Hello, Shapeshifter

It crossed my mind recently that we’re the sum total of our experiences — everything we’ve seen, been told, our successes and failures. I took joy, especially, in revisiting memories as a Girl Guide. Of overnight camps, leadership training, and plenty of song and laughter. Girl Guides welcomed me as an awkward pre-teen, made Saturdays a joy, and taught me to be a “responsible citizen of the world”.

Guides, like many youth organisations, prepare young people by teaching them to “Be Prepared”, thereby futureproofing them and the communities they will become a part of. As you might guess at this point, this month’s theme is: Future-proof — the ability to be of value into the distant future.

What we do today must prepare us for tomorrow. In Dubai, a hydrogen-powered flying boat is being built (pg 82). Top chefs are changing conversations on food by adding invasive species like knotweed and cabbage white butterflies to menus (pg 102). And architects are now designing whole cities in the metaverse (pg 88).

Being valuable means having relevance through shifting sands. I’m thankful Jamus Lim, Fengru Lin, Karen Loon, Durreen Shahnaz and Kenichi Yoshida — all thought leaders in their fields — also responded to my call to pen articles that would spark discussions and encourage us to think bigger, and more creatively, about issues that concern us all (from pg 30).

Enjoy the reads.