Jia Wei Lee imagines a future where sustainability and intersectionality go hand in hand.
In 2100, leaders would be leading with humility. Not content with consulting from grassroots communities, but actioning their ideas. Unafraid to challenge age-old systems, and daring to change systems to fit our ever-changing climate.
People would be educated and understand intersectionality cuts through every dimension of our lives – from climate justice and the disproportionate weight of climate change on indigenous communities, to preserving cultures and heritages, to decolonising education, dismantling patriarchy and systemic oppression. Diversity and inclusion would not simply be a tickbox but wholly integrated into our lives. One community’s fights would equate to every community’s fights. We’d believe the communities’ lived experience and why they are campaigning, why they are fighting against injustice, and change would match the scale of what communities want and need.
In terms of accessibility – the NHS (if it still exists) and the government, public and private organisations alike would adopt the social model of disability as a baseline, as the medical model does not work. People are being disabled by infrastructure catering to a non-disabled, able-bodied community. I envision a 2100 where paths are created to be wide enough for wheelchairs in all areas, vehicle owners are being briefed in the driving curriculum to ensure footpaths are being kept free for those with mobility aids to pass through – and this is properly enforced through legislation as well.
Every public building will have a quiet space or room with proper stim toys, earplugs, hot drinks, and adjustable lighting, so anyone can go there to remove themselves from the noise in case of overstimulation. Workplaces will have proper processes in place to combat the stigma experienced by those who are disabled (including neurodivergent people), and it will be essential for people with managerial status to help employees achieve their best self at work by making the necessary changes to make workplaces more accessible. Managers will wholeheartedly support employees when they present their authentic self, rather than conforming to neurotypical ways of working.
Growing up in 2100 means growing up in a time where community is as cohesive as ever, and community care and support are prioritised
Everyone in 2100 would have adopted writing ALT text in social media. Having a baseline of communicating in basic sign language would be part of the curriculum, braille would be used in all important signboards, and directional striped tiles would be present across all footpaths to ensure those with vision impairments can make their way through the city with ease.
In 2100, we would have enough funds for mental health care embedded in the NHS. All communities in Wales would be eligible for CBT, counselling, therapy, and mental health first aid training. We’d see a significant decrease in suicide rates due to the increase and widespread accessibility of trans healthcare and free mental health clinics. Mental health would be prioritised and taught in schools. Free period products would be present everywhere in all toilets, and proper inclusive sex education (including queer sex education) taught within all schools.
In this future Wales, the government understands that funding for infrastructure and the military matters less than costs related to employment, community building and cohesion for a sustainable future. The government and public bodies have a substantial budget allocated to long-term decarbonisation projects in local communities and not just ‘plant a tree’ carbon offsetting projects. There is an abundance of community fridges, food co-ops and farm-to-plate education. Kids have hands-on experience of growing and harvesting their crops. Homes are being allocated garden spaces with ‘grow your own food’ initiatives and community gardens and allotments to share and harvest together. Food banks disappear as community-based care and support in fresh foods are in abundance. Apps are developed to ensure trade and delivery between those who need or require food or healthcare and those that can provide it can be bridged, and that a call-out for help will be answered by those who have the resources almost immediately.
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There is an abundance of safe housing for those who need refuge, whether from homelessness, domestic violence or fleeing from anywhere unsafe. There is a long-term plan to welcome refugees and help them feel safe in Wales, no matter their skin colour. Governmental bodies are held accountable by independent commissioners to challenge their own biases on supporting specific communities when they are in crisis. Responses to crises are not asymmetrical, as is the handling of the war in Ukraine versus the Palestinian genocide.
Microaggressions in institutions are addressed and held accountable, with clear and transparent processes that make it easier for victims to report and map out the nature of the microaggression they experienced, while assuring the victims that they are not overthinking their lived experience. Anti-racism is taught in schools and racist behaviours are held accountable without being laughed off as jokes.
Growing up in 2100 means growing up in a time where community is as cohesive as ever, and community care and support are prioritised rather than nuclear families or individuals in silo. There are plenty of green areas, parks and playgrounds for the public to go and for kids to play in. Plenty of nature and wild areas for native species to thrive, for wild bees to flourish amid wild flowers, and animals are brought back into nature, restoring their ecosystems.
Wales can be a utopia place for us all, but first, we need to break down many layers of ingrained age-old systems that do not work for us anymore
Nature sessions are fundamental in schools. Kids prioritise the art of play and curiosity around their lands and its elements, as well as the seas, rivers and skies. Stargazing, wild swimming, foraging, learning about our mammals and insects while treeclimbing… In 2100, kids grow up to learn all these!
In 2100, Wales would be a leader in the UK in many ways – in preserving identity; in being a fully bilingual country where bilingualism is incorporated and Welsh and English literacy is at an all-time high, and lost Welsh celebrations are reclaimed and celebrated by the nation; and in being a country with no carbon emissions. Food waste is at an all-time low, with food recycling used to make compost redistributed to communities, and free to use; meat-producing animals are raised humanely, and campaigns are set up for all to support small businesses and local farmers. Wales would also be a nation of sanctuary who ‘walks the talk’, and a safe place for queer communities and multiply marginalised people to thrive.
In conclusion, Wales can be many things. Wales can be a utopia place for us all, but first, we need to break down many layers of ingrained age-old systems that do not work for us anymore, and challenge our biases to unlearn, and then relearn what will be good for all of us. This is not just for the middle and upper classes. This is for all of us.
Change should not be only to appease the stakeholders, not to celebrate ‘achievements’. We must remember why we are here and what we can do, not simply to reach specific goals and collect data for reports and KPIs, but to bring the changes that communities wholly and sorely needs in order to thrive, not survive. We must listen to our people.
This is why this essay is not wishy-washy or polite. As a queer neurodivergent immigrant from the global majority, I want to stress the importance of the motto: nobody is free until everybody is free. We must not lose track of the values of Wales and how Wales could be, in 2100. Cymru am byth.
This essay is part of a series commissioned in collaboration with the National Infrastructure for Wales.
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