Future Leaders

This was released in late January, but I have finally got the chance to read it now - Forum for the Future, a sustainable development charity chaired by Sir Jonathan Porritt, and UCAS, the undergraduate admissions service, have teamed up to conduct a survey among 2007 incoming undergrads to ask them about their expectations for the future.

With a 25% response rate (consisting of over 50,000 soon-to-be university students), the broad picture from the Future Leaders' Survey is that we will live (in 2030) in a world of greater technological development, but one where the global rich-poor divide is greater and climate change manifests itself across the globe. Amidst a recognition of the scale of change that awaits us in the coming century, Sir Jonathan Porritt wrote in his introduction to the report:

"...this is a transitional generation, with one foot placed confidently in the low-carbon environment-friendly economy of the future, but the other still rooted in today's high-speed, high-consumption, carbon-intensive lifestyles...As far as most of our future leaders are concerned, their glasses are undoubtedly half-full when they look out on the world ahead."

A selection of statistics from the survey:
- 76% believe that lifestyles need to change radically across the board, or at least in many areas, for humanity to survive the next century.
-55% sees itself as more concerned about the environment, with only 8% saying that their parents were more concerned.
-46% say that environmental concerns are important when deciding who to work for
-36% say that they have written to their MP
- 79% say that having an interesting job will be very important for their personal happiness in the next ten years, compared to 33% who say the same about having a job that pays well.

And of particular interest:
- 45% of those studying education, social sciences, architecture, and building and planning said that a good track record on sustainable development was important or very important in choosing where to study.
-14% of creative arts and design and social sciences students said that environmental considerations were important for all five of the following - employer, type of career, bank, car and voting preferences.

This is a trend that I think is only going to intensify in the coming years and decades. Sustainable development - environmental, ethical and societal concerns will find their way across most decisions we make and become an integral part of our thinking. Other surveys remind us that it is the grey-haired generation rather than the 16-25s who are more politically and environmentally active; the survey results suggest, at the very least, that positive, societal change among my generation is on its way - even if only haltingly for now.