Given the urgency of climate change, we are faced with challenges related to the agency and will to act. “Encouraged Tomorrows” is an invitation to rethink the way we address these issues in the near future, taking into account any new factors that might come into play. Through an in-depth understanding of the signs of change that are appearing among audiences, we are striking new paths to promote a more significant connection to the ecological transition.
Approach
Through support from the European Climate Foundation, we conducted a process of futures research over a period of 10 months, identifying signs of change and extracting valuable insights for the project. This helped to encapsulate the essence of global changes, as well as a series ofemerging trends, and illustrate their impact on the lives of various archetypes of people, representatives of new prospective paradigms (future people).
The last stage of the project involved fitting these “people” into a series of similarly archetypical alternative scenarios (Dator, 2009), to explore the complexity of each hypothesis surrounding the concept of motivation in the future.
A link between art, technology and desirable futures.
In early 2024, as part of Telefónica’s centennial celebrations, the Telefónica Foundation hosted an exhibition featuring six major international artists and creative studios, who worked to transcend conventional notions of what the future will look like and propose optimistic visions in which technology emerges as a force for change and where the interaction between social, cultural, environmental and technological factors shapes our visions of the future.
It represents the continuation of a narrative that the Telefónica Foundation has been exploring for some time and which began with “The Great Imagination”, “Histories from the Future” and “Liam Young: Building Worlds”. A fantastic idea for speculating on the next 100 years.
Approach
We at Invisible provided the artists advice while preparing the audiovisual narratives, in which digital art and new technologies were used as means for shaping alternative futures. Our work covered theoretical, conceptual and discursive aspects, ensuring that each audio installation not only challenged traditional perspectives on the future, but also encouraged in-depth reflection and enriching dialogue between the present and all the possibilities awaiting us in the exhibition’s texts.
This project marks the beginning of a new form of cooperation between Invisible and cultural organisations, as art should act not only mirror the present and past, but also serve as a tool for exploring futures.
Our mission was to decipher and reconstruct the notion of “political will” in the near future. The reality we observed is one plagued with contemporary paradoxes: job instability, technological developments such as artificial intelligence and automation, political polarisation and a growing demand for environmental justice. Faced with this situation, we performed a multifaceted analysis aimed at understanding how these factors are changing society’s behaviour, needs and values and predicting their future impact on our political will.
The challenge involved extracting knowledge from a host of emerging signs of change over a one year period, with a view to comprehending the underlying forces that are shaping civil society’s political determination and, in doing so, identifying opportunities for systemic change.
Approach
Our methodology was based on a participatoryfutures observatory, with support from the European Climate Foundation. During the year, we organised a series of meetings and workshops to challenge assumptions and encourage ongoing critical thought. These sessions, held regularly, were implemented jointly with other key players in climate action in Spain.
In 2022, we conducted a Scenario Planning project based on primary research that involved systemically identifying signs of change in people’s daily lives. These changes included social, technological, economic, environmental and cultural aspects. This approach made it possible to anticipate and explore the future of Financial Health and Sustainability, predicting future scenarios based on emerging trends in different areas. This allowed us to consider the future consequences and define the role our organisation should play in the coming years, helping us to improve our marketing, innovation and design strategies.
According to the bank, financial health may be defined as wellbeing achieved through the proper management of personal, family or business finances to cover unforeseen situations and attain future life goals.
This, however, begs the question: will this definition remain valid in the future, when people’s lives are influenced by new factors?
Approach
We employed diverse frameworks to scan reality on a social, technological, economic, environmental, political and values-based level. Our aim was to understand and predict prospective futures within a specific geographical context and timeframe: Spain, within 5 to 7 years’ time.
We observed clear signs and manifestations of change at a global level. However, certain signals remained somewhat vague until we managed to understand their interconnection with other factors, as nothing occurs in isolation.
As we pushed the project forward, a series of future landscapes began to appear before our eyes. These scenarios allowed us to analyse and imagine how different families would live under a series of what are today emerging circumstances, offering a glimpse at what the bank’s main role will be in the future.
