We have just began a new century. What this means exactly, depends on how we decide to look at it. For some, the new century brings in new hope, be it in finding a cure for AIDS, attaining world peace, or simply in improving one's own state. And for others, the new century may be nothing more than the beginning of the world's end. 

If there's anything certain at this point, it is that we are now into the Age of Information. What this "information" actually is and where it is taking us to, depends inevitably on who creates it. It is obvious that those who belong to the so-called "Generation X" (also dubbed Generation G for "Global" by Newsweek) play the key roles, for these people are precisley those who have suddenly found themselves faced with high technology at their fingertips. 

However, in the "Information" Age, more than any young person's role, it is the young writer's that is of particular importance --- for it is what he or she writes that eventually defines and becomes the "information" of the age. 

If the Philippine Daily Inquirer seeks to know what the "young are thinking" in its weekly Youngblood column, in this issue of Likhaan Online, we attempt to survey what young Filipino writers are imagining. Given a more accesible world, what are young creative people writing about? Who are their influences? Where do they come from? These are some of the questions answered by the featured writers. And we found out through their answers that even as we turn into a "global village", tremendous diversity prevails. 

To capture the "new generation", we chose works written by the twentysomething and below. The works have come in from Manila, to as far as Davao, New Zealand, and the U.S.  The writers, on the other hand, have come from a broad range of professions: students, a business reporter,  a young businessman, a film maker, a veterinarian, an elementary teacher etc. 

We hope you enjoy Likhaan Online's survey entitled "Writing in the New Century". Inside this issue we are sure you'll find lots of insights on the future of the craft, the future of information, and, if you have a really keen sense of foresight, the future of life in the 21st century. 

Likhaan Online Index MAIN

Writing in the New Century ENTER

Looking back.... 1999 REVIEW