Mindgames

Philippe Ternes

Our Common Future

If we would like to participate in some way in the future that awaits us, we must first try to imagine it. To do so, the Our Common Future association proposes a letter where Jenny, the sender, explains what the world around her is like, which is very different from ours. In this imagined future world, all human beings are involved in the society where they live and work to improve it, make decisions, prepare to face challenges and become, at some point in their lives, representatives of their peers. According to the performance of humankind as a whole and the evolution of global challenges, individual learning objectives are constantly adapted. In addition, individuals learn much faster because they can instantly immerse themselves in any kind of environment and live a myriad of experiences every day. An invitation to reflect on the world of the future and our participation in it.

The future is being prepared by large tech and medical companies and other actors, mostly behind closed doors. Citizens are consumers of the changes. If we would like to have our say, the most effective way may be to try to anticipate possible developments and debate whether they are desirable before they become a reality. In this vein, the objectives of the mindgames developed by Our Common Future are as follows:

  • To help participants further develop their capacity to imagine the future;
  • To prompt participants to consider developments that are already underway and their possible implications;
  • To encourage discussion of the ways in which citizens worldwide can shape future developments in technology, medicine and science, and act on climate change and other major challenges;
  • To help participants conceptualise future forms of governance in particular;
  • To spread knowledge about technology and global politics;
  • To stimulate a discussion about global political priorities.

If we would like to have a say on our future, we need to start to imagine it. We need to be many, and we need to be fast. Democracy needs us; democracy needs our imagination.

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