Sometime I wonder what will I have to write about, then weeks like this one whirl through and by the end of the week there are so many things to write I don’t want to write just one thing. It demands a montage that’s as dynamic as the reality of my week. Can writing do that? It seems too static. That’s part of my challenge this week.
Last week I got to work as part of the team bringing Wellbeing Economy Policy Design to a group of politicians, public sector and academia. We were in Belfast delivering a Horizon 3 approach and sharing the free WEALL Policy Design course.
Mark Emerson the Co-Director of the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water, Queen’s University Belfast hosted us at his centre.
I loved Mark Emerson’s slide that brought all the elements together, animated to show the story of all 3 Horizons, minus H2 and plus H2.
I also loved that I got to meet and work with
- Lisa Hough-Stewart, Implementation Lead at Wellbeing Economy Alliance, WEALL
- 3 provocateurs – Dr Seán Fearon, Professor Mark Emerson, Sophia Howe, the first Future Generation Commissioner of Wales – all their provocations were indeed that
- reuniting with the core team of WEALL Ireland Caroline Whyte, Anne-Marie Fuller, Peter Doran, Séan Ó Conláin and Davie Philips.
I facilitated Horizon 3 – EMERGING FUTURE. Yes I took the whole room time traveling and after everyone drew.
Having been told a group like this typically struggles and of unsuccessful similar events I knew my process of opening up people to each other and their own mindsets would enable access differently. This is years of honed engagement, experiential and participatory process. My methodology unlocks and surprises because it’s accessible and even fun.
others with plenty of experience said the drawing won’t work. I asked them to trust the process. It did work and it was surprising.
With this object standing in front of a room of senior policy makers – civil servants, politicians and academics. Asking them to imagine time traveling to a future where humans had done everything possible, it’s a risk.
We hold these spaces to open up to possibility.
Eimear McNally sent this to me at the weekend How thinking about the future reshapes our brain, why it’s important to imagine together and how shared stories make meaning.
Feel I should be making a sales pitch here but that’s not my style. I have a Time Travellers Troupe meeting and the plan is to create shared spaces to regularly travel to the future together & share these practices more widely. Tomorrow I’m happily meeting the Rob Hopkins Positive Futurists group first thing I am so looking forward to it.
Today I am joining a week of action for Reclaim the Economy, a great intative.
Do join us, registration required.
There will also be an IDEN virtual cuppa on Thursday, newsletter gone out last night.
Right I’ve qualitative research I need to get on with for a client strategic review.
Have a great week.
Roisin Markham 
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