Design methods for long-term visions

Presenters: Hillary Carey & Rachel Arredondo

Visions of better futures are powerful in motivating people through complex change. In the complex work toward racial justice, future visions can help align constituents toward action. Long-term visions can ease fears about change, highlighting benefits rather than losses. However, it can be tough to imagine achieving racial justice. Racism is so deeply embedded in society. In this 75-minute workshop, we will first offer a brief introduction to the idea of futuringand how it might support racial justice work, with an emphasis on hands-on tools. We will practice strategic futuringtools, such as Backcasting, to reveal new paths forward. We will brainstorm artifacts from possible futures in groups and then work individually on our own ideal maps. Our hope for this workshop is to offer a new perspective on difficult challenges. We believe that thinking about long-term, possible, preferable futures gives people a powerful lens to reframe their current context and an understanding of what pushes them to create the world they want to live in. Participants will leave with two activities to try with their teams, or personally, to define the world they are working toward and how to get there.

Register

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at diversity@pitt.edu by July 21

This workshop is a part of the 2021 Diversity Forum.