitions. I just discovered the IEEE Empower a Billion Lives competition, a recurring competition that began in 2018, which seeks scalable solutions to energy poverty that are regionally relevant, holistic, and leverage 21st century technologies with exponentially declining prices. At its 2023 global final in Orlando Florida, 25 global finalist teams from around the world showcased their groundbreaking innovations. More than 200 teams entered the 2023 competion.