Future Problem Solving’s mission is to develop the ability of young people globally to design and achieve positive futures through problem solving using critical and creative thinking. Students are asked to consider real-world problems, to develop action plans to solve real and imagined problems, and to creatively consider a better future for all.
Futures studies is the field of studying past and current trends. Futurists examine areas like technology, business, society, and the environment to explore how humanity will live and work in the future. In our Creative Writing and Storytelling programs, students use futures thinking to develop stories set 20-30 years in the future based on one of our annual topics.
Benefits of futures thinking
Our ideas about the future guide our lives. We work towards goals, large and small, set weeks or years into the future. When our ideas about the future and our current reality do not match, we are driven to make our desired future a reality.
It’s important for students to imagine the future in their writing and storytelling. It helps them think critically about their goals, values, and the world they want to create. Future-oriented writing encourages creativity and problem-solving by asking students to explore possibilities beyond the present. It also helps them connect their learning to real-life aspirations.
Identifying possible futures when writing a scenario or telling an oral story encourages students to draw connections between the present and the future. Students are empowered to influence the present to create a more positive future.
Developing futuristic narratives
Students begin by researching their chosen topic. Then, they explore the impacts and effects of things happening today in order to understand the interconnected world around them.
In Creative Writing and Storytelling, participants explore beyond the past and present in order to develop new ideas. Students create a world inspired by their topic research. Our students use their imagination to integrate predictions about how technology, society, and business may be different in 20-30 years.
Once they have imagined their futuristic setting, they create a narrative in which their original characters experience the future as if it were the present. We hope students share stories that focus on characters attempting to make a positive change in their world or other positive potentials.
Futures thinking in Global Issues
In our Global Issues program, students get two hours during competitions to complete our 6-step problem-solving process for a given future situation. Students research and analyze up to 5 topics a year to prepare for problem solving based on our future scenes.
Our future scenes are imagined “what if” scenarios based on current topic information. Each year teams of experts develop problem situations set 20-30 years in the future needing to be solved. Students develop futuristic action plans to address the problems within the future scene.
Helpful links
12 storytelling tips dos and don’ts
9 Creative Writing submissions tips dos and don’ts
What are future scenes in Global Issues?
Watch Storytelling champions (Antibiotic Resistance)
Read a story from a Creative Writing champion (Building Green)
