Imagine a preferred future

It’s difficult to realise a future that we can’t even envisage.  Sometimes even a brief exercise can drive your thinking forward. It’s also particularly enlightening to hear other people’s views about the future. Consciously imagining the future generates more information on what is possible than what we expect will happen.

In this exercise we focus on what a preferred future could look like and what we want to strengthen tin order to move towards it?

Instructions

Start by working individually. Think about what positive elements there are in the present that you would like to strengthen for the future to be better?

Each of you will write down your vision statement on how the future would be better and for whom. Try to be as specific as possible. You can phrase your vision statement as follows: “I want to strengthen (what) so that, in 2050, (what) would be different / (what) will have happened / (what the world would be like).”

Divide into groups of 4–5 people and share your vision statements in these groups.

Discuss the common features and differences between the vision statements. From whose perspective would these vision statements represent preferred futures? Remember to listen to each other, be open to different views and respect them.

Take a vote to choose your shared vision. Each participant has three votes to allocate as they wish.

Write a succinct and concrete vision statement based on the desired future you’ve chosen. Express the vision like this: “In 2050, who/what/where + verb + what”. An example of a final vision statement: “In 2050, the carbon footprint of each Finn will be 80% smaller than now.”

Share your vision statements with the other groups and discuss them: what common features and what differences are there?

Finally, discuss what was easy and what was difficult in the exercise. What thoughts did the exercise inspire in you?