Report identifies seven 'global megatrends' shaping the 21st century

Around 3.7 million Australians have been unintentionally caught in an ocean rip. For the unprepared it can be a harrowing experience--but for experienced surfers, rips are a handy way to ride through the whitewash and out to the break. We're not surfers, but we work at Australia's national science agency in "strategic foresight," which you can think of as the study of the currents taking the world into the future. These currents are a bit like ocean rips: they present risks for those who don't understand them, but opportunities for societies, organizations and people who are prepared. We call the biggest currents "megatrends", and in a new report we examine the megatrends that will shape the next 20 years.