Voice Messages for the Future

Voice Messages for the Future

Climate change, biodiversity loss, protracted wars, economic turmoil, digital insecurity, political fragmentation—our world is caught in a web of cascading crises.

Yet amid this turbulence, three profound questions call to us:
How can we be remembered as “good ancestors” by future generations? How can we ensure the safe and just survival of those yet to be born? What can inspire us to keep acting for the good of both now and the future?

This project invites you to pause and reflect deeply on these urgent questions. It seeks to strengthen your sense of connection with the future—one that sparks hope and responsibility.

Through three virtual mini discs (MDs), you’ll experience music designed to create mental space for contemplation. Along the way, you’ll hear personal messages from a social philosopher, a United Nations leader, and a climate activist—each sharing their vision for the future.

By the time the final note fades, you may find something stirring within you: a resilient hope—and a renewed commitment to shaping a future worth inheriting.

Booklet

(English) The Digital Booklet
(Japanese) デジタル・ブックレット

“To hope is to give yourself to the future, and that commitment to the future makes the present inhabitable.”
– Rebecca Solnit

Three Mini Discs

This project evokes a new sense of connection to the future within you, through audio recordings contained in three virtual mini discs (MDs).
Take a moment to listen to these mysterious discs—accessible via your desktop browser or smartphone.

Disc 01
Benyamin Nuss + Roman Krznaric

Benyamin Nuss's piano tetralogy (music made up of four pieces) begins with images of wounded land or a destroyed city. The tone is never despairing, inviting us to imagine a young person standing amidst the ruins. The music may depict this individual undergoing inner transformation, gradually expanding their perspective through deep introspection and small realizations.
In sync with the delicate unfolding of the piano music, social philosopher Roman Krznaric's voice message highlights how our modern world, trapped in short-term thinking, is "colonizing the future." He emphasizes that reversing this trend requires embracing long-term thinking.

Disc 02
Wac-Lounge + Tshilidzi Marwala

Wac-Lounge stands in a forest where the wind rustles the leaves and birds sing, gradually playing the modular synthesizer in dialogue with these sounds. The sense of harmony with nature in each piece suggests another way technology can gently connect humans and nature.
Amidst the serene soundscape created by the synthesizer, the voice message from Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of the United Nations University, speaks about the "Pact for the Future" and the "Declaration on Future Generations." He calls on young people to pave the way for sustainable growth.

Disc 03
Michael Louis + Clover Hogan

Michael Louis's sound journey begins with urban perspectives, moving through joyful, light steps in streets and parks, eventually reaching a place like a deep forest. Listeners feel a sustained sense of nostalgia and meditation, as if in a peaceful dream.
Climate activist Clover Hogan's voice message candidly addresses the stagnation of global climate action and political backlash. Yet, she reminds us, as Rebecca Solnit wrote, that recalling the struggles of women throughout history and thinking of those yet to be born renews our resolve to act.

Voice Messages and Music

Roman Krznaric
“We need to become “Good Ancestors,” so we are remembered well by the generations to come.”

Roman Krznaric is a social philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to create change. His internationally bestselling books including The Good Ancestor, Empathy, The Wonderbox and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than 25 languages. He is Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing and founder of the world’s first Empathy Museum. His latest book, published in July 2024, is History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity. Roman is a member of the Club of Rome and a Research Fellow of the Long Now Foundation.

Tshilidzi Marwala
“The next generations of leaders will not wait for others to act; they will lead. The Pact for the Future is a pledge for world leaders to listen to youths, to involve youths in decision making, and to work together with youths to build a more just and sustainable future.”

Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala is the Rector of the United Nations University and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prior to taking up the role of UNU Rector in 2023, Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala served as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg (South Africa) from 2018 through 2023. Prof. Marwala is a member of the UN Secretary-General's Scientific Advisory Board and the author of more than 25 books. Among the awards that Prof. Marwala has received are the Order of Mapungubwe (South Africa’s highest honour) and the Academy of South Africa’s Science-for-Society Gold Medal.

Clover Hogan
“I want generations that are growing up today or even generations not yet born to be able to look back on their ancestors, just as we look back on people-powered movements of the 1900s. “

Clover Hogan is a climate activist and the founding Executive Director of Force of Nature – the youth non-profit turning climate anxiety into action. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted within the boardrooms of Fortune 50 companies, and counselled heads of state. Clover has taken the stage with global change-makers such as Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva, and interviewed the 14th Dalai Lama. Her TED talk, ‘What to do when climate change feels unstoppable’, has been viewed 2 million times.

Benyamin Nuss

Born in Germany, Benyamin possesses a wide range of skills as a pianist and composer. While collaborating with renowned orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, he has recorded numerous albums under his own name, including two solo albums released from Deutsche Grammophon. He continues to perform classical, jazz, and contemporary music throughout Europe and captivates audiences with his exceptional talent and versatility.

Wac-Lounge

Wac-Lounge is a solo artistic project by Hideaki Waku. As part of “eureka!” an electronic music unit, he released CD and vinyl works from a Germany-based label. He made a tour in three cities including Frankfurt and Berlin and provided a number of music to fashion brands (like BALLY) and collective audio projects. In January 2023, the NTS Radio London aired an hour of Wac-Lounge music mix. The COVID crisis inspired him to publish countless audio-visual installations on Instagram, featuring modular synthesizers and tape recorders.

Michael Louis

Michael Louis Aaberg is an Oakland Native, a producer, musician and educator. He’s the producer behind artist Goapele’s ‘Closer’ and her musical director. He’s played keys and recorded for Lalah Hathaway including her Grammy winning Live record. He’s featured on Derrick Hodge’s “Color of Noize” and Ambrose Akinmusire’s “Origami Harvest” on Blue note Records. He has started his own label Tiger’s Eye Music and his debut, “ Slept On” as well as his latest release “Shapes & Shades” are both available on Bandcamp only. Michael resides in the Bay Area with his wife and daughter.

Production Team

Voice Messages: Roman Krznaric, Tshilidzi Marwala, and Clover Hogan
Music: Benyamin Nuss, Wac-Lounge, and Michael Louis
Sound Engineering: Daishiro Futakami (kusuguru) and Kohei Sato (Yuinchu)
The Digital Booklet: Katsuto Tamagawa
Production Support: Ryo Ohwani (Hitachi Document Solutions)
Special Thanks to: The United Nations University, River Studios Cologne, Ralf Kemper
Concept and Executive Direction: Koji Sasaki (Hitachi)

Related Contents

Audio Planetarium Module for the Anthropocene, APMA-2000

“Voice Messages for the Future” is part of a series of international projects designed to encourage reflection and learning about the global environment.

The website, “Acoustic Planetarium Module for the Anthropocene (APMA-2000),” features an interface reminiscent of vintage audio equipment. It offers a meditative experience—creating time and space to quietly and deeply contemplate a world in harmony with nature, while engaging with the latest knowledge about our planet’s environment.

This concept was developed through collaboration with scientists, research institutions, artists, narrators, and designers.

We invite you to enjoy an experience akin to a planetarium—one that inspires thought about our planet Earth and the future we share.

Introducing Audio Planetarium Module for the Anthropocene (APMA-2000)​

Video: “Toward a World in Harmony with Nature: The Planetary Boundaries and the Sustainability Transitions in Japan”（H-UTokyo Lab）

The environmental crises of our planet, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution, interconnected with other global challenges, are casting shadows on the efforts toward sustainable development. Urgent transformations are needed in various sectors, including energy, to alter this dangerous trajectory.

What are the Planetary Boundaries within which humans can live safely and fairly on this planet? What does the transition to a sustainable world look like? How can we achieve the transformation in Japan?

The leading researchers and practitioners of Planetary Boundaries and sustainability transitions share their insights for an integrated transition to a world in harmony with nature.

Participants:

Johan Rockström (Director, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research / Professor, Potsdam University)
Kazuhiko Takeuchi (Director, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, IGES / Project Professor, the University of Tokyo)
Frank Geels (Professor, the University of Manchester)
Hideaki Shiroyama (Professor, the University of Tokyo)
Takahiro Ueyama (Special Advisor for Regional Revitalization, Nishiawakura Village, Okayama Prefecture)
Tomoko Suzuki (Corporate Chief Researcher, Hitachi)
Benyamin Nuss (Pianist-Composer)
Koji Sasaki (Chief Researcher, Hitachi)

Presented by Hitachi-UTokyo Lab
Supported by Research & Development Group, Hitachi (Kyoso-no-Mori Webinar)