OREANDA-NEWS. FedEx, the worldwide provider of transportation, e-commerce and business services, announces the launch of the 2016 Access 25—a list of 25 people, places and ideas defining global connectivity.  This year’s list reveals three global economic megatrends that focus on the ways mobility is reshaping the globe—empowering individuals, fueling innovation and driving societal change.

“At FedEx, we’re constantly monitoring changes in customer needs and analyzing economic trends across the globe,” said Raj Subramaniam, executive vice president, Global Marketing and Communications.  “For 10 years, we’ve shared key insights through Access, our thought leadership program that fuels important conversations about trends impacting businesses large and small.  Since FedEx makes the connections that help businesses build stronger supply chains in more than 220 countries and territories, we’re in a unique position to be able to share these stories.”

Within each of the three megatrends, the Access 25 list also investigates related microtrends impacting global commerce. Among these trends are:

  • Wi-Fi balloons—Companies like Google and Facebook are working to bring connectivity to parts of the world where a lack of fiber, towers, and infrastructure thwart internet service
  • Mobile healthcare—Mobile clinics are taking health professionals to rural parts of the world and allowing them to proactively treat illnesses. S. Doctors in Africa promises to send 200 mobile health clinics and 2000 nurses and doctors to sub-Saharan African communities.
  • Robotic exoskeletons are blending human capabilities with robotic components to make once unthinkable feats possible. At speeds of 10 miles per hour, soldiers are suiting up in these exoskeletons to move up to 200 pounds of gear.

Available online and in a print magazine, Access explores what greater connectivity means for the world, and seeks to generate dialogue about global opportunity, including trade and sustainability.  It delivers perspectives from thought leaders around the world.  This issue features exclusive interviews with Margo Georgiadis, Google’s president of Americas Operations, and Ava DuVernay, the award-winning writer, director and filmmaker.

This year’s cover story of the 10th anniversary edition of Access Magazine examines the global commerce and connectivity that has contributed to Dubai’s remarkable rise.  From the city-state’s 22 Free Economic Zones (FEZs) to the expansions of its two airports—including Dubai International, now the third-busiest airport in the world—Dubai provides a compelling example of how global connections can drive economic and social prosperity.

“An open and connected world is a more prosperous, sustainable and caring world,” Subramaniam said. “This connectivity allows our best thinking to compound and multiply—and when it’s easier to bring new ideas to new markets, everyone benefits.”