A digital living lab for communicating visions and images of the future in the context of the energy transition.

Partner
2019-20
Duration
Funded by

Horizon 2020: DESIGNSCAPES (Building Capacity for Design enabled Innovation in Urban Environments)

Challenge
What do climate-just and desirable futures look like? This is a question that cannot be answered along disciplinary and national borders. Scientists and practitioners have to cooperate with each other and strive for a transdisciplinary knowledge integration. In this context, new practices are sought to involve different stakeholders in the generation of knowledge in transformation processes. This is where the Future Booth project comes in. It is an international and transdisciplinary research project between Germany and Italy.
Prozess
Future Booth is an innovative process prototype – a 3-part digital workshop format. The workshops build on each other in terms of content and methodology and are simultaneously accompanied by graphic recording. While the first workshop is a kind of inventory of the main challenges and points of criticism with regard to climate-friendly futures, desirable future scenarios are developed in the second workshop (based on the main points of criticism). In the third workshop, the desirable futures are translated into stories and thus become communicable and discussable.

All workshops require the active participation of the participants. The workshops alternate between rational-analytical and intuitive-creative work phases, with deliberate 'media breaks' and continuously changing work groups.

The workshops were held simultaneously in German and Italian. At times, both groups met in digital space to exchange their perspectives and insights.
Process steps

Concept and planning of the digital Future Booth

Future Booth Intervention (analog) during the Friday demonstrations in 2019

Evaluation of the process prototype

Execution of the 3-part workshop in Italian and German language

Exploitation of the results

Outcome
With the Future Booth real-lab project, insights can be gained into which desirable images of the future exist interculturally and which consensuses and dissensuses prevail within them.

By combining verbal exchange with graphic recording, knowledge could be directly visualized and made visible. This creates space for alternative interpretations, shared learning, debate and critical reflection. The drawings functioned as so-called 'focal points', attractors of choice of action, as they drew attention and initiated conversations.

Creating and communicating target images can orient, motivate, and prompt action.
I was continuing as a blind man driving on a motorway, the motorway of the production: produce to produce to produce….One day, a memorable one, a friend of mine with whom I had no contact since a lot of time, sent me a very short message via eco- mail (a new sustainable communicating system I barely knew); the message simply said: "when the hell are you gonna start thinking?"
Matteo
Cara Giulia,
Oggi vor 35 anni questa nostra länderübergreifende l'amicizia ha cominciata und schau was wir erreicht haben! Oggi parliamo in due lingue gleichzeitig und trotzdem capiamo quasi tutto! Chi l'avrebbe mai imaginata! Unsere kleine Idee von damals dadurd lustige Züge angenommen, ma laccami raccontare anche delle cose incredibile e che scaldano il cuore: Kannst du dich noch erinnern an undere Überlegung, wie wir die Begegnungsräume auf den Balkonen auch nach der Corona Zeit erhalten können. Wir haben hier nun bei gutem Wetter jeden Mittwoch abend das cena mit der Nachbarschaft! Jeder bringt seine Stühle und Tische raus und nach dem Essen, dann sitzen wir für einen Abend zusammen und essen und überlegen was wir verbessern wollen im Viertel. Die Postkarte ist zu klein aber ich schreib dir bald wieder!

Bacio bacio
Vera
BASICS
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