"Imagination is the currency of foresight"
We recently had an exciting session on Dreams and Disruptions Game at the Foresight Europe Network Demo Hour.
The Foresight Europe Network (FEN) Demo Hour is a recurring event during which participants from the FEN community present their foresight tools, methodologies, and projects. This event serves as a forum for exchanging insights, innovations, and best practices within the strategic foresight domain. The sessions typically feature live demonstrations, interactive discussions, and networking possibilities, all designed to improve the comprehension and implementation of foresight techniques for tackling future challenges and opportunities.
The Foresight Europe Network (FEN) is a group of experts and entities in Europe committed to strategic foresight and future studies. Its objective is to encourage cooperation, exchange of expertise, and improvement of members' capabilities through diverse initiatives such as workshops, webinars, and conferences. FEN's main goal is to advocate for the use of foresight techniques in tackling societal issues, influencing policy decisions, and facilitating strategic planning in various fields.
Understanding the Game
The participants were introduced to the mechanics and objectives of the game. The session consisted of a short presentation on the game's purpose and significance, a live demonstration during a breakout session, and an opportunity for participants to ask questions and engage in discussions to demonstrate and highlight the game's adaptability in different settings such as educational, governmental, non-governmental, and corporate environments. Emphasis was placed on the interactive nature of the game, showcasing how it engages a wide audience of various ages and backgrounds in futures literacy and strategic foresight.
The "Dreams and Disruptions" game is more than just a game; it functions as a strategic scenario creator that encourages players to creatively and preposterously contemplate the future. Players are encouraged to delve into the consequences of potential disruptions on our future perceptions and imaginations, as well as to devise potential ideas and solutions for adjusting to them. Whether it pertains to advancements in technology, shifts in the environment, or changes in society, culture, and spirituality, the game fosters a forward-thinking approach to the future.
Given the numerous thought-provoking questions and insights exchanged among FEN members, the more compelling provocations and ideas on game play are:
1. Set what the expectations are at the outset: the game is a scenario-based imagination card game to explore future scenarios, understand leadership and social psychology archetypes, potential disruptions, and develop strategic responses. While D&D accentuates preposterous futures and divergent thinking, it is a seriously fun game if I may.
2. Define the desired outcomes: are you playing it for futures literacy? imagination literacy? futures thinking? strategic foresight? anticipation? enhancing foresight skills? introducing risk thinking in foresight or vice-versa? stress-testing scenarios? reflecting on the nature, essence or function of foresight? resilience? anti-fragility? or playing with specificity like leadership and industry? Playing the game with a specific or desired outcome, makes the game and engagement more purposeful and impactful.
In fact, you can add context, additional elements or layers, create your own prompt questions to the game if you need to. Be creative! If necessary, consider the context of and when playing the game. Keep the domain, sector, or your client in mind. Play smart!
This however does not prohibit you to play the game without agenda or intent. Have fun and just play it! A lot of amazing divergent ideas and provocations were created when played subjectively. Carol Lim, Co-founder of the Teach the Future Singapore and Foresight Coach and Facilitator, shared this wonderful reflection on her LinkedIn post:
"Each time I play it, it serves like a mental reset and reboot, and a re-stretch and re-expansion of my imagination and horizons. It never gets boring nor stale, because the possibilities we end up with during each game are endless. Just like how real emergent futures are...It's divergent thinking at its best."
3. Create a safe space. Emphasize respect for all ideas, imaginings and point of view. Encourage active listening and constructive imagination. Ensure everyone feels valued and included. Promote diverse participation by inviting varied viewpoints. Encourage participants to express their thoughts freely. Create an environment where questions and discussions are welcomed. You have to outline this upfront. Offer support when needed. Address their concerns respectfully and promptly. Provide resources and materials to help participants understand the game. Make yourself and facilitators available for guidance and assistance.
4. Encourage participation. You may assign specific roles such as facilitator, note-taker, and presenter to ensure everyone has a responsibility. Utilize collaborative tools like whiteboards, sticky notes, and digital platforms to enable shared brainstorming and imagination mapping.
5. Celebrate Success. Recognize and celebrate the team’s milestones on scenarios, ideas, insights and strategies generated throughout the game. You may do it with verbal praise or small rewards. If curated and designed as if it's a competition like hackathon for example, you may reward them with a copy of the dreams and disruptions game, your book or just anything that you think is appropriate to recognize and celebrate success!
6. Reflect and share. Hold a reflection session where participants/players can share their experiences and successes.
7. Facilitation is key. Facilitation plays a crucial role in the Dreams and Disruptions game, ensuring a productive and engaging experience for all participants. Effective facilitation involves guiding discussions, encouraging collaboration, and maintaining a safe and respectful environment. Facilitators help clarify objectives, keep the game on track, and ensure that all voices are heard.
Here are some examples from participants sharing their experiences after playing the game:
"The expansion of our imagination through the Dreams and Disruptions game sketched out the implicit assumptions we all carried and made them more tangible, visible and perhaps if we would have continued with a reflection session, more articulable. In a way, we began developing that very ability that seems imperative in the pursuit of rupturing the dominating way(s) of perceiving the world. Thus, the game showed great promise in facilitating an opening that could be nurtured into a deep ontological expansion."
"When an unforeseen blackswan disruptor got thrown in, expert game facilitation nudged us to break out of our mental silos and constructs. New vistas, narratives and opportunities emerged when we questioned the status quo, suspended our biases, and overturned our preconceived and prevailing notions, charting new potential pathways to antifragile futures that go beyond mere resilience-building and risk mitigation."
"I have played the early variants of the game, both online and live, with a group of strangers. And, I’m a huge fan of it! I won’t expose the gameplay here. I think this is the kind of game you have to experience and not explained! In the hands of competent facilitation (not that it is heavy), a group can take flight and explore a future. "
Main Features and Advantages
Creativity and Imagination: The game inspires participants to unleash their creative potential. By adopting unconventional thinking, players can discover inventive solutions to possible challenges.
Strategic Thinking: It helps players develop strategic thinking skills by challenging them to create actionable imaginings to address future challenges.
Collaborative Future-making: The game fosters participation and collaboration, which are crucial skills for addressing complex challenges in the future.
Community Engagement: Incorporating a variety of community members, the game guarantees the consideration of diverse viewpoints, which leads to the development of more comprehensive and inclusive anticipatory imaginaries for the future.
Why It Matters
The ability to anticipate new imaginaries and prepare for future disruptions is priceless. The game "Dreams and Disruptions" offers a platform to refine these abilities. It encourages creativity, strategic foresight, and teamwork, providing players with the necessary tools to confidently face an unpredictable future.
Conclusion
The "FEN Demo Hour on Dreams and Disruptions" was an enlightening experience, demonstrating the power of games in future planning. As we move forward, tools like this will play a crucial role in helping us build resilient and adaptable communities.
If you're interested in exploring the future and preparing for potential disruptions, the "Dreams and Disruptions" game is a fantastic place to start.
For more information and to watch the webinar, check out the FEN Demo Hour on Dreams and Disruptions on YouTube.
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