The futures foundation is often invited to work with secondary students and their teachers to envision the future. Below is a description of a one day workshop that can also be presented as part of a program lasting up to a month.
Typically participants are students in Years 7-9, and the format can easily accommodate up to 50 students. In some cases students from more than one school have come together to experience the workshop.
Students are typically invited to the workshop in the following way:
“As part of an upcoming workshop you will be asked to leave your normal school day behind, explore a world that does not yet exist, and tell your fellow students and your teachers what you found. During the morning you will be guided on your journey by a futurist who will explore how venturing into the future helps people make better decisions today. The futurist will explore three common ways of approaching the future:
- ignoring it and hoping it will go away
- attempting to predict it
- creating it
The futurist will suggest that it is creating the future that has the greatest value. They will explore some examples of what they mean by creating the future, and encourage you to think about the sorts of things you might want to do if you were creating your future.
After the futurist has finished speaking, you and your group will be asked to agree on just where in the future you would like to go during the rest of the session. You will be invited to spend some time in this part of the future thinking about things such as:
- is this future appealing to you? If not, why?
- how does this future differ from the present and why?
- who will benefit, and who might be harmed in this future?
- how sustainable is this future? What problems do you foresee?
You will then asked to make a presentation on the area of the future you chose to explore, why you chose this, and what you learned on your journey. The presentation will be made to the other students and staff present and afterwards there will be an opportunity for discussion and feedback.
Sometimes these presentations are made on the same day (in which case they are usually limited to 7 minutes), sometimes the students are given class and private time, perhaps over a month, before re-convening to make their presentations (in which case they can be up to 25 minutes in length). In the latter case the futurist is sometimes invited back during the month to provide some input, and often the final presentations are made to a wider audience that might include students who have not been involved, teachers and even parents. If required, the futurist can be asked to provide a critique of the presentations against a pre-disclosed rubric.
A futurist for the day long workshop would normally be provide for a fee of $2,500 plus GST, though all futures foundation members receive a 50% discount on professional fees. Fees for workshops longer than a day are discussed on a case by case basis.
Contact the futures foundation office on 03 9029 5787 for further information.