Writing Futures: Livable Worlds

Description

What images emerge when stories about livable futures are invented? Futures that are neither utopia nor dystopia, but the desirable next – and the next after that? What suddenly becomes possible and within reach when new, well-founded, and at the same time uninhibited thinking continues? Narrative genres like Solarpunk, Hopepunk, or Speculative Fabulation invite us to rethink storytelling methods and thus broaden our view of the present and futures. -How can futures be developed that are literarily compelling and credible at the same time? -Which futures are actually desirable? -How can a story tell of challenges and successes without categorizing the world as 'good' or 'bad' – and open up new perspectives? -How can a sustainable and fair interplay of technology and environment be narratively designed? -What generates hope and enables a friendly outlook forward – even in writing? -What can motivate action after the last page? The seminar day is a literary future laboratory. With impulses from science, creativity, and imagination, texts are created that open horizons: stories, scenes, or novel fragments that are new, distinctive, and refreshing. Whether short story, narration, or literary miniature: each work becomes an independent unique piece. Personal images, unusual leaps of thought, and literary explorations combine into drafts of possible and desirable futures. At the same time, the seminar sharpens the ability to think in 'multiple futures.' The different future visions of other participants open new perspectives, question familiar ideas, and expand one's own thinking space. Dealing with diverse future concepts is also considered a relevant future skill in the international education debate; UNESCO, among others, deals with the ability to imagine and shape different futures. A seminar day for imagination, bold experimentation, and literary explorations – with space for new thoughts, surprising perspectives, and own drafts of desirable futures. Source: thurgaukultur.ch - the cultural portal for Thurgau, with dates, topics & people who give something to talk about.