Suzanne Whitby

Radical Dreaming

#future#imagination#vision
30 - 606 - 20 Medium

Radical Dreaming invites participants to imagine bold, transformative futures without the usual constraints of feasibility or current limitations. It’s a space to envision what’s truly possible, before practicalities narrow the field. This method centres imagination as a critical part of futures thinking.

Goal

To expand creative capacity, challenge limiting assumptions, and surface values and desires that might otherwise remain unspoken.

Attachments

Materials

    Instructions

    1. Set the tone: explain that this is an exercise in possibility, not probability. Ask participants to suspend concerns about realism or implementation.
    2. Invite participants to imagine a future 10, 20 or even 50 years ahead where something important has changed for the better. Use prompts such as:
      • What does a just, joyful, or regenerative future look like?
      • What if we succeeded in creating a thriving, equitable system, what would your life be like?
    1. Encourage participants to express their visions in writing, sketching, or spoken word.
    2. After individual reflection, invite sharing in pairs or small groups.
    3. Close with group discussion: What common hopes appeared? What values were expressed? What surprised you?

    Facilitation tips

    • Some participants may find this exercise confronting or difficult. Offer reassurance that there are no wrong answers.
    • Be intentional about the mood. Use music, quiet, and gentle pacing to help create space for honest visioning.
    • This method works well as a midpoint or prelude to more strategic exercises (e.g. Backcasting).

    Background

    Radical Dreaming draws on practices from social justice movements, Indigenous futurisms, and critical design. It's rooted in the idea that imagination is political and that envisioning new worlds is the first step toward creating them. 

    Comments (0) 

    Please Log in or Sign up for a FREE SessionLab account to continue.