Knowledge Is the Crisis Tool Most Leaders Still Underuse

Klaus Schmidt · 2026-09-26

### Why This Conversation Matters More Than Ever Picture this: a room full of policymakers, private-sector execs, and young people — all sitting alongside senior UN officials — debating one question. What actually helps us see a crisis coming before it hits? The answer, according to the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), isn't more data. It's better use of knowledge. That distinction sounds small. It isn't. ### Knowledge vs. Information: A Big Difference Here's the thing. We're drowning in information. Every phone, every feed, every alert. But information alone doesn't forecast a crisis. It doesn't stop one either. Knowledge is different. It's information that's been tested, shared, and put into the hands of people who can act on it. That's the gap these two organizations are trying to close. As one participant put it during the discussion: > "Knowledge isn't a luxury for stable times. It's the tool you reach for when everything is falling apart." That line stuck with me. Because it flips the usual thinking. Most of us treat learning as something we do when things are calm. The reality is the opposite. ### What the Event Actually Covered The high-level event took place on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, on September 26, 2026. The guest list was broad on purpose: - Senior UN officials and representatives of Member States - Leaders of knowledge institutions and research bodies - Private-sector executives with real operational stakes - Young people, whose futures are most affected by long-term crises That mix is telling. Crisis forecasting isn't a job for one sector. It takes governments, businesses, researchers, and the next generation in the same room. ### Why Young Voices Were in the Room It would've been easy to fill that event with diplomats and call it a day. Instead, young people were invited to the table. That's not just symbolic. Younger generations will live with the consequences of decisions made today. Climate shifts, economic shocks, public health emergencies — these aren't abstract for them. They're the world they'll inherit. Bringing them in early means the knowledge being built now actually reflects who has to use it later. ### The Takeaway for Anyone Watching From Outside You don't need to work at the UN to get value from this. The core idea applies anywhere: - Build knowledge before you need it, not during the emergency - Share it across sectors instead of hoarding it - Listen to the people who'll live with the long-term results Crises rarely announce themselves. But the tools to see them coming already exist. The question is whether we're organized enough to use them. That's what MBRF and UNDP were really saying. Not that knowledge is nice to have. That it's the difference between reacting and being ready.