{"id":90234,"date":"2025-09-21T10:55:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T08:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/?p=83088"},"modified":"2026-09-27T15:13:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:13:41","slug":"zukunft-im-plural-was-waere-wenn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/futures-in-the-plural-what-if\/","title":{"rendered":"Futures in the plural: What if\u2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"90234\" class=\"elementor elementor-90234\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c856afb e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c856afb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-533d9e8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"533d9e8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe future doesn\u2019t exist; it is a space of imagination. Now it\u2019s your turn: there is an infinite range of possible answers to all those what-if questions. So stretch your imagination! \nWhat if&#8230; \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-609bb8c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"609bb8c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>&#8230;digital public administration were rolled out across the board, as in Latvia?<sup>1<\/sup> And what if an AI were given a ministerial post, as in Albania?<sup>2<\/sup><\/li><li>&#8230;we saw animals not only as living beings but also recognized them as legal persons, like whales in New Zealand?<sup>3<\/sup> And what if rivers became legal persons too, like the Magpie River in Canada or the Amazon?<sup>4<\/sup><\/li><li>&#8230;anti-democratic parties moved into the Chancellery? What could we do?<sup>5<\/sup><\/li><li>&#8230;prisons became more comfortable places, as in Norway?<sup>6<\/sup><\/li><li>&#8230;there were no more traffic deaths in Nuremberg in the future, as in Helsinki?<sup>7<\/sup><\/li><li>&#8230;disinformation in election campaigns hardly posed a threat anymore thanks to stronger media literacy and effective platform regulation, as Taiwan has managed to achieve?<sup>8,<\/sup><sup>9<br \/><\/sup><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0fcbe4a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0fcbe4a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, these examples can\u2019t simply be taken out of context and transferred one-to-one to Germany \u2013 but they encourage us to imagine how things could be different. How do you imagine Berlin in 2040? What could Germany look like in 2050? How might the EU develop? Some changes are not only imaginable but also possible \u2013 but only, of course, if we look for room to maneuver in order to move things in those directions. And for that, too, there isn\u2019t one single path, but rather a variety of approaches.<\/p><p>That\u2019s exactly why we speak of the future in the plural \u2013 of <em>futures<\/em>. The realization that the future is not predetermined but allows for different developments may be completely banal. Nevertheless, it leads to a series of much more complex questions: <em>What<\/em> are alternative possible developments? <em>Who<\/em> or what influences these developments? Which direction of development do I find <em>desirable<\/em>? And how can I help <em>shape it<\/em>?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e0b5ed0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e0b5ed0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Futures instead of fear of the future<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-06c21ec elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"06c21ec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many headlines paint grim forecasts: pension crisis, collapsing care system, climate change, deepfakes, a global decline in democracies \u2013 anyone thinking about the future right now may well end up with a sense of powerlessness rather than the courage to shape things. No wonder, then, that for many people the future is not a rosy topic but an oppressive question they would rather push aside. Given all these crises, talking about creatively shaping the future and about the future as a space of possibility may almost sound contradictory.\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is it just an occupational hazard of futurists to keep making the case for courage about the future and emphasizing that the future is not fate but something we can shape? Or is it an occupational hazard of some media outlets to paint the devil on the wall too quickly, following the motto <em>bad news are good news<\/em>?<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Please don\u2019t get us wrong:<\/strong> The goal of futures studies is by no means to ignore problems and escape into rose-tinted utopias. On the contrary: it\u2019s about taking current situations seriously \u2013 but not stopping at describing the problem; instead, analyzing how situations could develop in different directions. It\u2019s about discussing possible influencing factors. Such analyses help make room for action visible, beyond denial or naive optimism.<\/p><p>What matters is whether we manage to design futures in a way that enables us to act with foresight today. We are guided by the simple yet by no means trivial question: What if\u2026? It can be played through both for desirable developments and for potentially threatening ones, in order to develop resilience strategies in good time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a968cf elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5a968cf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Futures Literacy for shaping the future<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-00498a2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"00498a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Of course, as a Berliner, I don\u2019t have the same power to shape things as a large employer, a member of the Bundestag, the UN or a tech billionaire. Power imbalances in our system can\u2019t simply be undone. Still, we are convinced that it is always worth looking for options for action within your own means. The very fact that you have the time and energy to read this blog post is a privilege. Consciously thinking about possible futures is an important first step. Sharing your thoughts with others is another step you can take. This creates impulses that help us make more conscious decisions in the present.<\/p><p>This ability to think in futures is what <strong>UNESCO <\/strong>refers to as <strong>Futures Literacy <\/strong>and describes as follows:<em> \u201cFutures Literacy helps people understand why and how we use the future to prepare, plan, and interact with the complexity and novelty of our societies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f435ddc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"f435ddc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" id=\"#Arbeitsblatt\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53377304 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"53377304\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Book your Futures Literacy workshop for your team!<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7320f419 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7320f419\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLess gut feeling, more future fitness: together, we develop scenarios, identify opportunities and risks and translate them into concrete to-dos.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72468ab6 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"72468ab6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/contact\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"far fa-users-class\"><\/i>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Book here<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-585911d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"585911d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Create future scenarios for your own question about the future in just a few minutes <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3df623b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3df623b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>To foster thinking in futures, we at Schaltzeit put our heart and soul into a range of offerings, from Futures Literacy workshops and playful interventions (such as the Futures Oracle) to comprehensive foresight projects or our <strong>Scenario Tool<\/strong>: <br \/>A popular method in futures studies is scenario analysis for the systematic construction of future scenarios. Since it is relatively complex, we have packaged it in an accessible GPT so that you can create future scenarios on a topic of your choice step by step. So if you\u2019d like to try thinking in futures in a low-threshold way, we have a <a href=\"https:\/\/chatgpt.com\/g\/g-674de2df123881918128f53838e0b74f-scenario-tool-schaltzeit\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>free tool for you<\/strong> <\/a>(provided you have your own ChatGPT account) \u2013 a small Futures Literacy contribution from Schaltzeit to our democratic society.<\/p><p>As an example, here are four short future scenarios on care in Germany in 2045:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a29ca9f e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a29ca9f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-410fd75 e-grid e-con-full e-con e-child\" data-id=\"410fd75\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-139452c elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"139452c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gross-Szenarien_Pflege_X_-11.jpeg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9974854 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9974854\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gross-Szenarien_Pflege_X_-10.jpeg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-847afed elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"847afed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gross-Szenarien_Pflege_X_-12.jpeg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dcb95e9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"dcb95e9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gross-Szenarien_Pflege_X_-09.jpeg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-028937e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"028937e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you want to learn more about the scenario method or try out the GPT with us: come to our (also free) <a href=\"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/events\/\">workshop on November 18, 2025<\/a> \u2013 we look forward to seeing you!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bbca2bb elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"bbca2bb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-668cd5c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"668cd5c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>1 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndr.de\/nachrichten\/hamburg\/Lettland-koennte-bei-Digitalisierung-Vorbild-fuer-Hamburg-werden,leonhard406.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.ndr.de\/nachrichten\/hamburg\/Lettland-koennte-bei-Digitalisierung-Vorbild-fuer-Hamburg-werden,leonhard406.html<\/a><\/p><p>2 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deutschlandfunk.de\/albanien-ernennt-ki-zur-ministerin-100.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.deutschlandfunk.de\/albanien-ernennt-ki-zur-ministerin-100.html<\/a><\/p><p>3 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tagesschau.de\/ausland\/ozeanien\/neuseeland-wale-juristische-person-100.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.tagesschau.de\/ausland\/ozeanien\/neuseeland-wale-juristische-person-100.html<\/a><\/p><p>4 <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalgeographic.de\/umwelt\/2022\/05\/warum-immer-mehr-fluesse-zu-juristischen-personen-erklaert-werden\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/nationalgeographic.de\/umwelt\/2022\/05\/warum-immer-mehr-fluesse-zu-juristischen-personen-erklaert-werden\/<\/a><\/p><p>5 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/GrtG8bxRIb4?si=q9DYOe9EqK1mQYOU\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/GrtG8bxRIb4?si=q9DYOe9EqK1mQYOU<\/a><\/p><p>6 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tagesschau.de\/multimedia\/podcast\/malangenommen-gefaengnis-101.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.tagesschau.de\/multimedia\/podcast\/malangenommen-gefaengnis-101.html<\/a><\/p><p>7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tagesschau.de\/ausland\/europa\/helsinki-keine-verkehrstoten-100.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.tagesschau.de\/ausland\/europa\/helsinki-keine-verkehrstoten-100.html<\/a><\/p><p>8 <a href=\"https:\/\/ijnet.org\/en\/story\/how-media-taiwan-has-adapted-combat-electoral-disinformation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/ijnet.org\/en\/story\/how-media-taiwan-has-adapted-combat-electoral-disinformation<\/a><\/p><p>9 <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/taiwan-china-disinformation-3f05dac36399bf672a702100147bf8fa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/taiwan-china-disinformation-3f05dac36399bf672a702100147bf8fa<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zukunft existiert nicht, sie ist ein Raum der Vorstellungskraft. Jetzt bist du gefragt: Auf all die was-w\u00e4re-wenn-Fragen gibt es eine unendliche Bandbreite an Antwortm\u00f6glichkeiten. Also streng deine Vorstellungskraft an!<br \/>\nWas w\u00e4re wenn&#8230; <\/p>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":90270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[241],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[310],"class_list":["post-90234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foresight"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":310,"user_id":20,"is_guest":0,"slug":"magdalenasoetebeersz","display_name":"Magdalena Soetebeer","avatar_url":"http:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/maggy.introduction.photo-Kopie-96x96.jpg","author_category":"","first_name":"Magdalena","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":"Magdalena is a trained communication designer and works in communication and Futures Literacy at Schaltzeit. She brings her experience in futures studies, design thinking, and workshop design and facilitation to a variety of methods, creating the best possible foundations for ideation in participatory processes."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90234"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99452,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90234\/revisions\/99452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90234"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schaltzeit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=90234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}