Is there Hope for Despair? Poly-crisis or Poly-opportunity?

Since the future can only be imagined the kinds of futures you imagine make a big difference. Why and how we imagine the ‘later-than-now’ has a powerful influence on people’s fears, their willingness to compromise, to invest, to share. But even before these expectations become manifest, and well before any choices are made, there is the question of being able to perceive the threats and opportunities. Again, the reference points are imagined futures – what we can sense and make-sense of is heavily dependent on imagined futures. And there is a capability, futures literacy, that focuses on the capacity of humans to imagine the future. Being more futures literate calls for being able to distinguish different kinds of future and different methods for imagining different kinds of future. Futures literacy rests on the study and comprehension of the diversity of human anticipatory systems and processes (ASP). Research into ASP over the last two decades shows that there is indeed a diversity of ASP, rooted in history, culture, context, and that why and how the future is imagined matters greatly for perception (choice is subsequent). Assessing the tides of hope and despair, crises and opportunities, is fundamentally different when conducted with an understanding of ASP, that is, when you are more futures literate. Riel Miller is one of the pioneers of the ‘discipline of anticipation’ and futures literacy.

 

Starting in March of 2022, after a decade as Head of Foresight and Futures Literacy at UNESCO in Paris, Riel joined several university communities that are seeking to transform why and how people use-the-future. From the outset of his career, in 1982 at the OECD, Riel has gained experience with hundreds of hands-on experiences, around the world, designing and implementing efforts to think about the future. He is an experienced and innovative educator, a pioneer of the field of futures literacy and the ‘discipline of anticipation’. He is widely published in academic journals and other media on a range of topics, from the future of education and the Internet to the transformation of leadership and productivity. He also serves on the board of major academic journals in the field of futures research.