2024 marked our 21st year, a milestone that highlights the progress we’ve made since opening our doors in 2003. Now well into adulthood, we can proudly reflect on the difference we’ve made and the vibrant legacy we are building. With each passing year, we continue to weave a meaningful impact, and our first two decades showcase a tapestry of the legacy we continue to build.

Weaving brings separate strands together to create works of art – something breathtakingly intricate and deeply meaningful beyond its slim separate woollen or silken threads. These hand-crafted artworks can be both decorative and functional. They can be abstractly exquisite and exclusive, like the carpets of Persia, and they can tell complex and significant stories too.

In nature, weaver birds and their nests take this art form to another level. As their name suggests, they fashion elaborate nests from plant material, carefully threaded and woven into a solid structure – sometimes of enormous stature. They are considered the artisans of the bird world.

Weaver birds are not just renowned for their exceptional building skills. They are also known to be highly collaborative birds. Some weavers live in large communities called colonies and the sociable weaver, in particular, is known to build nests that can house hundreds of birds, including other bird species.

What is common to them all is that they work together for the benefit of the whole.

Our cover features a weaving-inspired embroidered red bishop, a brightly crimson and highly cooperative weaver bird that symbolises, for us, the work and attention that goes into every aspect of the CTICC’s operations. The bird is also in motion, representing our dedication to always moving forward and our ability to rise above challenges and obstacles. More importantly, it signifies hope, inspiration and the quest for exploration of new horizons.

Inspired by weaving – and the birds themselves, we have taken this theme still further to highlight how the many facets of the CTICC – its venues, staff, stakeholders, clients, community partners and visitors – come together. This weaving theme can be seen in a range of design details, such as charts and graphs, as well as the title pages of each chapter.

“Weaving a Legacy” is ultimately about celebrating our commitment to doing work that leaves a positive impact in the world. By working together with various stakeholders, the CTICC has created – and continues to create – a lasting and impactful legacy. Each thread and stitch represents the role players, the dedication, the effort, the creativity and the care that the CTICC invests in every aspect of its operations, weaving a tapestry of success that will endure for years to come.