The 30/30/30 Project 

The Insights from Generation Z 30 years on from Democracy “So this is our chance to have a say, and for things to change…” – Representative 30 years on from South Africa’s democracy, Flux Trends and Student Village have joined forces to create this project to introduce South Africa – and the world – to […]

Future Rights – Human Rights and Human Riots.

Looking 5 minutes, 5 years, and 50 years ahead  By Bronwyn Williams This trend briefing looks at global socio-economic future threats that mark the journey to our imagined, created and shared future by taking a long-term view of how the current trends will unfold to build the foundation of the rights that will govern the […]

30/30/30 – Why This Generation Matters

A letter about Generation Z from Dion Chang Almost 15 years ago, I started tracking Gen Z. Back then the oldest of this cohort were only in their mid-teens, but I knew that the first digital natives of humanity would go on to be game changers. Unlike previous generations there was no concept of “new […]

Disconnected Dads

Absent fatherhood is a significant challenge in South Africa. In a tweet made by president President Ramaphosa on the 29th of August 2023, he stated that, “Only a third of South Africa’s children live with both parents”. Most children either live with their mother only or with neither parents. According to data from Statistics South […]

Play to learn

What’s trending? Gone are the days when children roamed free with neighbourhood kids of mixed ages after school, only to return home when the sun was setting. Children today don’t have as much freedom to play in their own time as in the past. Carefully shepherded trips to the park, supervised playdates and organised activities […]

Point of no return

What’s trending? Retailers are increasingly reassessing their ecommerce return policies in an effort to reduce costs and run their businesses along environmentally-friendly lines, while not sabotaging sales.  The ecommerce boom has slowed since the pandemic but consumers have grown accustomed to fitting rooms in their homes instead of in-store dressing rooms. Consumers are more likely […]

Microfactories

What’s trending? At the moment,  a large proportion of consumer goods is produced in big factories, enabling economies of scale. Many of these factories are in low-income regions and this has led to significant cost savings for businesses and customers. However, there are signs that this is changing as manufacturers re-assess their offshore production facilities. […]

Digital opium VS. Spinachtok

What’s trending? In a November 2022 interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes”, technology ethicist and former Google employee Tristan Harris observed that the US version of TikTok is different from the Chinese version of the app, comparing the two experiences to opium and spinach. The term “spinach” suggests a healthy and nourishing influence on users whereas […]

Are autonomous floating farms the future of food security?

What’s trending? Floating farms refer to food production facilities built on water. These floating platforms can accommodate fresh produce, fish or livestock or a combination of the three. The concept of floating farms is not new; floating fish farms in Asia have been in existence for many decades. However, the modern ones make use of […]

Heritage food brands under threat

What’s trending? Climate change is changing the nature of heritage crops around the world. Egyptian farmers are finding that their crops are being damaged by excess salinity in the Nile Delta, made worse by climate change. One farmer was forced to stop growing tomatoes and has switched to rice instead. Extreme weather has cut Spain’s […]