Youth work as a field and an environment constantly deals with change: in young people’s lives, in their communities, and in the world around them. However, when talking about ‘change’, we also talk about the future, or, actually, about futures. It is relatively easy to fall into the habit of thinking that there is just one path ahead, something fixed that we are all heading towards. But is it?

 

This ‘Types of Futures’ tool takes a different view. It invites you to think in ‘futures’, plural. That means recognising that there are many ways that the future could unfold, and that what we do today can, to a certain extent, shape those multiple ways.

 

It also means to be curious and open to uncertainty, holding space for different perspectives, even when we do not have clear answers.

A ‘quantum mindset’

To support this process, it is worth adopting what we call ‘a quantum mindset’, not as something scientific or complex, but as a supportive way of thinking and sensing. In other words, it is about being OK with ‘not knowing everything’. It is also about seeing how things are interconnected. Finally, it is about imagining more than one possibility at a time before making any step or any decision.

 

Do you feel ready, curious and open?

 

In a moment, you will explore the seven types of futures. Those are not types of categories that you need to know by heart, but they will help you think about futures differently. Some may feel familiar, others weird, perhaps, or even uncomfortable. No worries, that is part of the process and often happens when assumptions are challenged 😊

Purpose, target group and process

The purpose of the 5 exercises proposed below is to explore a diverse spectrum of futures and possibilities, going from signals and trends to strategic and desired outcomes, to better navigate uncertainty with a bigger openness, imagination, and curiosity.

 

Working with the types of futures will support you to:

  • Reflect on how you relate to different ideas of different futures
  • Challenge your assumptions
  • Pay attention to what is already changing around you
  • Use your body, senses, and curiosity, not just your thoughts
  • Slow down before jumping into actions (solutions, decisions…).

The exercises that follow are for youth workers, educators, and anyone curious who wants to deepen their understanding of different types of futures and explore what it means to develop a ‘future mindset’ in a youth work context.

The list of futures, a notebook, pen or drawing/recording material, depending on how you wish to take notes.

These exercises can be done individually, on your own, or with others. The aim is not to ‘do it right’ but to stretch your reflection, hopefully spark your imagination, and stay connected to the people and possibilities around you.

 

Take your time, be honest, open, and stay curious 😊 The future is already taking shape, sometimes in ways and places that we would not imagine.

Using the ‘Types of Futures’ – a ‘future mindset’ workbook

What follows the type of future is a series of standalone exercises that you can do alone or with peers. You can write, draw, reflect, walk, whatever helps you connect more deeply with yourself, and with everything and everyone around you.

The seven Types of Futures *

When we look toward the future, we are not facing one single path, but a larger spectrum of possibilities, each offering a unique way to perceive, shape, or respond to what lies ahead. From the signals we see and sense today to the unavoidable paths we face, and from the futures we can strategically plan to those we desire, the seven types of futures below invite us to navigate uncertainty with foresight, imagination, and curiosity.

Download the seven types of futures in cards format. Just click on the button below!

Download here!

Download the seven types of futures in a text format. Just click on the button below!

Download here!

Exercises

Exercise 1. Flip your brain: challenging assumptions about the future

Intention: to support you in noticing the ‘mental filters’ that you spontaneously use when thinking about change or the future.

 

Process:

Choose two types of futures that feel ‘weird’, hard to relate to, or, why not, that sound even boring.

 

Exchange with a colleague, a peer, a friend about:

  • What do I usually believe about how the future works?
  • Why might this type of future feel difficult or unrealistic to me?
  • What if the young people I work with live more in this future than I do? In fact: do they?

 

You can also imagine that you had to explain this future to a group of young people or your colleagues. What story or image would you use?

 

Write down, record or draw your reflections.

Exercise 2. Switch your lenses and see one situation from seven angles

Intention: to practice experimenting with multiple perspectives and seeing how futures-thinking can shift your approach to youth work-related issues.

 

Process:

Identify a real issue that impacts you, that you care about, for instance, climate anxiety or rural isolation.

 

Look at the seven types of futures and one by one, imagine how each of these types relates to your topic/situation

  • What could/would this look like in that type of future?
  • What might young people be doing, feeling, or needing in that future?

 

You may also ask yourself or those you do the exercise with what future gives you/them hope? Which one challenges you/them? Where might creative solutions come from?

Write down, record or draw your reflections.

Exercise 3. Sensing the future: feel it before thinking about it

Intention: to invite different ways of knowing (beyond words and analysis, or logic) and to connect with each type of future.

 

Process:

For each future type, try to:

  • Stand or sit in a position that matches what this future (one of the 7 types that you pick or choose) feels like to you.
  • Close your eyes and ask yourself: what emotion or body sensation emerges? How does it feel there? Comfortable? Known? Or perhaps uncomfortable and strange? Does this type of future make you smaller, bigger, or are you in your actual size and strength? What does it say about your relationship to the future?
  • Write down a word, a sentence, or an image that comes to you.
  • Optional: turn one feeling into a lyric of a song (or an entire song!), sketch it, and share with others.

Write down, record or draw your reflections.

Exercise 4. Signal Spotting – noticing the futures in our community

Intention: to train oneself to notice where change might already be starting around us (in tiny, small and every way).

 

Process:

Have at your disposal a short diary or journal that you can use every day. You might wish to pay special attention to potential sources of information, such as your youth work environment, projects or initiatives around you, online trends, art, an ad, a conversation with family, friends, news, tensions you might feel around you… anything that feels ‘new’ or ‘different’. As stated in the ‘Futures of youth work‘ research, “Weak signals related to the distant future may be the hardest to distinguish from the background noise, which is why we ask you to keep an open mind and include anything that sparks even the smallest insight. Be creative in your insights and imagine a possible future based on what you notice.”

 

For each signal you spot, ask:

  • Could this grow into something bigger?
  • What future might this be part of?
  • What kind of support would it need from youth work(ers) and/or the community?

Write down, record or draw your reflections.

Exercise 5. The ‘silent futurist’: practising deep and mindful listening

Intention: to explore how to listen to each other, without trying to solve, fix or judge, to allow potentially unlocking new insights.

 

Process:

Do this with one other person, at least.

One person shares a thought or reflection on one of the types of future and how it relates to their life or (youth) work. The other person(s) only listens or, if necessary, ask questions for clarification. Otherwise, remember: no opinions, no interruptions.

And then you switch roles.

 

After, everyone writes:

  • What did I hear that surprised or moved me?
  • What changed in how I see this future?

 

Write down, record or draw your reflections.

* Inspired by the futures described by Nikolas Badminton in his book Facing Our Futures: How Foresight, Futures Design, and Strategy Creates Prosperity and Growth