Spark New Chapter, Infinite Future
On the Foundation's 30th anniversary, there was no grand celebration at the Geneva headquarters. Instead, a special sunrise ceremony took place on the top observation deck. Cheng Han, Nila, Luca, and Kadiel stood side by side, watching the skyline shift from inky blue to golden red. Behind them stood the young faces of the Foundation's new generation—directors from various projects around the world, their eyes gleaming with the same fiery brilliance that had graced that small office thirty years earlier.
"Today we're not holding a retrospective or a celebration," Cheng Han said, turning to face the crowd, his voice calm but powerful. "We're releasing two gifts for the future."
The screen behind him lit up, titled "A Memorandum for the Next Thirty Years." This wasn't a strategic plan, but rather the foundation's most profound lessons and insights from the past thirty years:
“Technology should expand human nature, not replace it”
“The end point of systemic change is always the happiness of specific individuals.”
“True wisdom knows how to protect eternal values in the process of progress”
“Scale is not a goal, but a byproduct of better service”
The true meaning of inheritance is not to copy the past, but to preserve the most precious spark for the future.
At the same time, Nila announced the launch of the "Future Seeds" fund, an innovation incubator entirely managed and decided by the younger generation. Surprisingly, the first batch of funded projects all bear a distinct mark of their times:
A "digital empathy" game developed by Generation Z to help people maintain real emotional connections in the virtual world;
A blockchain-based “Mind Data Bank” that gives individuals full control over their mental health data;
There is even a "cross-species mental health" study that explores the possibility of empathy between humans and artificial intelligence and possible extraterrestrial intelligent life in the future.
“These projects may only have a one in ten chance of success,” Nila said, “but we are willing to give 100 percent support for that one in ten chance.”
After the ceremony, the four secretaries-general came to Li Xiaoyu's office at headquarters. The 83-year-old was pruning potted plants on the balcony, her movements still steady.
"Remember what I said when you took over?" She put down the scissors and glanced at the four people. "I said the torch was passed to you. Today, I want to say that you not only took up the torch, but also let its light illuminate even further."
Cheng Han handed her the hardcover copy of the memorandum. "We wrote this together. I hope it can guide future generations just like the notes that Teacher Mo left for you."
The best tribute is not to repeat great achievements, but to start new great achievements.
A moving moment unfolded at the afternoon's "Future Forum." Shitou, who once overcame his psychological difficulties by weaving bamboo baskets in Yunling Village, now brought his students to Geneva. The children wove a giant "spiritual web" out of bamboo strips, each node representing a person helped by the foundation.
"This network continues to be woven," Shitou said, "because every heart that has been warmed will naturally become a new source of warmth."
At the same time, Cheng Han's team demonstrated the foundation's new "distributed governance" model. The headquarters is no longer a command center, but a resource coordination platform. Decision-making power is decentralized to the regional and even project levels. The expert database is completely open, allowing anyone who needs support to directly access it.
“We no longer want to be the biggest tree,” Cheng Han explained, “but to cultivate the healthiest forest ecosystem.”
As night fell, a special "Time Dialogue" was held in the headquarters lobby. People from different generations of the Foundation sat together, regardless of rank, sharing experiences and wisdom.
The youngest participant was sixteen-year-old Anna, whose "emotion recognition app" had just received support from the "Future Seeds" fund. Her conversation was with seventy-five-year-old Zhang Wei, one of the foundation's founding members.
"Don't you think my idea is too naive?" Anna asked nervously.
Zhang Wei smiled: "Thirty years ago, some people said that it was naive to think we could change the world through psychology."
The future is never an extension of the present, but rather a new possibility created by the collision of countless "naive" ideas.
Towards the end of the forum, an incident occurred. The power suddenly went out, plunging the entire hall into darkness. As the staff hurriedly checked, the young team members spontaneously turned on their cellphone flashlights. Beams of light lit up in the darkness, gradually connecting to form a sea of stars.
No one rushed to restore power; everyone continued their conversation under the spontaneous starlight. The older generation shared wisdom from a time before digital tools, while the younger generation offered insights from digital natives. In the interplay of light and shadow, it seemed as if one could glimpse the Foundation's thirty-year journey, and also vaguely illuminate the direction for the next thirty years.
Cheng Han and the other three stood on the second-floor corridor, gazing at the sea of stars below. Kadir whispered, "See, this is what we most want to leave for the future—not a specific project, but the ability to illuminate each other even in darkness."
Luca nodded. "Just like what Teacher Li Xiaoyu said, we are all travelers who carry on the tradition."
Tears glistened in Nila's eyes: "And this road always leads to light."
Cheng Han didn't say anything, just watched quietly. He saw Anna demonstrating her app to Zhang Wei, saw Shitou's students teaching the older generation new bamboo weaving techniques, and saw team members from different continents overcoming language barriers with gestures and smiles.
At this moment, he understood that the foundation had completed its most important transformation: from an organization to an idea; from a business of a group of people to a mission passed down from generation to generation.
When the power came back on, no one noticed the lights had come back on—because everyone saw a brighter glow in each other’s eyes.
After the event, Cheng Han ascended to the rooftop of headquarters alone. The night sky over Geneva was dotted with stars, the city lights like a fallen Milky Way. He opened the title page of the memorandum and added the final paragraph:
To future fellow travelers:
As you read these words, we have become the roadbed beneath your feet.
There is no need to follow in our footsteps, for you will blaze new trails.
Just remember, no matter how far you go, don't forget why you set out.
May you take us to places we cannot reach.
May you fulfill the dreams we failed to realize,
May you continue this eternal journey under the starry sky.
After closing the memo, Cheng Han gazed into the darkness beyond. He knew that behind that darkness lay countless hearts waiting to be illuminated, and new stories waiting to be written.
And their story has indeed just begun.
"Every generation is a bridge between the past and the future. Our mission is to ensure that this road always leads to light."
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