Shaping the urban age
Shaping the urban age
Visiting Expo 2025 Osaka revealed a striking mix of ambition and uncertainty. Beneath the architectural brilliance and corporate optimism, the event reflected Japan’s search for identity between technology and society, and the Global South’s struggle for modern narratives. The Expo stands as a mirror of our times—where spectacle often outshines substance.
Speaking at the Europe–Japan Roundtable on Digital Innovation and Sustainable Tourism at Expo 2025 Osaka’s Italy Pavilion was both an honour and a milestone. My journey between Europe and Asia continues through initiatives that connect innovation, governance, and sustainability—advancing a shared vision where digital transformation serves both people and the planet.
While visiting Bandung for a colleague’s wedding, I reflected on the 70th anniversary of the 1955 Asian-African Conference—the moment when newly independent nations chose solidarity and moral leadership over division. Seventy years later, Bandung still challenges us to revive that humanist spirit in an era of fractured geopolitics.