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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
Guy Lundy is a futurist, strategy consultant, and professional speaker. He is the co-author of "South Africa: Reasons to Believe' and the co-editor of 'South Africa 2014: The Story of our Future'. In his recent 'South Africa Beyond 2010' address, he warned that South Africa can expect a 'bumpy road' ahead of the 2010 World Cup thanks largely to global circumstances which are beyond our control. As the CEO of Accelerate Cape Town, he is actively involved in assisting key role-players with their 2010 preparations.  What do you make of the political upheaval in South Africa over the past few days? I think it's all very interesting and I view it as the next step in our political maturity. It doesn't worry me because it is happening all over world. We have seen regime change in Japan, in Thailand, in Israel…it's probably going to happen in the UK and, of course, it has happened in Italy. These are countries which have experienced a change in government - it's perfectly, so I don't think we have to get particularly excited about the South African situation. Looking ahead, how for you see South African society changing in the build-up to 2010? I would hope that it would change in terms of the excitement. We haven't reached the point where people realize just how big it is. When we look at other major sporting events, there is always a level of skepticism - all the things we worry about here. It goes with the territory. In the last year, building up to the tournament, the momentum will pick up. Do you see the tournament as being a solution for many of the social problems we are currently facing? Not the tournament itself but the ability to be on the world stage - yes. The World Cup will be a major driver of our international image and Major driver of our international image and that's obviously very important. more interviews... |
