Historical lessons and Kazakhstan’s optimistic future – Peter Frankopan’s insights at Connected 2024
Peter Frankopan, historian, professor at Oxford University, author of a bestseller "The Silk roads꞉ a new history of the world", spoke at “Connected” Conference 2024 about the importance of optimism about the future, noting improvements in our lives, the role of young people and shared his opinion on Kazakhstan, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The professor emphasizes that while it's easier to predict negative outcomes, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future. He notes that a child born today will likely have the longest life expectancy in human history, and maternal health has significantly improved over time.
He also discusses how current seismic changes, like advancements in AI, are rooted in long-standing historical trends rather than being sudden transformations.
"Here in Kazakhstan, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the sequence of events over the past 30 years has led to a complete reorganization of Kazakh society, ecology, industry, and the nation's outlook on the world. Similar transformations have taken place in many other parts of the world as well. To give you a sense of the scale of this change, in the year 2000, the economy of the United Kingdom, where I come from, was larger than the combined economies of China and India. These changes didn’t suddenly appear because of AI or other modern innovations. Historians are here to remind you that there are always deep roots to these transformations. If we focus only on the flower of the plant, and not its roots, I think it's very tempting to always be drawn to the immediate rather than to understand the full pace and rate of change,” says Frankopan.
The author of the bestseller of "The Silk Roads" also explained how historical lessons from the past can be applied to the future.
“First, you can study history because history is a beautiful subject. There are so many new ideas about how we can understand the past, making it inherently interesting. Second, if you’re looking at how history can be useful, it offers fundamental insights. These insights can be broken down into key areas: the importance of water, food, energy, disease environments, and new technologies. Today, we live in a hyper-connected world where information and goods flow incredibly fast, so there's not so much in parallel with the great times of the Silk Roads a thousand years ago and yet if one looks backwards in time, you can see that new technologies introduce new hierarchies and new wealth. The way in which we trade can be helpful for some people but not for others. So, there are lots of things that you can learn about the past and Silk Roads is all about these networks,” notes professor at Oxford University.
He also touched on the changes within the new generation, noting their different relationship with history and how they engage with the world. While older generations may see young people as detached from traditional historical studies, there are other sides to this.
Frankopan notes that the new generation is more focused on global issues and current challenges, using modern platforms and technology to stay informed and share ideas. Their approach to understanding the world may be different, but it reflects a broader and more interconnected perspective.
“Actually, I think young people highly engaged in global affairs. It’s just that they view the world through a much broader lens than my generation. I’m a child of the Cold War, and we understood the world in quite a binary way. However, the students I teach, and those I interact with globally, have an extraordinary range of interests—much broader than when I was young," explains the historian.
Professor also shared his opinion on Kazakhstan to Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
“I’ve been visiting this region for nearly 30 years. The changes here have been remarkable. Back in 1991, Astana was just a small village, and now it's the heart of Kazakhstan. The pace of change has been enormous. It depends a lot on your generation. What do you consider important? What changes do you want to see? Events like this [“Connected” conference, - editor’s note] are great because so many young people come to listen and think about the future. You know, I’m getting older, and now it’s your turn to ask the important questions," notes Frankopan.