DRAWINGS THE FUTURE AROUND YOU

The students should be asked to think about the future on a more regular basis, we live in a VUCA time and today we need more than ever to prepare students for an uncertain world. Peter Bishop, founder from Teach the Future said. “If we’re preparing students for the future, shouldn’t we be telling them a little bit about the future they’re going towards?

There are many changes and transformations in society. New technologies, climate change, demographics and a new world is shaping our lives. We are facing big challenges and we have got problems that they need to find and create solutions to improve the way we live.

The young generations will be leading the future world and it is important that they understand, think and participate in that future. Approach the future to imagine new scenarios, and empower them to have the agency to lead changes.

Today more than ever we need to develop the future skills of the young generation, so they can be better prepared to thrive in an uncertain world. We know from research that the imagination of the kids has a great significance when children provide different solutions which may be useful in the future to sustainability-related problems

We also have images of the futures of how people from the past imagined the present days. At the turn of the 20th century, Jean-Marc Côté and other French artists illustrated a collection of postcards predicting what the year 2000 would be like in celebration of the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. Most of the predictions were the rise of technology and the automation of everyday chores. In this century, we would like to listen to the young generation and find out how they imagine their lives 30 years from now and get to know how they feel about that future.

Collective learning 

We want to spread future thinking to schools and young people from different countries and cultures. The goal is to get pictures from the present lives of the kids and their drawings from their future. Students from 10 to 14 years old are encouraged to create a vision of their futures around them.

We will select some of your drawings and pictures to present them to a big audience. We want to create a collective learning on the future images and help kids to think as futurists to be prepared to create their preferred future.

DRAWINGS FROM THE FUTURE 

THE FUTURE AROUND YOU 

One day in your life. You wake up and you are living in 2050. There are many things that they have changed around you. Innovators, creators have developed news products, services to improve the way we live, travel, eat, dress… There are many changes in politics, economics and the environment. Also new technologies are making our lives different from what we see today.

Look around your city and take a picture of something that you would like to contribute to improve, or a problem around you that you think will be different in 30 years from now. Think ahead but also feel about that future that you want to see happen in your city

We want to experience the future with you and bring your ideas into reality. There are companies, governments, organizations and experts thinking also about the future around us. We focus our view on the 11 goal of the United nations: «make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. We give you some topics where you can start from and make it easier for you to draw and design your image of the future.

The topics you can select from are:

1.- Mobility . What can we do to reduce pollution? How will we move around the city to get quickly from one place to another? Can you imagine a new form of transport which still does not exist today, does not pollute and you would like to drive? Can you imagine new routes to avoid traffic?

2.- Buildings and entertainment areas. How will they be? Could we have buildings made with natural materials and sustainable energies? How do you imagine the parks and leisure areas? Can we practice sports and activities outside in different ways?

3.- Technologies in my city. Think about technologies. They are changing and shaping our world. Could you imagine new technologies that can improve our buildings, the environment, the security and lives of our cities?

4.- Environment. How can we avoid the pollution of the cities? How can we save energy?. How can we create new types of clean energy using natural resources? Today we use the energy of the sun, the water, the wind. Can you think of other ways in which we could create clean energy?

5.- Safety and security. How can we make cities safer so people will feel safe at night? Could you imagine ways in which we can make cities much more secure and safe for people?

6.- People’s inclusion. It is important not to leave anybody behind. Could we design buildings, roads and streets so people with mobility problems can move around easily, for example old people, people with disabilities, little children. Could we improve neighborhoods in poor areas so children can play and be safe as well? How can we provide a home to everyone ?

7.- Citizen participation in the governance of the city. Can you think of ways in which more people can participate in the decisions that authority takes? How could we make cities more democratic so everybody has a say in important matters that affect our daily lives?

We invite you to take action and start designing the future of your city with the template provided. If you don’t feel confident with your drawing skills, don’t worry, there are many AI-powered tools and websites that can help you create stunning visualizations of your ideas. Some examples include Canva, midjourney, dalle-E-2

In conclusion, it is crucial for young people today to think about the future and prepare themselves to lead in an uncertain and constantly changing world. By encouraging them to imagine and design their future, we can help them develop future-ready skills and a futurist mindset, allowing them to be better prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow.

Remember, the future is in your hands, and by working together, we can create a better tomorrow for everyone. We encourage you to share your drawings with us at hola@planetacrealab.com. Let’s build a brighter future together!