Stefano Vlahovic Looks at the Next Ten Years
— 2006-09-11 —

Ideas and Information

Ten years is a long time when it comes to social development.  But as it unfolds, the landscape will surely change as new faces emerge, bringing fresh ideas and original knowledge, along with changing views on the world.  And information will become an even more precious commodity – prolific, exhaustive, and readily available. 

Environmental protection will not take hold worldwide

Undoubtedly, most countries will continue to clean up their cities, reduce their emissions, and preserve their natural wildlife areas.  But unfortunately, I don’t think that it will become a global priority, especially given the number of countries that are developing at extremely rapid rates.  For them, economic potential and social welfare are far more important than environmental protection. 

Mass media will change significantly

The rate at which we exchange information will increase exponentially over the next ten years, as communications technology becomes more accessible and centralized.  Before long, we will use our mobile phones for everything from video conferencing to watching movies.  And the electronic mass media market will change drastically, with companies competing aggressively to come up with better ways to transmit information.  What’s more, information will become increasingly more refined and user-specific. 

Home buyers will pay for convenience

A decade from now, it will be easier to buy a home in Russia.  And home buyers will pay more just to have the modern conveniences they want – like high-tech kitchens and home office space. 

We will build bigger and better freeways

By the year 2016, Russian transportation systems will have improved immensely, with bigger and better freeways.   

Cooking from scratch will be a thing of the past

Let’s face it.  We all value our time because we don’t have as much of it as we used to - and that will only become more of an issue over the next ten years.   So Russian consumers will look for ways to save precious time, especially in the kitchen – which means that the demand for frozen convenience foods that taste “just like homemade” will skyrocket. 

Russia will be more democratic

By the end of the next decade, I predict that Russian society will be more democratic, particularly when it comes to freedom of information.  As a result, our people will be more knowledgeable about the world around them and what they can do to make it a better one.