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Will Asia lead the world in green technologies and in the political-economic transition to sustainability? Can Asia bury past conflicts and create stronger regional institutions including perhaps, step by step, an Asian Union? In what ways could Asia's traditional cultures - Islamic, Tantric, Taoist, Confucian, Buddhist and Vedic - be resources in inventing an alternative more hybrid cultures?

"Great expectations and a virtual world are among the megatrends changing the role of museums and arts organisations. The megatrends, identified by CSIRO trend analyst Stefan Hajkowicz, are a major shift in the cultural, economic, social, environmental and technological milieu that are expected to radically change the context of everything we do over the next 20 years. Some of the trends go to the very nature of why people come to museums, raising the possibility that museums, galleries and theatres could replace shops as the 'third place' where people congregate. Others will change the processes by which our organisations operate and the subjects on which we focus. Speaking at the Musuems Australia National Conference in Canberra on Shaping the Future of Museums, Dr Hajkowicz said while some changes were 'black swans' - phenomena never seen until a major change of environment - many were more like a 'kangaroo in the headlights', who sees the car coming but remains frozen. He gave the example of Eastman Kodak, which was involved in the development of the digital camera in 1975 but failed to change its business model from dependence on film and filed for bankruptcy in 2011."

"After having lived in Taipei for ten years, Troy Parfitt sets out on an epic journey to test the theory that China is ascending toward a position of global hegemony. The result is whirlwind tour of the Chinese world, one that enlightens, astonishes, and entertains. Parfitt shows us he is the perfect China tour guide: the steward of an intimate knowledge of the nation's history, culture, and psyche - yet not serving any interest other than an investigative one. Here is a unique and powerful book, one that will change the way people think about China and its "great rise.""

The baby bust, the big tilt, whatever you want to call this bold new demographic world, it is like nothing we have experienced before. It works silently, eating away at the consumer and the tax base just as it worked for the consumer and the tax base over the past 60 years: more babies and more young migrants pumped up the worker base. But at some point it all comes crashing down. And that point is upon us or at least will be upon us in the coming decade. And it's not just Australia where the demography tilts in favour of the retirement age group. The working-age population in Japan has contracted from 87 million in 1994 to 81 million in 2010; over the previous 16 years the working-age population had expanded by nine million. Which period delivered greatest prosperity to the Japanese people?

Smart mobs emerge when communication and computing technologies amplify human talents for cooperation. The impacts of smart mob technology already appear to be both beneficial and destructive, used by some of its earliest adopters to support democracy and by others to coordinate terrorist attacks. The technologies that are beginning to make smart mobs possible are mobile communication devices and pervasive computing - inexpensive microprocessors embedded in everyday objects and environments. Already, governments have fallen, youth subcultures have blossomed from Asia to Scandinavia, new industries have been born and older industries have launched furious counterattacks.

There is a crisis of meaning in the world of business, especially for millenials.  They're asking the question, "Why am I doing this?"  And I think businesses are not providing great answers to those questions, and I think that's why you're getting more and more talented millenials picking a career that is non-business or quasi-business in part for foundation or some NGO.  And I think it's partially tied into this whole shareholder value maximization theory.

"Here is our invitation to the storytellers of the world: Make a short film that Inspires us. Moves us. Gives us something to believe in. Envision a new, positive, possible future for the world. One that is environmentally sustainable, socially just, peaceful and spiritually fulfilling. The film contest includes awards valuing $30,000 that will be announced in July. Films can be 1 to 5 minutes in length, and must be submitted by June 21st."