Future Days

Breaking news 📣 From the journey we started in Lisbon, we're now setting foot in Barcelona with the same goal of tackling local challenges and driving global change. Our mission? To democratize futures thinking and inspire action on every level. We’re thrilled to announce our official partnership with the Government of Catalonia - Generalitat de Catalunya. Together, we’re set to create synergies that will continue shaping future-ready cities. Our vision is big – reaching 1 billion people by 2034 with free, accessible knowledge from our platform. And this partnership is a crucial step towards that goal 🌍 Moltes gràcies a la Direcció General de Prospectiva i Anàlisi per la confiança! ACCIÓ Beth Espinalt Capdevila Jordi Vergés i Camps

Labs summaries are out! Introducing the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS), an independent, non-profit think tank founded in 1969, dedicated to helping organizations and individuals imagine and act on their futures. 👀 At Future Days 2024, Nicklas Larsen, Lovisa Volmarsson, and Thor Svanholm Gustavfson presented the “Futures by Design” lab, a popular dialogue-based intervention showcasing synergies between futures and design practices. They emphasized the importance of avoiding reliance on overly optimistic portrayals of preferred futures. Instead, they advocated for viewing design and futures as tools for liberation and just transitions by asking critical questions such as, “Who might be harmed?”, “Who is involved?”, and “Who stands to benefit?” in the futures we imagine. 💥 Participants envisioned life in Lisbon in 2074 and tackled urban challenges related to democracy, politics, ethics, and migration. Through various prompts, they embodied different identities (e.g., a mayor, a tree, an unhoused person, a patient, an artist), explored power dynamics and dilemmas, created new metaphors, and uncovered future insights to be used as building blocks in the present. 🧱 Some of these building blocks include making growth inclusive, extending rights to non-human entities, integrating unplanned natural spaces, cultivating a cultural fusion city, promoting slower living, developing local food systems, enhancing the role of artists in raising awareness, increasing agency across communities, fostering intergenerational solidarity, and much more... Thanks to all involved, especially the awesome co-facilitators!

Policy making is inherent component to futures. As Arturo Escobar puts it, policy and planning are excellent design tools that deeply structure people's realities in everyday life. And what are the lives that we want?  Nyangala emphasizes the role of strategy and design in capacity building for policy-making organizations to help them become more experimental and inclusive, by recognizing those biases and unheard perspectives that, if met, can serve the whole. By recognizing other kinds of innovations and funding programs, design can bring incremental change that impacts not only the economy but also the socio-ecological system at scale. 🗣During FD24, Nyangala Zolho explains how innovation offers huge potential but many people and places continue to be left out of its process with huge repercussions for society and the planet. What can policymakers do? In this Dialogue, Nyangala demonstrates how they combine design, data, and future methods to help policymakers visualise the “invisible” and envision/create more inclusive innovation systems. 🤔How can we help policy-making organisations be more open to new ideas, testing their assumptions, and becoming more inclusive? #inclusivepolicymaking #innovation #experimentation #design

The future is a new possibility explored in the present, bringing fresh understanding to our past. These new possibilities let us restore and choose new paths, unlocking further insights into what we have already lived 👁🌟 Time is a fourth-dimensional concept where the past, present, and future are interconnected in a dynamic dance. The only true moment we experience is the present, the convergence of all pasts and futures ꩜ Gustavo Nogueira de Menezes visualises this as a torus, symbolising the continuous flow and connectivity of time and experience. By embracing this, we see our lives as a blend of past stories, present choices, and future possibilities, all shaping our evolution. 🗣️ During FD24, Gustavo Nogueira de Menezes challenges traditional views of time and space, seeing the “end of times” as a chance for new beginnings. He explores how diverse perspectives help us reconnect with our past and shape hopeful futures. He promotes “temporal literacy,” understanding different ways of existing that influence our relationships and actions, fostering new cultural insights, and emphasizing decolonial perspectives for systemic change. 🤔 How can we question the dominant ideas of time and make space for unheard perspectives in western civilisations?

💬 Who thought that requiring large data sets would introduce its own form of bias? No data is neutral. This is a mythology. Data always tells a story.  The bias that is inherent in small, manually curated, well understood data sets can be desirable too. When a creator is employing a data set as a medium for communicating an idea to the machine, they can control the outputs they generate. 🗣️During FD24, Phoenix Perry, PhD SFHEA explores how artists and creative technologists are reshaping the dominant AI narrative. Prioritizing ethical, creative, and inclusive futures challenges the notion that bigger datasets guarantee better AI development. Emphasizing small datasets can prevent biases and improve representation. Artists and tool makers shine a light on these crucial issues, placing a spotlight on inclusivity, particularly for those with disabilities. 🤔 How can we rethink dominant technological structures to empower, liberate and transform culture for the better? #InclusiveFutures #ReshapingAI #FD24 #DataThatEmpower

💬 Every historical utopia was someone else dystopia. It’s crucial to understand from whose perspectives those fantasized futures of the past have been told. People in power, who control the fantasies, end up controlling the future, as it all starts with a vision where it’s hard for them to imagine a future where their worldviews become obsolete. That is what we are pushing against: to re-imagine what a future could be, away from looping back. 🗣️ During FD24, Monika Bielskyte began by discussing our still-dominant narratives of the future leading to either fear-based dystopia or exclusionary eugenic utopia and the concerns associated with this binary. She then presents a counter-narrative under the name of Protopia Futures that prioritizes marginalized perspectives, a life-centric design approach, and values disability & neurodivergence-informed innovation. ❓ How can we boldly address past and present injustice and exploitative frameworks to strive to replace them with plural, regenerative and equitable alternatives? #ProtopiaFutures #InclusiveDesign #FD24 #EquitableFuture

O Futuro de Lisboa! O evento Future Days, aconteceu na estufa fria, e reuniu cerca de 400 participantes de mais de 10 países, das mais variadas áreas profissionais, tais como design, fundadores de empresas e empreendedores, estrategas em inovação, diretores criativos, gestores de projeto em inovação, etc. Teve o apoio de mais de 12 parceiros, entre eles a Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, representada por elementos da Direção Municipal de Economia e Inovação, que acompanharam o desenrolar das atividades durante o fim de semana. A Future Days é uma plataforma distribuída que tem como objetivo produzir globalmente narrativas futuras positivas e acionáveis através de eventos participativos para cidadãos, instituições públicas e setor privado. Fundada, em Lisboa no início deste ano, pela dupla Uri Casademont e Meri Sahade em parceria com a With Company, a Future Days, foi anfitriã do evento com o mesmo nome. Baseado em 4 momentos diferentes... - Inspiração - Laboratórios - Diálogo - Networking …e adornado pela maravilhosa flora e fauna típica da estufa fria, o evento proporcionou momentos de introspecção, conexão, diversão e reflexão onde, apesar das diferentes origens, línguas, perfis pessoais e profissionais, se sentiu um enorme ambiente de comunidade. Para terminar, toda a audiência foi convidada a fazer um exercício sobre questões concretas que envolvem a cidade de Lisboa a diferentes níveis e, a partir dos resultados, foi elaborado um relatório pela equipa da Future Days que pode ser consultado aqui: https://lnkd.in/dnRA6g35 Gostaria de participar num evento desta natureza e pensar em comunidade nas questões da cidade? Escreva “FUTURO” nos comentários 👇 Texto:ER Imagem:FoW #cmlisboa #futureofworklisboa #future #evento #estufafria #inovação #AI #sustentabilidade #colaboraçaoparticipativa #futuredays #cidade #lisboa

After presenting at Lisboa Unicorn Week 🦄 the results from Future Days 2024, we are ready to publish our (live) report "Lisboa e o Futuro" (Lisbon and the future) - with results from the findings and reflections that emerged during and following our first edition. We firmly believe our collective work will serve as a precedent and a reference for Lisbon and Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, and for other cities in the world. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone — and every piece of technology — that participated in Future Days. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and big hearts of all involved. We want to extend a special thank you to the amazing partners, individuals and the tools that helped us get here, specially Miguel Jiménez and IED Istituto Europeo di Design. The final section of this report is entirely dedicated to all of them 💚 We hope this report gets to the hands of many people, sparking not just inspiration but actionable ideas. We are open to hear initiatives that align with our envisioned futures - stay tuned for our upcoming open call for Future Days Fellowship Program 👀 Together, through collective action, collaboration, continuous engagement, and adaptation, we can shape a future for Lisbon that is vibrant, sustainable, and full of opportunity for all who call it home.

🌱 Our economy is inherently human-centric, but there’s a growing potential for a more inclusive and balanced approach. Imagine a world where plants and other non-humans have economic power, prioritizing their needs alongside ours. This concept challenges the traditional human-centric economic model and opens up possibilities for a more balanced, interspecies economy. During FD24, Cecilia MoSze Tham shared her company's Futurity Systems groundbreaking idea, discussing the potential impact of giving plants economic power through commerce, NFTs, and DAOs. This project raises important questions about the future of our economy and our relationship with the natural world. 🤔 Could an interspecies economy lead to a more balanced and sustainable world?

💬 Social media platforms are vibrant spaces of debate for young people. Despite the widespread use of these platforms, there is a significant disconnection between the traditional political discourse and the content consumed by the digital-native youth. This disparity highlights the necessity for political entities to adapt their outreach strategies, and re-connect with future generations. During FD24, Eva Xavier took a trip through Portuguese history, starting with a brief overlook of its past, an in-depth analysis of its present, and suggestions for tomorrow, voicing the concerns of young people. 🤔 How can we reshape political communication and its systemic complexity to ensure that young people feel heard and valued in our democratic processes? Discover all the insights of this talk on our YouTube page! #FutureDays #ActionableFutures #FutureDriven