We imagine desirable futures (1): European island of happiness

December 2024

Recent discussions about the future often focus on what we fear rather than what we want. Visions and scenarios tend to be framed around what we hope to avoid rather than what we aspire to. They often boil down to opposites of the present. They are essentially based on negations. Honestly, how attractive is such a picture of the future?

Put another way, why is it so difficult to imagine a desirable future based on positive change rather than negation? A broad dialogue on positive futures could act as a guide, inspiring openness to change and optimism for transitions that lead to a better world.

Over the coming months, we will try to explore different possible avenues for positive - albeit realistic - future narratives. Through this step-by-step approach, we may be able to pave the way for a broader societal discussion about hopeful futures. Each time there will be a short version in the main text of the blog, followed by the full version at the end of the blog.

European island of happiness (short version)

The thought experiment begins with some thoughts on key assumptions about the future, followed by some thoughts on possible outcomes.

There are a few assumptions that set the framework for our future narrative. For this exercise, we have identified two sets of assumptions that are rooted in today's world. The first relates to the external factors driving developments in Europe. The second set of assumptions relates to internal drivers, mainly concerning decisions taken within the EU.