The 21st century is often touted as the Age of Asia, driven by an increasingly affluent and growing middle class hungry for progress and development. But what is the motivation for growth? Are current leaders in sync with the needs and aspirations of the next generation? In Rethinking Asia 3: Political and Social Change, graduate students and Fellows from Harvard, MIT, Tufts and Colombia University who participated in three Asia Leadership Treks and seven Asia Leadership Fellowship Tours organized in 2016, attempt to tackle these questions and more. In addition to venturing for the first time to Central Asia, covering Dushanbe in Tajikistan; Bishkek and Osh in Kyrgyzstan; Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan; and Tashkent and Samarkand in Uzbekistan, Trekkers and Fellows also made visits to Dhaka, Taipei as well as Shanghai, Singapore, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Seoul, Incheon, Pohang and Tokyo. From these countries, the Trekkers and Fellows seek to unearth what inspires current leaders in business, government and social enterprise to go beyond their limits and build a thriving Asia for tomorrow's generations.
