The age of wisdom

Ageing, when done right, brings wisdom. Greater age brings more experience and experience filtered through time becomes a shining crystal that reveals joys and regrets of the past, contentment and comprehension of the future. The individuals featured in this special publication have weathered the years with dignity and refinement. They have made their marks in their respective fields and still, even as septuagenarians, contribute to the discourses in their areas of expertise, from trade and politics to the environment and journalism. Like the Bangkok Post, Supachai Panitchpakdi, Prakit Vathesatogkit, Sompol Kiatphaibool, Sophon Suphapong and Roger Crutchley grew up in the post-war years, when the world was reeling from the uncertainty and confusion of the mid-19th century and looking forward to the dawn of a new era. They came of age, like the Bangkok Post, in times of great change, socially, politically, culturally, and they witnessed the upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s as adults, wondering if the new era their generation had hoped for would ever arrive. It did, to an extent. And like the Bangkok Post they lived through the prosperity of the 1990s and 2000s, before the world was again turned on its head by tectonic shifts in technology, culture and politics. Been there, done that? Maybe more, because what they’ve seen, heard, thought and done over the seven decades is fundamental to the continual progress of society in these ongoing times of transformation. Their wisdom has been gleaned from the times they lived through and informs us about the times we’re experiencing now and those still to come. In short, they’re worth listening to.