On the Eve of a New Year - Adj Prof Jessie Jong Chung Jin, A.S.D.K Smart Ageing Strategist | Social Impact Innovator

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On the last day of the year, there is often a natural pause, between what has passed and what has yet to unfold. On this New Year’s Eve, it feels timely to consider the kind of work that deserves time and patience in the years ahead.

Many of today’s social challenges, particularly those related to ageing, community life, and how societies organise care and support, do not have simple or immediate solutions. They are are influenced by context, lived realities, and long-standing assumptions about how responses should be designed.

Research, analytical writing, and conceptual exploration provide room to think carefully about what might work, what may not, and why. Taking time at this stage allows ideas to mature before they are carried forward.

Where Ideas Meet

Ideas do not develop in isolation. Even in reflective phases, they benefit from thoughtful exchange and exposure to different perspectives.

In this context, platforms such as Life+ Expo 2026 can serve as useful venues where research, emerging concepts, and practical experience can be placed side by side. Rather than being sites of execution, such spaces allow ideas to be surfaced, questioned, and refined through dialogue across disciplines and experiences.

These environments function as points of convergence, places where thinking can be tested and expanded, without pressure to move prematurely into action.

Standing at a Threshold

As the year comes to an end, this moment feels less like a conclusion and more like a transition. Some ideas have taken shape, others are still forming, and many questions remain open.

New Year’s Eve offers space to acknowledge what has quietly emerged, to recognise the value of patience in thinking, and to step into the new year with openness rather than urgency. Some work benefits from being allowed to unfold in its own time.
Location: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

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