Lifestyle

Mindthis Musical: The Future We Want in 2050

Shaaz Nasir

Sharon Stone and young musicians from around the world will be joining forces with Mikhail Gorbachev, Cat Stevens and the United Nations to sing for a future we want – a more sustainable and secure world – in a major cultural performance being held 3 September 2013 in Switzerland.

Ashleigh Rolle, performer in "The Future We Want in 2050".

Mindthis Young Professionals Betsy Leimbigler, from Canada, and Ashleigh Rolle, from the Bahamas, will be two of the 30-­strong international cast performing in the show, titled 2050: The Future We Want, which is based on the renowned Peace Child musical.

It will be performed in the 2,000-­seat Assembly Hall at the United Nations Office at Geneva in honour of the 20th anniversary of President Gorbachev’s founding of Green Cross International, the nongovernmental organization responding to the inter-­related challenges of environmental degradation, insecurity and poverty.

Singing our Solutions

Betsey Leimbigler, performer in "The Future We Want in 2050, a joint Peace Child International and Green Cross International initiative for the UN.

The musical is being co-­produced by Peace Child International and Green Cross International, with support from the Geneva-­based Simply Theatre Academy. The performance will feature songs and music from Peace Child co-­founder David Gordon and his brother, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), and be performed by a 40-­strong cast aged from 8-­26 years, backed by a choir of more than 100 people.

The plot will take the audience on a journey back through time, from 2050 to now, and follow the cast forward as they demonstrate how they manage to resolve the critical challenges the world faces, including climate change, sustainability, poverty and security.

Facing our Crossroad

“The 2050: The Future We Want musical could not have been performed at a more appropriate time,” says Ms. Stone. “The world is at a crossroads: do we continue down the path of environmental destruction as we extract more and more resources to power our economy? Or do we urgently take a new path, using already what we know now, to embrace sustainability, efficiency and innovation to create the Future We Want?”

Betsey Leimbigler and Ashleigh Rolle, performers in "The Future We Want in 2050".Talking about the future she wants, Betsy says she looks forward to “creating a future where integrity and personal values shape corporate and political decisions in a  sustainable manner”. As for Ashleigh, she defines the future she wants as “simple”, “one where I’m not drowning because my island is still above water”.

Mindthis is proud of our Columnists and wish them the best with their two weeks of intensive rehearsals which start on 18 August in Geneva, Switzerland.