LINES OF THOUGHT ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA

Lines of thought across
Southeast Asia

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Into the Future

The last two decades have changed Cambodia almost beyond recognition. From a nation scarred by years of civil war, the Kingdom has risen into a hub of international investment with a flourishing middle class. Now, the people of Cambodia face a choice: what kind of country do they want to build for generations to come? As part of Future Forum’s Cambodia 2040 project, many of the Kingdom’s brightest young minds have come together to lay out their vision for building a nation where everyone is free to learn, grow, work and live to their full potential. Over the next eight weeks, we’ll be breaking down the challenges facing every level of Cambodian society – from the classrooms our children learn in, to the farms their food is grown on, and the regional politics shaping their futures. 

In 20 years time, Cambodia will be as unrecognisable to us as our present would have been to our parents. Join us every Wednesday for a glimpse of what that future could look like – and what we have to do to make that happen. 

  1. 1 Into the future
  2. 2 Cambodia and the great powers
  3. 3 Hungry for change
  4. 4 Cambodia’s green revolution?
  5. 5 Get with the times
  6. 6 Under the gavel
  7. 7 Making the grade
  8. 8 Back to the future

Cambodia looking forward

Into the future

In 20 years time, Cambodia will be as unrecognisable to us as our present would have been to our parents. Over the next eight weeks, Southeast Asia Globe, in partnership with Future Forum, will be speaking to some of the Kingdom’s brightest minds about the future they envision for the next generation. Read More

Chia Chi Hsu • Dec 04, 2019

International relations

Cambodia and the great powers

In the second instalment in our eight-week partnership with Future Forum, a Cambodian think tank, we examine the Kingdom’s attempts to navigate the choppy waters of great power politics. Read More

Chia Chi Hsu • Dec 11, 2019

Farming and food

Hungry for change

In the third installment of our eight-week series looking at Cambodia in 2040, we examine how the next two decades will see the Kingdom’s food production and farming face a mix of challenges posed by technology, drought and trade. How will a country so reliant on its agricultural sector manage to adapt and survive? Read More

Chia Chi Hsu • Dec 18, 2019

The Kingdom in 2040

Cambodia’s green revolution?

In the fourth installment of our eight-week series in conjunction with Future Forum looking at Cambodia in 2040, we turn to the future of energy and the environment in the Kingdom. While deforestation is currently rampant, does Cambodia have the capacity to transform itself into a green beacon in the region? Read More

Navet Tab • Dec 25, 2019

Industry 4.0

Get with the times

In the fifth installment of our eight-week series with Future Forum looking at the Kingdom in 2040, we turn to the future of work. In the coming decades, the region’s economies will change faster than we’ve ever seen before. Will Cambodia ride that energy or fall behind? Read More

Chia Chi Hsu • Jan 01, 2020

Cambodia in 2040

Under the gavel

In the sixth installment of our eight-week collaboration with Future Forum looking at life in the Kingdom in 2040, we delve into law and governance. With poor public service provision, entrenched patronage networks and rampant corruption, does Cambodia have the capacity to reform in order to truly prosper? Read More

Chia Chi Hsu • Jan 08, 2020

Cambodia in 2040

Making the grade

For the seventh installment of our eight-week series with Future Forum looking at the Kingdom in 2040, we examine the future of learning in Cambodia. With the need for high-quality schooling only going to rise in the coming decades, will the Kingdom’s education system make the grade? Read More

Chia Chi Hsu • Jan 15, 2020

Cambodia 2040

Back to the future

In the eighth and final instalment of Southeast Asia Globe’s collaboration with Future Forum on the Cambodia 2040 project, we sit down with the think-tank’s founder Ou Virak to hear his reflections on the series. In the decades to come, does he believe that the Kingdom will successfully address the pressing issues raised? Read More

Chia Chi Hsu • Jan 22, 2020

About Future Forum

Future Forum (FF) is an independent think tank that focuses on research, analysis and public policy, finding solution-focused answers to an identified ‘policy gap’ in Cambodia.

Founded by Ou Virak in 2015, FF uses its research to help decision-makers with detailed, specific and constructive policy issues to Cambodia’s issues. FF’s approach is to dig deep with its research, applying an analytical approach that highlights trends and produces sound policy recommendations to help shape Cambodia’s policy discourse.

FF has partnered with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung organisation to produce an edited volume series examining socio-economic development in the Kingdom. Ranging from economic development and foreign relations and governance, to culture and society, this book brings together a collection of experts, looking at various potential scenarios that Cambodia is likely to confront in 2040. 

This series has been researched and written in partnership with Future Forum.