September 2024
Even today, global debates around nuclear technologies remain deeply polarised. Often, they are framed in binary terms of “for” or “against.” Yet nuclear technologies are shaping our world in complex ways, from energy production and medical innovation to global security and environmental sustainability. In an era of accelerating geopolitical change, technological innovation, and climate urgency, it is essential to open up new, inclusive conversations about the future of nuclear technologies.
Our Project
In 2024, a team of four from foraus, selected through the Next Generation Foresight Practitioners (NGFP) programme, launched the project “Kaleidoscope of Nuclear Futures”. This youth-led initiative seeks to explore how societies might govern, innovate, and live with nuclear technologies in the decades ahead.
Using strategic foresight methods, we worked with experts across the nuclear field to identify emerging trends and drivers shaping the future of nuclear governance, technology, and security. Building on these insights, we developed four future scenarios that illustrate alternative pathways for the global nuclear landscape. These scenarios serve as a tool to spark dialogue, reflection, and imagination beyond conventional policy silos.
Our goal is to create spaces where young professionals, policymakers, scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs can come together to challenge assumptions, connect disciplines, and co-create new visions for nuclear futures that are safe, equitable, and sustainable.
The workshop
As part of this initiative, we are organising a series of Youth Foresight Workshops in collaboration with Swiss Embassies around the world. Participants will engage with the four Nuclear Futures scenarios, explore key questions, such as how societies could manage nuclear technologies responsibly, or what a world without them might look like, and develop opportunities and risks for decision-makers and their sectors.
Participants will have the opportunity to interact with experts and practitioners from across sectors, gain hands-on experience with foresight tools, and contribute to shaping a more holistic, future-oriented dialogue around nuclear issues. Following the workshop, the outcomes and insights will be compiled into a policy brief that will be shared with international institutions and policymakers.
By breaking down disciplinary and generational silos, Kaleidoscope of Nuclear Futures aims to foster a new kind of conversation. One that bridges government, academia, and the private sector, and ensures that young professionals have a seat at the table in shaping the nuclear future.
