Futures Workshop for Alliance of Democracies Foundation’s Democracy Tech Entrepreneurs
Democratising
Futures Lab
Empowering democracy tech entrepreneurs to tackle misinformation and autocratic threats
Challenge
We organized a Democratising Futures Lab with the Alliance of Democracies Foundation to address pressing challenges faced by frontline democracies in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova. These countries experience significant misinformation and threats from an autocratic Russia, which threaten their democratic principles. Additionally, there is a pervasive culture of short-term thinking and diminished agency in society.
Approach
A 2-hour hands-on workshop equipping participants with futures thinking skills to tackle democratic challenges. We explored issues like misinformation and climate change, engaged in a futuresstorming exercise, and created tangible artefacts to turn foresight into practical action.
Outcomes
Futures Thinking Skills
Participants learned to reframe the future, spot signals of change, and manage uncertainty. These skills empowered them to anticipate and shape future democratic landscapes proactively.
1)
Innovative Democracy Artefacts from the Future
The workshop facilitated the development of innovative ideas and strategies to support democracy. Participants conceptualized and planned initiatives that could be implemented to strengthen democratic principles and practices.
2)
Collaborative Engagement
The interactive nature of the workshop fostered collaboration among participants from different countries, enabling them to share perspectives and ideas. This collaborative approach helped build relationships betweenfuture-oriented democratic thinkers.
3)
“Thank you so much for the workshop, it was really insightful. We had never worked with or thought about the future like that.
In addition, the interactive exercises in the peaceful setting and good weather of the Democracy Garage were just what the fellows needed - we all really enjoyed it.”
— Harun Bala, Alliance of Democracies Foundation