FUTURE LITERACY is an innovative design thinking process that was introduced by UNESCO in 2018. It is also a relevant concept towards the connection of the analog and digital city of the future.
FUTURE LITERACY is defined as the ability to imagine and design the future. Human beings already own imagination as a congenital characteristic as the ability to prevent accidents or be protected by internal fears as well as driven by personal and societal aspirations.
FUTURE LITERACY is mostly based on developing the ability to learn to imagine the future for different reasons and in different ways. This aspect gives the communities the ability to embrace change on what we imagine, what we preserve, what we reproduce, how we preserve, and what we want to preserve; defining the actual conditions of change and the ability to shape a better future.
As a ‘design thinking toolkit’, FUTURE LITERACY has outstanding potential to give citizens a compass in the face of the increasing complexity of our globally interconnected world, so that we can harmonize our actions with the needs of future generations.
Artists are playing a vital role towards this end, taking into account that arts and culture are both a driving force towards creativity boosting, helping people to visualise their thoughts, ideas and aspirations of the future.
While contemporary art is already deeply anchored as an important source of inspiration, special services facilitated by artists in tackling social issues are not yet sufficiently established.
With the development of a citizen-centred FUTURE LITERACY methodology and vocational training elements for artists in this area, a new employment opportunity for creative professionals is emerging.
In the course of the DIALOG CITY project, we are going to capacitate artists and provide them with the necessary FUTURE LITERACY skills in order to support decision makers and other citizens to design the future of their city and define their role between the analog and digital environment.