Over a year into the pandemic, COVID-19 has truly plunged us into uncertain times. To successfully navigate “new normals” we must diversify our knowledge sources to include more inclusive and anticipatory methods. Indispensable as data and scientific evidence are, they often miss the nuances of lived experience. Cognizant of this, we tapped into the power of the human imagination, eschewing hard data for stories about the futures we want—as well the futures we don’t.

The KISAH Futures Competition, organized by UNDP Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam in partnership with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Think City, collected stories from the general public around post-COVID Malaysian futures. The competition received nearly 700 submissions in two languages, English and Bahasa Malaysia, across themes like social cohesion, future of work, community well-being, and urban design. Over 70% of submissions came from authors below the age of 30.

Launched on 8 April 2021, the KISAH Futures Anthology features 50 winning and shortlisted stories from the competition. We hope this will inspire more futures thinkers and movers!