ONLINE WORKSHOP
A Futures Literacy Workshop
24 April 2025
The Howest University of Applied Sciences (Howest) is organising the Online Workshop ‘A Futures Literacy Workshop’ on 23 May 2025.
The future often feels distant or intangible. Yet, our assumptions and choices today play a crucial role in shaping what is to come. In this session, you will explore futures literacy: the ability to engage more consciously, creatively, and strategically with the future.
Based on the book Pondering the Futures (Dutch, in progress) by Thomas D’hooge, we will examine why we often ignore the future, how we can expand our perspective, and how to explore multiple possible futures. We will pause to reflect on the role of emotions such as hope and fear, and investigate how trends, technologies, and culture influence our visions of what lies ahead. We will also consider how values and priorities shape the choices we make, and how we can actively participate in building desirable futures. Finally, we will highlight the importance of sharing future visions to inspire broader change.
This workshop offers insights, examples, and reflective moments that encourage you to look beyond the obvious. The future does not yet exist — but it begins today, with the questions we dare to ask.
Online Workshop ‘A Futures Literacy Workshop’
Date
23 May 2025
Time
13h30–15h00 CET
Mode
Online
Platform
MS Teams
Target group
This workshop is open to a broad audience interested in understanding and engaging with the future in a more deliberate and strategic way. It is particularly relevant for researchers, lecturers, and students in higher education who wish to deepen their insights into change, complexity, and uncertainty. In addition, professionals working in strategy, policy, and innovation will find valuable perspectives and tools to strengthen their ability to anticipate and shape future developments.
Previous knowledge required
This session is designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or experience with futures thinking. Whether you are new to the topic or already familiar with strategic foresight, you are welcome.
It will focus on:
- What futures literacy is
The ability to engage with uncertainty, complexity, and possibility — not to predict the future, but to better navigate it. - Common misunderstandings
Challenging the idea that the future is fixed, predictable, or a simple extension of the present. - Feelings and images about the future
How hope, fear, and imagination shape the way we think about what is possible. - Expectations and surprises
How our assumptions influence today’s actions, and how unexpected events can reshape our understanding and choices.
Learning outcomes
After the workshop you will be able to:
- Understand the basic principles of futures literacy and why it matters today.
- Recognise common misconceptions about the future and how they limit thinking.
- Reflect on personal emotions, images, and expectations about the future.
- Appreciate the role of uncertainty, complexity, and surprise in shaping future possibilities.
- Develop a more open, flexible, and strategic mindset towards change and emerging futures.
Hosted by
Howest, Belgium