Special Event

Participatory Futures in Action: From Frameworks to Swarms

Workshop for the Asia-Pacific Futures Network Conference 2025
Participatory Futures Global Swarm Co-op

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Participatory Futures in Action

At the Participatory Futures in Action Workshop (Oct 18, Taipei), you’ll join a global movement to democratize the future - using immersive, playful, and collaborative methods to turn ideas into action.

✔ Playtest the Our Futures game (born from Nesta’s groundbreaking research).

✔ Collaborate with the Participatory Futures Global Swarm - the first co-op of its kind.

✔ Learn from real-world case studies (gov + civic) and surface your own project ideas.

✔ Leave energized with tools, connections, and a role in shaping the movement.

Participatory futures is a democratic, hands-on approach to shaping tomorrow. Instead of leaving the future to experts, it empowers communities to imagine, debate, and co-create futures through games, storytelling, and open innovation. The result? More resilient, inclusive, and actionable visions of what’s ahead - because the best way to know the future is to build it together. The 21st century’s toughest challenges - from climate crises to AI ethics - can’t be solved by elites. Participatory futures unlocks people’s creativity, generates collective wisdom, and creates powerful interventions in the social imagination.

Participatory futures can:

Help citizens to imagine new and empowering futures,
Help governments to align their policies with citizen expectations and sentiments,
Help futures practitioners to imagine new methods and approaches that engage people more dynamically,
Help integrate emerging technologies in futures research and exploration.

(This report provides an overview of the basic ideas in participatory futures.)

This workshop will provide participants a deep and engaging learning process that will expand their repertoire of knowledge and skills. The workshop will include elements such as:

Participatory futures theory and frameworks
Participatory futures case studies for both government and civic applications
Participatory futures practice through an opportunity for action learning and collaboration

📅 When? Saturday Oct 18, 2025 | 📍 Where? Tamkang University, Taipei | 10:00 am– 16:30 pm 🎟 Only 50 spots—Student and low wage discounts available!

👉 Standard registration US $65:

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/BFU6EUAW38YPW

👉 Standard registration (APFN registered participant) US $50

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/AGUDGEXC55JUY

👉 Student / un/low-waged registration US $30:

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/K5UACBQ2VFFZS

👉 Student (local only) registration TW $450: Pay at venue

👉 Co-op members: FREE

*The workshop will be run by the Participatory Futures Global Swarm Co-op. The first of its kind, it is an organization dedicated to advancing participatory futures around the world, and a registered co-operative owned and run by its members.

Presenters and facilitators include:

Dr. Jose Ramos

Chun-Yin San

Dr. Anisah Abdullah

Dr. Jeanne Hoffman

Dr. John Sweeney

Dr. Steven Lichty