Let’s dream together! Utopian workshop to imagine possible better futures

How can we re-make and re-think our present to create a better future?

What does it mean to thrive? How can we find hope in challenging times?

We rarely get the chance to think about these questions, to dream about a good future, or to imagine how better futures would feel like. Amidst global crises, we seem to lack the time and capacity to actively desire something that goes beyond what we already know. The current state of the world and its intensifying crises often seem inevitable. Because of their all-encompassing nature, we tend to focus on tackling them, leaving little room to holistically think about radically different ways of being.

But what if we could build a fundamentally different, a truly better future – at least in our imagination?

Utopian studies argue for the importance of imagining alternative futures. Dreaming enables us to uncover endless possibilities of how we could live together and shape a world that is good for everyone. Contrary to the widespread understanding of utopias as naïve or perfectionist ideas, utopian thinking can be crucial in times of crises to help us decide how to build a better future. In this sense, dreaming about better futures is an important skill to develop steps towards better ways of being for all.

To explore the power of radical hope, this event will introduce you to forms and potentials of utopian thinking. Together, we will go on a dream journey to imagine how a good world would look like for us, personally and collectively. It will invite you into a dream space which celebrates thinking outside of what seems realistic or feasible.

This workshop also includes a visit to the immersive Imaginarium exhibition in W5 which features young people’s visions for tackling local sustainability challenges. Over 180 young people from youth groups and schools in coastal and rural areas across Northern Ireland participated in the Imaginarium programme. Responding to place-based sustainability challenges, they came up with imaginative visions and proposals. Their stories and the animated sketches of their ideas will further deepen our dreaming about potential futures.

The workshop is facilitated by Nina Liebhaber ([email protected]), a utopian researcher who holds a PhD in geography and has extensive experience with educational work in times of climate crisis. Since 2024, Nina is part of the Future Island-Island research project and coordinated the Imaginarium Programme in this context.

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Host or Publisher Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics