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Collective Imagining

In 2022, Collective Imagining brought 50 young people aged 16-25 (aka Dreamers) together in a gathering of minds. Co-created with young people across Australia, this is their vision for 2050.

SHR

What happened at Collective Imagining?

Collective Imagining kicked off with our first gathering on Friday 27 May – Sunday 29 May 2022 where participants were split into two groups to learn key skills in imagining the future through speculative fiction, poetry and storytelling. The dreamers who attended that gathering designed and coordinated their own Collective Imagining events with other young people in the months after. Each young person was provided with a small grant of $500 as well as coaching and support to host their own workshops. On Thursday 1 – Sunday 4 December we held our second gathering and welcomed additional dreamers to help weave our vision and strategy for a new future together.

Early 2023 we ran workshops, webinars and surveys to reach a total of 650 young people to back the Dreamers to mobilise and organise their movement to win campaigns for change. With the insights Dreamers have gathered over the course of 12-months, their collective vision has been launched through a Zine called, ‘Looking to the Skies: A Constellation of Dreams from Collective Imagining.’

Looking to the skies:
A constellation of dreams from Collective Imagining

Download the zine

The vision, values and creations of dreamers have been woven into a Zine are the manifestations and articulations of the 12-month long journey of Dreamers from Collective Imagining.

Young people from all walks of life came together to share their love for our planet and futures, informed by varied lineages of resistance and histories. They learnt from one another, informed each other’s strategies for change, deepened their understandings on topics outside of their realms of experience and importantly embodied the knowledge that they are not alone in the work that they are doing.

Throughout this zine, we have included insights and lessons for hosting and facilitating dreamy and imaginative spaces as informed by the young people and youth workers of Collective Imagining. We share these reflections for the purpose of learning together and we encourage you to take what works, leave what doesn’t and build a practice tailored to you and your community.

Everywhere around the world new seeds of possibility are being planted and tended to by people who crave and believe in healing futures. This zine is offered to you as an invitation to dream our futures together.

This Zine was co-created by the Dreamers and curated and edited by Laniyuk and Laurā O’Connell Rapira. It was designed by Emma Ismawi and powered by the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), The Body Shop and DonkeyWheel Trust.

Frequently asked questions

What was the Vision for 2050 Survey and who won the draw?

In February and March of 2023, we ran a Vision for 2050 Survey to gather experiences, ideas and insights from young people across the country. We invited young people to share their thoughts on the kind of future they envisioned, and entered them into a draw to win a $250 gift voucher and a $250 donation to a youth-led organization of their choice. We are pleased to announce that S Choudhary from postcode 5064 won the draw and thank all who participated on their contribution to shaping a better future for all.

Tell me more about what was involved in the program.

Collective Imagining is inspired by ActionStation Aotearoa. Dreamers learnt from poets, activists and movement builders to:

  • Learn about how movements get started and succeed: from Black Lives Matter and LandBack to the School Strikes 4 Climate campaigns
  • Understand what power is, who has it and how to build it (*Hint: power is key to successful movements)
  • Tap into your imagination to create a vision with other young people
  • Develop your facilitation skills and host your own event or workshop with other young people (we’ll give you the $ to make this happen)
  • Build your skills in campaign planning and organising – to turn that vision into a reality.

 

Who were the trainers and mentors for Collective Imagining?

The lead facilitators of the first gathering were Larrakia poet and facilitator Laniyuk and FYA’s Executive Director of Movement Building, Laura O’Connell Rapira.

Other Collective Imagining coaches include:

How were participants chosen for Collective Imagining?

A selection panel made up of FYA staff were responsible for reviewing all of the applications.

We are especially interested in working with young people with diverse lived experiences of systemic injustice e.g. First Nations, migrants of colour and refugees, disabled, LGBTQIA+, young parents, young people who live in rural and regional areas, young people with lived experience of the justice system, foster care or mental health system as well as folks who come from low-income backgrounds.

How was the program funded?

The Body Shop has generously donated to this project. The money they’ve gifted will be used to deliver grants and provide travel and training scholarships  to dreamers. Donkeywheel Trust has also given money to this project for the purposes of understanding how we can facilitate important conversations about the future at scale.