Zaha Hadid – the Iraqi-British architect whose designs left an indelible mark on a number of cities, including Abu Dhabi – knew a thing or two about looking to the future. Born in 1950, a time when the republics of the Arab world were teeming with new ideas, she told an interviewer in 2012 that when growing up in Iraq, “there was an unbroken belief in progress and a great sense of optimism”.
Today, as the Middle East and the wider world enter the 26th year of the new millennium, it would be understandable if many people did not share Hadid’s confidence. Our changing global climate, rising wealth inequality and collection of deadly armed conflicts are just some of the urgent challenges that paint a picture of a world in deep crisis.
However, there are several realistic reasons to be more optimistic about 2025, and thousands of people around the world have found them. A recent 33-country study carried out by pollster Ipsos found that despite a pervasive cost of living crisis, political polarisation and continuing wars, 71 per cent of respondents said they were optimistic that 2025 will be better than the year just gone. Although two thirds of respondents said 2024 was a bad year for their country, this was the lowest figure since 2019.
In the Middle East, such optimism is coupled with a brighter economic outlook. A report published on Monday by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs said that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were both projecting an increase in growth in most regional economies this year. In addition, the World Bank says growth in Gulf countries is expected to strengthen to 4.2 per cent this year, up from 1.9 per cent in 2024. And yesterday, The National reported that robust growth, economic diversification plans and strong investor demand for initial public offerings in the Gulf is set to continue driving new listings in 2025 and beyond. In societal terms, such economic optimism translates into investment and jobs, offering people more opportunities and security.
Other parts of the world are also looking to 2025 with some anticipation, with many parts of the Global South growing in confidence. The Ipsos survey found that more than 80 per cent of respondents in Indonesia and China – two important countries in an increasingly multi-polar world – were optimistic about this year. Several emerging economies are also more confident than western nations about the chance of ending ongoing wars. While there was a drop of 10 percentage points in the number of Australians who thought the war in Ukraine can be resolved this year, Malaysians revealed growing optimism that it could be. In addition, more than half – 55 per cent – of respondents in India were hopeful of a more peaceful Middle East.
Indeed, despite the collective failure to end the suffering seen in many wars, and the ongoing occupation and suffering of Palestine, many people retain a strong moral conscience about the need for such conflicts to end. Culturally, many artists remain undaunted by the challenge and work tirelessly to highlight injustice. A collection of 11 stories about Gaza created by female Palestinian filmmakers for the Connecther film competition in the US is just one example.
The “unbroken belief in progress” of which Hadid spoke will be sorely tested by the many challenges that lie ahead in the coming months. However, neither naivety nor fatalism are options. When it comes to building a better world in 2025, humanity has to be confident that it is still the master of its own fate.
