Imagine a Better Future

On Thursday November 9 2023, the Talent Boost workshop on international competences of the future was held at the South Eastern University of Applied Sciences (XAMK) in Finland. The workshop, hosted by RDI Specialist Enni Jaatinen, brought together participants from Finland, the USA, Germany, Austria, Sri Lanka and other countries to imagine a preferred future for the world in 2050.

The workshop began with individual assignments to help participants rethink their perspectives on the future. Participants were asked to come up with “What If” questions that would take them to the future they want such as “What if there is no war in the future?” or “What if people care about each other more than themselves?” Participants then discussed their questions in groups.

In the first group assignment participants listened to an audio conversation about a child who is in a daycare and considered it as a possible glimpse of the future. Groups were asked to assume about whether the future will look like that and to challenge each other’s assumptions based on their visions of the future.

Next groups were asked to look back in the past 100 years and imagine what has influenced the way the present moments look like in decade-wise terms. For example, one group discussed the discovery of the internet in the early 1980s. Groups were then asked to imagine a preferred future individually linked to international competence and thinking about positive factors that make a better future. They then discussed their visions within their groups and ideated what should be done to make their visions happen.

In the last assignment groups were asked to write and create a headline for a newspaper from the year 2050 which represents their world on a journey towards the vision which the group designed. Teams came up with great ideas and presented them to the other groups.

The workshop concluded with everyone thanking the host Enni Jaatinen for a great workshop. Refreshments were also available and everyone went home feeling inspired to make a difference in the world.

The Talent Boost workshop on international competences of the future was a valuable experience for all participants. It was an opportunity to learn from each other to challenge our assumptions about the future and to imagine a better world. We are all grateful to XAMK International Services for organizing this important event.