By: Frederikke Oldin (Rethink) and Charlotte Jensen (Concito)

Session type: Multiple or Extended continuous sessions, Graduate level, Small/Medium/Large size

Topics:

• Futures thinking (Future Voyaging)

• Mindfulness

• Experience-based learning

 

Introduction to the teaching example:

The workshop's goal is for students to develop the ability to envision radically sustainable futures like embodied experiences. It is predicated on the premise that future-looking imagery may influence the way people think and behave in the present. Furthermore, the strategy is predicated on the idea that we cannot design a sustainable future if we are unable to envision one. 

 

The day begins with an explanation of the workshop's objectives, which are to 1) get a general understanding of present consumption patterns and their effects, 2) become familiar with alternative future scenarios, and 3) envisage sustainable futures through a "future journey" meditation.

 

Additionally, the notion of future travel in the mind is put out there. Students are told that there are three possible excursions. In the first trip, students are transported into the future. Then, they conduct a self-debriefing before debriefing again in plenary. This first voyage is meant to be less specific and more open to introduce the method. For the second trip, students research/are introduced to a topic in order to comprehend it better to then interact with a social future that considers how people will live in the future while addressing this problem. The third and final trip adopts a larger viewpoint and invites participants to take into account processes at a social level as well as deepen the sense of what the human experience in this future might offer in terms of meaning and wellbeing.

The workshop takes place over one day, or one and a half days (if you want to do the third trip). The future voyaging exercise can be adapted as a stand-alone experience over a 2h period, but requires some expertise with moderation skills. See http://www.gentaenk.net for more information and guidance.