Football has been a constant companion. From ther age of seven, I collected album stickers (which are a bit more high-tech today) of the Mexico World Cup teams.
...of civil society and the individuals within it. Perhaps this is a more hopeful way of addressing the current economic crisis than much of what we get through the mainstream media. If we listen more to the surviving members of the "make do and mend" generation that got through the 1930s, WWII and its bleak aftermath, maybe we can learn again not just self-sufficiency, but also a way of pulling together towards a common purpose?
A recent report found that many employees age 50 and older have a strong drive to make continued contributions in their field. Most of the individuals interviewed had a firm sense of who they are, what their purpose is, and how they can make a difference. And, many of these individuals were willing to share their knowledge and to help develop others.
In today's world where knowledge is power, it should come as no surprise that the most valuable asset any business has is the knowledge of its employees. And within a knowledge-based economy, competent and confident employees are the foundation for a successful business. Or, at least, so argued a recent article.
PwC's World in 2050 report examined, inter alia:
Is it a wrong approach, as claimed recently, to start with your favourite quality or value (freedom, equality, justice etc), and then try to imagine what a society would look like if it were arranged to maximise that quality?
Should we, instead, examine the political and cultural institutions we already have and work from there, as failure to do this might lead to incoherence and fantasy?
Not sure...just because most "-isms" are divisive and fail ultimately, should we really give up on all big ideas and hopes of breakthrough change in favour of sheer pragmatism?
In the next decade, we will share our offices, hospitals, schools, battlefields, nursing homes, and homes with a new breed of companion. A robot renaissance is underway, according to the IFTF.
By 2020, farm animals, at least in some Western countries, may enjoy more rights than ever before (source: Forbes, September 2010).
Longview Economics points out that several long-term cycles seem to be moving in a hostile direction for Western economies, with commodity prices rising, populations ageing and the debt spree unwinding. The Economist feels that this is not necessarily bad news for financial markets next month, or even next year, but it does suggest that a very awkward decade lies ahead.
Sustainable Urban Mobility in 2020 argues that, to make the car of the future, we need to make the city of the future.