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Take part in a collective storytelling challenge and inspire others!

2060: Reflections from the Future

COVID-19 may change our world forever. We are now living through the days, weeks and months that will define this change. We see imagination as a tool which allows us to work beyond the current anxiety and uncertainty in hopes of identifying visions for what a better world might look like. What about the current moment will people remember when they look back at these changes 40 years from now? What will we want to remember? What will be different and why?

Often, as people imagine future changes that lead to a better world, they start by imagining a crisis -- something that forces existing precarious circumstances to their breaking point, causing people to come together and try something different. Right now, our world is confronting a painful health crisis of unprecedented proportions and it is predicted it will be followed by an economic crisis of the same scope and scale. Recognizing this, let’s use this moment to initiate a process of reflection and intervention and bring our imaginative selves to the realities we face today.

Draw on what inspires you, respond to our prompt, and contribute to a collective brainstorm that taps our imagination at a time when imagining takes courage. All responses will become part of 2060: Reflections from the Future, a public and shared collection that connects our current hopes, concerns, and aspirations. Artists, thinkers, and community leaders working in various fields and formats with then also bring our collective visions to life.

Learn more and participate here!

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Get inspired by what artists, storytellers and others affiliated with AnnLab at USC had to say about their future world of 2060:

About us:

The Atlas is an initiative of the Civic Imagination Project, which engages our collective vision for what a better tomorrow might look like, working to bridge perceived cultural gaps between diverse communities. The concept of the civic imagination provides us with an action and research agenda. We map the civic imagination through research, case studies, creative projects, workshops and brainstorming sessions.

Through this Atlas we generate ideas, collect experiences, map locations, and analyze stories generated through collective artistic, civil, community-based and learning-focused engagements.

At the moment we invite you to contribute to the Atlas by posting a reflection response to our 2060: Reflections from the Future participatory storytelling challenge.

This site is also provides tools for people who are running or participating in our civic imagination workshops to share their stories. If you're interested in becoming such a person, please reach out to us!

Find out more about the Civic Imagination Project here.

"We cannot change the world unless we imagine what a better world might look like.” Henry Jenkins (2016)

The Atlas of the Civic Imagination is part of a partnership between the National Writing Project and the Civic Imagination Project.

We are committed to supporting people’s creative civic participation by providing a safe and supportive environment for imagination, writing, media creation, sharing, and publishing. Through its affiliation with the National Writing Project, the Atlas is COPPA compliant and facilitator-managed.