Muriel Breiman

Relegated to tourism, the Southern European countries? Their resurgence proves otherwise. To overcome adversity, they have had to show agility and inventiveness. Here are four examples of individuals who have achieved remarkable success. The Italian Luca Ferrari, buys up and revitalises former internet icons. In Portugal, scientist Elvira Fortunato shines internationally thanks to her innovations in electronics.

On 13 July 2015, after an interminable weekend of negotiations, the eurozone members agreed on a third aid plan to save Greece from bankruptcy. The price was steep: the government had to commit to drastic reforms. It was a compromise to avoid a dramatic exit from the European Union. A decade later, Athens has turned the page on this dark period and now boasts one of the most remarkable economic recoveries in the Old Continent.

Is AI the only path to salvation? In the face of the seismic upheaval that this technology is causing in education and the workplace, Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, on the contrary, believes in the power of studying humanities. He himself drew inspiration from Purgatory (Purgatorio) in the The Divine Comedy to devise management principles in his latest book, Dante in the Workplace: How Leaders Can Avoid the Seven Deadly Sins (Palgrave Macmillan, not yet translated).