Why is it important to define the future?
In recent years, our society has increasingly faced periods of uncertainty. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Eastern Europe, global instability, and the questioning of (Western) values, especially in the realm of mutilateral cooperation, the future no longer seems predictable or shapeable. Young people in particular are losing confidence in the hope for a better future and in the stability of their social environment (cf. “Security 2024” study). It is therefore crucial for foraus to raise awareness among young people (aged 18-35) about the importance of thinking about and actively shaping the future.
A core part of foraus’ mission is to provide Swiss decision-makers in the foreign policy domain with innovative, forward-looking policy recommendations. The aim is to make decisions that benefit not only today’s society but also future generations. These recommendations are put forward directly by young people themselves, as they are the ones who will live the longest with the consequences of today’s decisions.
What does “adapting to the future” mean?
For us, political decisions are fair for current and future generations when :
- (young) people are directly involved in shaping the future,
- organisations and other actors are prepared for the future and can design and implement policies based on well-being,
- decision-makers adopt intergenerationally fair policies & decisions, designed to achieve wellbeing
These principles correspond to the Prism of Foresight, which the School of International Futures (SOIF) has kindly authorised us to use. For more information, please visit the website SOIF.
What is foresight ?
foraus aims to contribute to making political decision-making processes more future-oriented. For this reason, we use so-called “foresight” methods in our projects, allowing young people to reflect on and shape the future they aspire to build. Foresight is a discipline that involves the systematic analysis and anticipation of future developments. It originated during the Cold War era and developed as an autonomous discipline over the course of the 20th century.
How do we use foresight methods ?
Since 2019, foraus has tested, applied, and successfully developed these methods in workshop series such as “Global Labs” and our core projects “GenSouth” and “Politique en scène :Zukunft entscheiden”. Over the past six years, we have worked with various tools. foraus members interested in using these tools can benefit from free training (contact : innovation@foraus.ch). Below is a selection of methods and tools we have used in the past:
- Human Layers Reflection
- The Thing from the Future
- Seven Questions Interview Technique
- The Future Triangles
- Visioning/Backcasting
- Three Horizons Model
foraus has already successfully explored possible futures with the following organizations:
Are you also interested in shaping the future with us in a fair way and giving young people an active role in its design? Contact us at: innovation@foraus.ch