Andrew Tuck on the year ahead.

We scour the globe to source the brightest ideas and bravest moves going into 2022, from the UK’s new meteorological machine and Egypt’s medical resort to the Austrian townsfolk happy to be Fugging.

After a century and a half of neglect, Italy’s south is finally getting the attention it deserves. Young entrepreneurs are returning to their birthplaces, bringing drive and talent – and drawing long overdue investment.

Thailand’s Central Group dominates the country’s retail scene with department stores and shopping malls, and is now moving across Europe, reviving and revivifying traditional outposts from Italy to Berlin. The conglomerate’s CEO, Tos Chirathivat, talks about his vision for retail as Asia reopens.

As the world starts to find its rhythm once again, we asked five writers to take the pulse of their fields of expertise. Here are their musings on how the Taiwanese take it all in their stride, why fashion nostalgia’s not all it’s cracked up to be, and what’s next for politics from Paris to the Philippines.

In India the bicycle has been regarded as a humble stop-gap before you can get a scooter. But now many people are buying high-end bikes, and e-bikes are being touted as a future wellbeing fix. We head out onto the streets of New Delhi to find out more.

From the African brand plugging remote villages into a solar-powered grid, to the Lithuanian firm lightening farming’s footprint, we highlight 10 businesses doing it better – to the benefit of both the planet and their purse – in 2022.

Starting out as an online-only news source challenging the legacy media brands, ‘Observador’ soon grew to include a radio station, podcasts, branded publications and a smart printed periodical. Sign us up.

As programmes such as ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Narcos’ capture imaginations worldwide, dubbing has become something to shout about. We meet a family-run firm giving foreign-language film a voice.

As the Chinese government tightens its grip on Hong Kong, global media organisations have sought a new regional base of operations. The natural choice? Seoul, a hi-tech megacity unrolling the carpet for the world’s biggest publications.

Unused since 2014, the International Congress Centre is an architectural behemoth that deserves to buzz with the polyglot chatter of global trade and industry gatherings as it did in its 1980s heyday. We explore the site and consider its future prospects.

There’s a shift happening in the world of graphic design and creative agencies. No longer do big-name companies with vast resources command all the best work. Instead, discerning clients are turning to small, nimble firms that are better able to serve their needs. We meet three of these creative up-and-comers.

Department store Luisa Via Roma opened its doors in 1929 and has been at the forefront of Italian retail ever since. Now with a pair of generations plotting its course, we speak to two members of the shop’s founding family about what the future holds.

The small town of Hawick might not be a name that’s readily associated with high fashion but its long-standing knitwear industry has won it a global reputation as a place of expert artisanship and the finest yarns. Just ask the international luxury houses investing in its future.

Forecasting where the fashion industry will go next is a tricky business. To get the inside track, we met some of the biggest names in the game to talk sustainability, the importance of trust in a brand and what will become of men’s tailoring. Here’s what they think the future may hold.

Lebanon imports much of its food but one Beiruti retailer is trying to create a more sustainable model for feeding its people by reviving traditional production methods. We traverse the country to meet the makers.

Travel has been stilted over the past year but a beautiful crop of new Parisian hotels is giving people a reason to visit and plenty to write home about.

Southern Portugal has long been a popular destination among sun-seeking holiday-makers but now a new generation of entrepreneurs is putting down roots in the Algarve in search of a higher quality of life.

The Maltese capital is the smallest in the EU but it packs a singular punch. With Arabic, Italian, English and French influences, its culture and history are unique and it seems to be on the brink of yet another renaissance.

At the foot of Mount Etna, the once-overlooked Sicilian port of Catania has undergone a striking modern transformation. As its increasingly confident youthful population bring their influence to bear, the city’s now vibrant streets remain abuzz – both day and night.

Whether you’re on the market for an easy drinker or a fine wine that will surprise your palate, a little oenological expertise will help you navigate the sea of options that you will inevitably find before you. Here, Zürich-based wine writer Chandra Kurt presents her selection of the bottles to uncork, share or add to your cellar in 2022, from sparklers and dessert wines to apéritifs and wine for special occasions.

Size isn’t everything: what matters is the quality of life, opportunities and experiences that a city can provide. Our third annual index of the most welcoming, vibrant small cities around the world presents the best compact urban environments that do it all.

Monocle is 15 years old in 2022. We launched with our March issue back in 2007 with the now-celebrated cover featuring a pilot in Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (we hope you have your copy of Issue 01 somewhere safe).