Futures Game a Hit in Barcelona
Participants of the Future Scenarios game in Barcelona. Image – Rhys Taylor
A unique interactive futures game developed in New Zealand has been showcased at a prestigious conference in Europe.
Rhys Taylor and Dr Phil Cowan recently travelled to Barcelona to take part in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Congress and while there led a workshop using ‘Future Scenarios’ (Biodiversity Edition). It’s a team type game where participants explore future possibilities rather than projecting the past and presuming we’re on the same path.
Mr Taylor says that to make a real difference to international conservation and sustainability, scientists need to make a strong impact within peoples’ minds.
‘The IUCN Forum was a huge event, with very many choices in each time-slot and Future Scenarios was well received by the people involved, who were from several countries and languages,’ he says.
‘The hearts and minds and imaginations of policymakers are where the real challenge lies. If people can’t imagine different futures, it’s very difficult to work towards them.’
In Future Scenarios, participants imagine how different life could be 30 to 50 years in the future. It’s a fun way of realising how different and challenging life could be for humans and other life on Earth, dealing with limited resources due to issues like peak oil and climate change.
The game takes people through a series of steps; they firstly look at how things have been in their own experience of the past 20 years, then look at what drives change and do some brainstorming on where the sources of change are being generated. They’re then transported to one of four imaginary futures and, to help them get away from their current view of the world, play a role such as a farmer, sportsperson, or business leader and imagine what life could be like in that different picture.
‘So, we’re exploring future possibilities rather than projecting the past and do not assume we’re staying on the same path,’ Mr Taylor says.
Future Scenarios has been developed from island experiences in New Zealand, but its creators believe it will be relevant to other ‘developed countries’ to be an interesting educational device and discussion-starter for citizens, consumers and policymakers.
Rhys Taylor
Phil Cowan