The Civic Imagination Project

The “Infinite Hope—Imagining a Better World” workshop is a future-focused workshop highlighting the power of stories as tools for fostering civic imagination and inspiring real world change. As this title suggests, the focus is on worldbuilding, that is, thinking about what alternative worlds might look like, reading them in relation to our own, and deploying them as a means of expressing and debating visions for what alternatives might be to current conditions. We find that alternative worlds free participants from the constraints on the imagination which are posed by a relentless focus on existing constraints which limit the possibilities for

 

The workshop leads participants through an exercise of building a future world in which both real and fantastical solutions to cultural, social and political challenges are possible, ultimately leading them to strategize how we may be able to get to this imagined future. The workshop begins with a big picture brainstorm. Working backwards, the participants then break into smaller groups to share insights and build on these imagined worlds to brainstorm character-based narratives of social change set in the shared future world. After working out their stories, the groups are then given a short amount of time to prepare a presentation of their narrative. Encouraging spontaneity, the final presentations invite participants to share their stories with others. This shared performative experience creates a sense of community and helps the group move toward reflection.

​

In effect, the workshop helps participants brainstorm the full range of possible and fantastical futures. Many of the political veterans in the organizations we work were initially initially skeptical of what they saw as the ‘escapist’ dimensions of our approach, but rethought this opposition when they saw change.

​

Download the Practicing Futures Handbook and specific workshop instructions here.