When NATIV launched three years ago our vision was to be a brand that represented and reflected a newer, better, healthier more sustainable way of living in Ibiza. One that was connected to the world through our mantra of Live Local, Think Global. The thinking was that living local and thinking global should be part of all editorial policy. Under our guiding inspirations of culture, food, ecology, music, health and people we were driven by authenticity, sustainability, innovation and a respect for traditions and values that would inform our future, and create a better Ibiza and a better world. In some ways Ibiza can be seen as a microcosm of the world: the issues that affect the island, from food and water supply to energy sources, progressive ways of living and doing business touch everybody. To not be part of sustainable solutions is no longer an option: everybody has to connect and recognize these values – and these NATIV values now seem more relevant than ever.
Waiting for the future is no longer an option. Where it seemed we once had all the time in the world all of us clearly see that we have to act now. The world’s health and stability are fragile and need protecting and nurturing. We need to keep the sea clean and sustainable, we need to grow food in more environmentally responsible ways and even think about how far it has travelled. We need to look at energy and how we consume it and work, right now, towards generating it from sustainable sources. Clean water and healthy oceans are critical. We can’t afford to keep looking to the future and hoping for solutions: the future is now.
We know human beings require distractions and pleasures: entertainment, food and drink, art and culture, healthy activities for both body and mind. Time off. But all of these life-sustaining things now need to be carefully shepherded for creativity and innovation to shine through. Consider food and drink, a vital part of NATIV’s DNA. Being aware of how our food and drink is produced – in particular recognizing the benefits of organic farming and sustainable fish and meat production – leads to better food and drink, not worse. We can reduce food miles and develop relationships between producers and restaurants on a more personal, sustainable and productive level. By so doing, we’ll help creativity blossom and businesses thrive. NATIV champions and will continue to champion these positive connections.
Positive changes and evolution in business will have a beneficial stimulating effect. From green and clean initiatives and new working developments, real, sustainable prosperity can spring. Working together will benefit everybody, from high-end hotels to rural farmers; from vibrant, responsible, aware nightlife promoters to informed, conscientious custodians of our oceans. The symbiotic and sustainable relationship between ecology, culture and commerce; between a beautiful, precious island and the people who both live and work here and those who visit it each year in their millions is a relationship that NATIV believes in passionately. We are all connected, and developing and nurturing these connections in positive, sustainable ways will bring beneficial long-term growth.
Ecology, one of NATIV’s editorial bedrocks, is critical to all life. A healthy, vibrant, vital planet cannot continue to be used as it has been for centuries. We are in the future right now. It is why NATIV has written about the importance of the island’s posidonia sea meadows and why we are constantly looking at new ways to live in an environmentally conscious way. It is why plastic pollution is an issue we take so seriously and why clean drinking water is a matter we all have to think about right now. We are aware of the urgent need to stop exploiting and using fossil fuels, and NATIV has covered green initiatives and sustainable, clean energy sources from our launch. Green businesses and innovators will be a huge part of Ibiza’s future, and NATIV wants to be the magnet that draws like-minds together. Again, innovation and creativity can – and will – produce positive, beneficial ends.
Change comes through innovation and ideas. Creating an environment where innovation and ideas flourish is crucial, and NATIV is part of this. We need to truly embrace the goals of inclusion and sustainability and connect the dots between individuals, civic groups, businesses, municipalities and states to accelerate and develop our universal goals of good, healthy, sustainable life for all. We need to keep sight of where and how we are living in the present. We cannot wait for the future to happen behind closed doors. We must work together to control and create a world that is healthy and sustainable.
The future is fast-paced and occurring all around us, affecting us even if we don’t notice it. You look up and even the money you spend is being transformed into cryptocurrency. Art, once a solid, material thing, is being transformed into digital Non-Fungible Tokens. This is now. The future is now. Lazy thinking and old ways of running the world are rapidly becoming inadequate. Even the way we perceive ourselves and want to be perceived by others is evolving, and we all need to be part of these developments. These seismic changes are fast-paced and can be unsettling, but we at NATIV think they are opportunities for positive evolution.
From every huge challenge eventually comes positive change – change that makes life better for everybody, and sustains the things we all love and need. The challenge of Covid led to the positive innovation of a vaccine created in record time. To get through the last few years, people both in Ibiza and around the world have shown great connectedness and support, great innovation and respect for others. It is this positive reaction, this living in the moment, that we think makes the concept of The Future Is Now such a positive, energizing proposition. We are in the future, living it, and we can all be an instrumental part of a new, better way of life.
