Thanks go to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for this image from a foresight session.
The last week of April, FDSD Trustee and Director of the School of International Futures, Cat Tully, was invited to guest edit openDemocracy on the theme “Participation and foresight – putting people at the heart of the future”.
Twenty contributors from across the world shared their thoughts on this topic, drawing on examples from villages and cities, workplaces and schools, the young and old, refugee camps and across regions – and finishing off looking at the role of government in stewarding the future. As Cat argues “the act of developing stories together about a collective future is a deeply political act”.
“Foresight is not just a dialogue for the elite or decision-makers. It should aspire to give voice to the excluded, whether marginal views in organisations, or those in refugee camps and rice fields. And those voices need to be given space to be heard… Citizens across the world are asking for more participation in deciding their future.”
Allie Bobak, SOIF coordinator, and Cat have invited several of their colleagues and collaborators to co-create “this passionate and analytical journey”. The articles and comments are available on openDemocracy.
LINKS
- Find out about the School of International Futures on the SOIF website.
- openDemocracy is an independent global media platform. More details on opendemocracy.net.
