Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
In a time of increasing uncertainty and growing fear about the future of our democracy, how can we imagine, ignite and build more positive visions and pathways to tomorrow?
This was the focus of "The Futures Happening: Democracy Edition," a generative, interactive, future-focused gathering for democracy "makers, movers, and multipliers" held at the Stanford d.school on April 25 and 26.
What made this event different was the focus on building positive narratives and possibilities, proactively pulling us towards the types of futures we want to see, beyond reacting and responding to the threats and challenges of today.
Led by Lisa Kay Solomon, a Futurist in Residence and award-winning civic innovator, the event was designed to imagine positive narratives of the futures we want and to foster agency to create them.
"We simply cannot build a future we have not first imagined,” Solomon said. “We know that a single gathering cannot solve the many challenges our democracy is facing today. And, yet, we also know that if we don't spend time working on more positive postures and possibilities for our future, we risk staying in a constant state of reactive despair or, worse, disengagement."
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As an experienced futurist and designer, Solomon was inspired to create "The Futures Happening" after the Democracy Funders Network's 2022 report, "Imagining Better Futures for American Democracy," authored by Suzette Brooks Masters. Masters calls for new approaches to creating a pluralist, robust, inclusive and thriving democracy, sharing "Extraordinary times call for imaginative thinking and action. Building a robust, high-functioning pluralist democracy in the U.S. capable of ushering in better futures for Americans requires us to think differently about what the times demand. We need positive disruptors who dare to dream and imagine what could be."
Solomon reached out to Masters and offered an opportunity to put the research into action at the Stanford d.school.
For nearly two decades, the d.school has been at the epicenter of teaching and creating resources that support human-centered, collaborative and impact-focused design, exemplifying creative, out-of-the-box thinking, teaching and experimentation that brings new solutions to light when the answer seems unclear.
Straddling the need to stretch thinking in new ways while also staying relevant and appropriate for the call of the moment, Solomon interviewed dozens of leaders in the democracy, civics and social impact spaces to inform the choices of the experience and gathering. She partnered with Kreatives, a global design firm to design each aspect to spark conversation, connection and action. At the heart of The Futures Happening was an immersive "civic imagineer" gallery featuring 28 bright spots of civic innovation. Each poster, now digitized in its Democracy Maker gallery, highlighted a future-focused question, a short description of its origin and impact, and a QR code prompting instructions on how to adapt it for new audiences and communities.
The gathering's agenda featured immersive play and co-creation focused on sharing and building on bright spots of authentic civic engagement and impact. The ratio of speakers to participants was intentionally high — this was not a "sit and get," but a chance for celebration, connection and renewal. The day's conversations featured a diverse array of unexpected voices, from a surprise video by Elmo and the “Sesame Street” cast to a member of the California Cabinet focused on civic engagement. It featured interactive panels with next-gen civic and student leaders, local community leaders likeWarm Cookies of the Revolution reimagining participatory budgeting processes and civic engagement through designed experiences like "Six Tax Bingo” and “Civic Stitch and Bitch” and civically engaged professional and student athletes. The evening focused on expanding our collective capacity for civic imagination through an immersive production of "futures that could be" infused with moving narratives, live music, poetry and visual inspiration, featuring designers of civic tomorrows.
The Futures Happening was so much more than a single event. It was a field-building springboard that paved the way (by design) for reframing our roles and capabilities as "civic futurists" imagining the future of democracy in community-centered and co-creative ways. Grounded in bright spots of today, we aimed to create and empower bold possibilities for a better tomorrow.
"Simply put, we need more people to feel like ‘civic futurists’ — a mindset and set of practices that allow them to feel like the future is not happening to them, but rather that they can shape and contribute to a thriving civic society," Solomon shared
And the gathering has already sparked tremendous impact and connection.
- Educators and administrators have more experiential ways and practical resources to engage next-gen citizens and shape learning environments that support positive civic discourse and practice.
- Community leaders have a wider set of relationships and engagement strategies to infuse and expand their work. Participatory and citizen-led events from Warm Cookies of the Revolution provide ample examples of how to spark citizen-centered engagement and influence.
- Funders have new ways to articulate positive futures worthy of support and engagement. New narratives that are both possible and plausible help strengthen and expand efforts to positively engage potential funders of nonpartisan democracy and civic engagement efforts.
- Students felt energized, hopeful, activated, and empowered to utilize, build-on, and extend existing bright spots into their networks and communities, including new models of college athletics and ideas for student-run Democracy Day.
- Journalists have a broader set of stories and questions to cover and amplify.
As YVote founder and civic imagineer Sanda Balaban shared in her generous write-up of the gathering:
"It was, indeed, a happening. And the exciting thing is, it always will be. This was not just a gathering, it was a launchpad & civic springboard for what needs to exist in the world — and will."
And this civic launchpad is already spreading. In the first five days after the event, there were almost 5,000 views of The Futures Happening website, and it just won aSan Francisco Design Week award for its impact.
As a nation, we must ask big questions, share bold ideas, and make commitments to ourselves and each other.
To learn more about the event, check outthis short video and vist The Futures Happening website, which offers shared resources and the Democracy Makers library to inspire your next gathering.
