in the last century . The majority of young people have to create jobs for themselves now rather than get jobs based on their academic qualifications . The age of the entrepreneur has begun and school and university curriculums must reflect this .
In America , many citizens have become personal conglomerates , pursuing several different careers at the same time . This kind of informal employment may , for example , include making money out of your car by participating in a smart network like Uber . This is the way things are , and as with the first industrial revolution in the 19th century , there ’ s no turning back the clock .
The porous border flag Earlier this year , 6 000 refugees were rescued from drowning in the Mediterranean in two days . This cloudy flag , along with the religious flag , has led to the hardening of attitudes in the West towards accepting refugees from conflict zones , as well as normal economic migrants . This has meant that , unlike in 2016 , migrants are now compelled to survive in makeshift camps without any hope of reaching their ultimate destination of choice . Borders are becoming less porous as a result of popular pushback in the US and Europe .
The new rules of the immigration game are diminishing one of the great forces driving the world since World War II : globalisation . It may well extend to educated and talented people having less opportunity to pursue education and work opportunities abroad in other countries .
The world is turning into a more closed society and unfriendly place than it was 20 years ago . The question is whether exceptional and more inclusive leadership replacing the power elite we have today will reverse this trend .
The internet and cellular flag This pervasive clockwork flag is radically altering the way every arm of government and every industry in the private sector operates . As I mentioned in Flagwatching , our dependency on this technology has elevated cybercrime and cyberterrorism to one of the greatest threats on Earth . The attack in May on 200 000 institutions in 150 countries showed how vulnerable the world is to dedicated hackers . On the other hand , this flag offers entrepreneurs incredible opportunities to be innovative and to reach their target markets .
The latest view on the next major technological wave is that the internal combustion engine will be obsolete by the middle of this century as cars become electric and driverless . Every house will have its own solar energy system , making it independent of the grid .
The lifestyle and leisure flag The millennial generation has a completely different view of time than previous generations . This is why this clockwork flag is negatively affecting the popularity of sports like golf and test cricket that require a large amount of time to play or watch .
Equally , the role of mother and father is moving away from the old model of the former looking after the children while the latter goes out and earns the money . Life and leisure are now a jointly shared affair in which the two partners ’ roles evolve as circumstances and personal preferences demand .
Clem Sunter is a strategist and author . This article was originally published on News24 on 15 May 2017 .