Takeaways from the World Futures Learning Lab, Malaysia
So I might be late sharing this update but well it was a brilliant event and would love to share a gallery of action photos courtesy of Think City and yes, some of our takeaways from the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF), Right Livelihood College, GIFS organized futures course with UNESCO in Penang, Malaysia this year.
It was amazing to have met new and old friends from the WFSF, to co-keynote the WFSF learning lab, assist in the workshop and exchange and share ideas with the best like Anwar Fazal, a grassroots environmental activist and director of the Right Livelihood College, Anthony Capon, a public health physician and director of the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health and Sohail Inayatullah, director of Metafuture.org and professor Meimei Song from Tamkang University.
This futures course co-directed by Cesar Villanueva, WFSF and Duncan Cave of Think City, is a LEALA pilot hosted event. The course blends local face to face workshops with online learning of futures studies and foresight.
For more about the LEALA project please do check the WFSF link here – http://www.wfsf.org/our-activities/world-futures-learning-lab/penang
The course targeted a diverse group of global audience and was held in three different locations – Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo; Cairo, Egypt, and Penang, Malaysia.
Takeaways
From an analysis of the experiences of participants, we could draw several conclusions.
First, futures literacy according to participants was essential and that more of it should happen soon for other to experience futures processes and methods.
Second, the course enriched their meaning of ‘reframing’ and got exposed to multiple perspectives and layers of analysis, to borrow the words of a participant in the course “tweaked” her previous “theory of world-making” and to use the “CLA framework” more in the exploration of alternative and preferred futures.
Third, “courage” was required and that we need to create more learning spaces for people to question their own – positive and negative – biases about the future.
And of course, yes, the participants noted that, despite our epistemic and artificial boundaries, ‘we are a family’ that are always searching for ‘new narratives’ and ‘new methods’ needing ‘new friends and networks’. We are a family that could “get along well without a fight”, desiring “to start the change somewhere” to transform the future now!
A preview of the comprehensive report is available @ the WFSF website –
