The Future is Care: Publication and Gamified Policy Tool Launch

On 29 October 2026, the International Day of Care and Support, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will launch The future is care: visioning inclusive and resilient care systems in Asia and the Pacific. Using strategic foresight, the publication looks towards 2040 to examine how care systems in Asia and the Pacific could evolve, and what choices today can help shape more inclusive and resilient futures.

Structured around the Futures Triangle, the publication examines the weight of the past—the historical legacies and structural conditions that continue to shape how care is valued, organized and shared; the push of the present—the megatrends and emerging changes transforming care across the region; and the pull of the future. It explores four plausible futures for care in 2040—not as predictions, but as a way to consider how different forces and choices could interact over time. Building on these futures, the publication identifies pathways and practical entry points towards a preferred future in which care systems are more inclusive, resilient and responsive to the needs of those who provide and receive care.

The 29 October 2026 launch will mark the beginning of a longer period of ESCAP's action on care. The publication and tool will continue to inform ESCAP’s care-related policy dialogue and outreach, including through the ninth session of the Committee on Social Development (CSD9) in November 2026 and subsequent regional and intergovernmental discussions. Looking further ahead, the publication and the tool are also intended to contribute to regional preparations and engagement towards the seventy-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW72) in 2028, which will center on care, as well as longer-term discussions on care in the context of the post-2030 development agenda.

The launch will also introduce the Caring Futures Lab, an interactive role-play gamified policy tool inspired by the publication’s future scenarios. Participants are invited to step into different possible care futures in 2040, make everyday choices and reflect on how wider systems and policy environments shape the experiences of people who provide and receive care.

Together, the publication and the tool bring strategic foresight to life—combining evidence, futures thinking and interactive experience to encourage dialogue on the decisions that can be taken today to shape the future of care in Asia and the Pacific.