With a new year starting, we always look back at the one that has just passed.

We do this to practice our self-awareness. We reflect on global developments, the impact we’ve made, the challenges we’ve encountered, and the lessons we have learned. We believe this foster growth and development.

And what a year 2023 has been. Globally, we have seen a number of positive developments – such as the growth of solar power towards becoming the world’s main source of energy by 2050, and AI allowing us to expedite the diagnosis of rare diseases. However, what has been catching our primary attention has been challenges related to global and local peace, as well as humanitarian tragedies.

In 2023, we continued to witness the rise of extreme political discourses and an increase in the complexity of conflicts with civilians on the frontline. This has led to uncertainties impacting billions of people as we enter 2024; a decisive Super Election year with polling taking place in 50 countries and more than 2 billion people potentially casting their vote. These developments do not only intensify global tensions but also underscore the importance of putting the lives of human beings back at the center of our priorities. Our focus should be on supporting policies that cater for an increased realization of human potential through both the physical fulfillment of basic needs, as well as the creation of preconditions for mental resilience. As highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), the absence of adequate mental health care constitutes a global emergency impacting individuals, communities, organizations, and nations. Continuing our current trajectory as a human species is no longer viable.

From our research we know that for most people, 47 percent of all meaning felt is derived from their work. Thus, for our partners across the globe, we have collected the insights from more than 40.000 employees and analyzed their thoughts to measure their organization’s ability to create meaningful work.

We have also developed self-awareness insights for more than 2.000 leaders to support them in their daily attempt to take steps up the ladder of self-respect.

We have delivered results on the cultural fit between a candidate and an organization more than 150 times, ensuring that a misfit in culture and virtues does not become a reason for meaningless relationships.

We have expanded this approach into the world of Mergers & Acquisitions with our Cultural Due Diligence framework™. This has enabled us to show how “acquisitions can be humanized”.

However, our curiosity does not stop here, and in 2024 we will dive deeper into understanding what makes cities and neighborhoods meaningful places to live. Watch this space!

Throughout 2023, we have remained fully engaged in some of the most vulnerable and fragile contexts in the world. In Sudan alone, which is going through a forgotten but bloody civil war that has displaced more than 10 million people, we have worked to bring forward the voices of more than 6.000 individuals. This we have done to ensure they are heard when decisions are taken that impact their livelihoods. We have also scaled up our presence in the Levant, supporting refugees in Jordan and advising on emergency responses across the region. All this, while the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to deeply impact humans and relations globally.

In 2023, we started working in support of the Ukrainian people as they navigate the challenging times brought about by the full-scale Russian invasion. We are honored to now work with partners like IOM and WHO there to support the crucial assistance they provide to affected civilians. We have also continued to grow our presence in India and advise partners in Libya and Tunisia focusing on governance, youth, and health, as well as climate action across the region. In a commitment to advance our efforts in climate action and gender equality, we have enhanced our research and monitoring frameworks, and published our work for inspiration (Meaningful climate action, Save the children, 2023).

To underpin fact-based organizational decision-making, we have conducted over 38 impact assessments, monitoring, and research studies, spanning across more than 16 countries. During our diverse projects, we had the privilege of collecting the voices and testimonies of more than 10.000 talented human beings whose perspectives would have remained unheard if not for our extensive network of data-collection partners.

In our commitment to innovation and human-centered solutions, we have directed significant investments into the development of Delphi, our online platform designed to propel us into a new era of scalable efficiency and impact. Delphi will be a one-stop-shop for our digital products and will be launched in 2024. It already looks set to become a cornerstone of our digital offerings where meaningful work and operational excellence go hand in hand.

2023 was also a crucial year for Voluntās’ academic and global partnerships. With the continued support of the ALV Foundation and UNICEF Denmark, we have collected data from more than 12.000 children in Denmark, India, and Norway to identify what drives meaning in their lives. Our goal is to change the way decision-makers and institutions develop child policies. With the Youth Meaningfulness Index, we are providing an avenue for children to share what brings meaning to their lives and contribute to their well-being. On a global scale, we have also conducted the largest study on Meaningfulness in Life ever carried out with more than 18.000 respondents across 20 countries (Global Meaningfulness Index 2023).

Niklas Kabel Pedersen

Partner and Chief Operating Officer

nkp@voluntas.com