Are we dreaming big enough?

By Philipp Willigmann

When I first visited a World Expo — in Hannover, 2000 — it felt like stepping into Star Trek.
A portal to possible futures. A glimpse of worlds not yet built, but within reach.
That experience stayed with me. It shaped my worldview, my work, and my passion for building what’s next.

So, walking into Expo 2025 Osaka, I had high hopes.

And in many ways, Japan delivered.
The architecture is stunning. The pavilions are graceful.
The Japanese exhibit in particular — imaginative, warm, joyful — presents a hopeful, human-centered future that resonates deeply.

I lived and worked in Japan in 2008–2009, and I know the brilliance, discipline, and innovation this country holds. Hosting the Expo is a powerful invitation to the world — and a chance to encourage Japan’s next generation to look outward again.
To explore. To connect. To shape global narratives.

But as I moved through the pavilions of the U.S., Germany, UK, France, Austria, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, and the Netherlands, a pattern emerged:

The message was consistent and important — but deeply familiar:
“We must collaborate.” “We must work together.”

And while that’s absolutely true, I couldn’t help but feel we were missing something:
boldness, imagination, and humanity.

The dominant theme was climate — and rightly so. The urgency is real.
But it often felt like we were presenting a catalog of constraints, not a canvas of possibilities.

We talked about emissions, transitions, and efficiency, but rarely about people.
Where was the spirit of exploration? The belief that we can build a world where all of us can truly thrive?

Only Germany, with its focus on the Circular Economy, offered a concrete systems-level idea.
Most others, while visually stunning, remained conceptually safe, avoiding the uncomfortable questions about what kind of future we really want to live in.

That contrast became even sharper days later, when I watched Elon Musk speak in Saudi Arabia.

Yes, we can debate his delivery or approach, but the ambition is hard to ignore.

He spoke of tens of millions of humanoid robots, autonomous mobility, and interplanetary exploration.
It wasn’t just about technology — it was about adventure, abundance, and human potential.

It was like a real-world Star Trek pitch — and it made me wonder:

Why did that kind of boldness feel so distant in Osaka?

Still, Expo 2025 matters.

It offers the world a beautiful platform.
And maybe more importantly, it’s a mirror.

A moment to ask:
What do we reflect to the world?
And what kind of future are we actually building?

Because Japan still has a role to play — not just as host, but as visionary.
A society rooted in precision, respect, and purpose.
A place that once led the world in futuristic thinking, and can do so again if it dares.

I’m especially grateful to have shared this journey with my business partner in Japan Christina Schmitz, whose work through the Purpose Driven Innovation Ecosystem (PDIE) continues to challenge how we think about progress, purpose, and planet.

Walking through the Expo together, our conversations kept returning to one question:

How do we turn symbolism into systems? Vision into venture?

My hope:
That this Expo becomes a catalyst.
It inspires a new wave of young Japanese to travel, create, and challenge the world.
That it reminds all of us that unity is a foundation, not a finish line.

We don’t just need to come together.
We need to go further.
We need to imagine again.