During a session of Culture and Creative Economy Foresight at The International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization in Turin (ITCILO), 23-25 April 2025, I was given this question, “Your early research explored bamboo—an incredibly adaptable, resilient, and regenerative material. If you had to design a learning ecosystem for creative entrepreneurs with the qualities of bamboo, what would it look like in 2035? What are the ‘bamboo-like’ skills we should be nurturing today?”

It was actually fun the make the analogy; big thanks to Stefano Merante for the question! 🙂

1 Resilient | For centuries, bamboo has been considered as a reliable structural material. It has been used as skyfoldings, bridges, towers, houses, and many more; its flexibility enables the bending techniques, its strength retains the forms while holding the burdens, its lightness makes it easy to transport and work with. It grows fast; it can be harvested within months, depending on the kind of products it is aimed for — hence earning its reputation as a renewable, rapidly regenerative material. It withstands new ‘tricks’, or new production processes, which makes it a potential material for the future. | Resilience in creatives should also make them spring back or stand a strain of challenges in their line of work; they should learn (grow) fast and be agile when faced with new ‘tricks’ (system, technology, environment, etc.) that would turn them into future-ready creatives. Creatives should also regenerate their skills, experience and knowledge, particularly considering the rapid acceleration of media and technology development.

The bamboo doodle on my sketchbook, made right after the session

2 Healing | Bamboo has numerous properties that make it welcome by all living beings in any environment. It releases more oxygen compared to average trees, its groves provide shadings and nesting spaces for a variety of small species (birds, insects, snakes); its hollow tubes are used as a cooking ‘pot’ and to hold liquids; its shoot is known as delicacies in many cultures; its roots neutralize the soil from toxic substances. Its positive impacts have been proven, recorded and measured. | Creatives should also spread goodness and heal, or provide solutions to, the issues they are delving in; their works should be impactful and relevant in a long term.                 

3 Binding | It is not directly visible, but the roots of bamboo – being actually a giant grass – connect and tangle beneath the ground. The roots form a network that binds the soil, strengthening its structure, preventing landslides at critical landscapes. The stronger the binds, the more solid the grounds, ensuring a more productive landscape. | Creatives rarely work alone; they would always establish networks in different ecosystems, creating resources and supports, ensuring strong advancements of their works.       

4 Vulnerable | Despite being praised as a “material of the future”, bamboo surely has its vulnerability. Once taken from its groves and unprotected by its silicon-invested skin, bamboo poles are prone to insect and fungi attacks. Therefore it requires proper preservation, appropriate treatments, and the right supports in order to be able to optimally perform. | Creatives often face multiple challenges, ending up in self burn-outs and substandard performance. Their vulnerability should also be addressed and coped with, to maintain productivity and excellence.    

There are a lot more to bamboo than this, of course, but that would take an entire book to write. But as far as creatives are concerned, these are at least the qualities of bamboo that we can relate to.