2046 VISION OF THE FUTURE
Pantai Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

BY JACQUELINE W

I wake up in my bed, in the room I've designed for myself. I'm thirty-seven now, surrounded by all the things I hand-picked along the way - the curved sofa, worn soft in the right places. The smell of jasmine and vanilla incense, my favourite, fills the room. Music drifts from a playlist I love.

I look out the window and there it is, the way it always is: I live right next to the beach, Pantai Kuta, close enough to hear it before I see it.

I get ready and change into an outfit I love, knowing there will be no judgement from anyone, about anything. I walk outside and the ocean meets me immediately. The smell of it, the sound of waves. A few people walk by, all in a good mood, doing their own thing.

I walk to my painting and drawing set-up and draw, the music and the waves keeping time together. Later, I meet my loved ones and friends for lunch. I order my favourite, babi guling, and we talk properly, the kind of talk that isn't rushed. Everyone seems happy. At peace.

After lunch we walk the streets, and everything around us is lush and green. The beaches are clean. People are kinder here, not only to each other but to everything around them - plants, animals, the small things. No one is worried about working harder for less and less. Everyone earns a fair wage. The work week is shorter. Communities are stronger. People are no longer trapped in endless stress.

As a collective, we finally understood that hatred, division and conflict only make life harder and heavier for everyone. Over the last decades, people chose compassion over anger, cooperation over war. Everyone seems to be doing what they're genuinely passionate about.

Birds fly and chirp as we stroll. The flowers look good. As the day goes on, a news alert lands on my phone: our favourite artist has just released a new album. So we walk to a clean spot on the beach and listen to it together.

Envisioned through: Imagining a Better World, Melbourne Design Week, 2026