Strengthening democracy through futures literacy

Abstract

Democracy is under attack in various parts of the world. In a democracy, everyone should have their voice heard, but many citizens, especially young people, feel like they can't make an impact. In the Futures For You project created by Vantaa City Library and Laurea University and co-funded by the European Commission, we have developed workshop methods that can be used in libraries to empower young people to imagine and build desirable futures together and encourage democratic participation. The workshops have been tested with over 800 young adults in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Slovenia in 2024-25.

As librarians we can encourage people to come together and envision desired societal change and better futures. Libraries are a place where people from various backgrounds can meet each other to discuss and learn about democracy and futures literacy. Futures literacy means that a person understands how decisions and choices made in the present will affect the future, and how thoughts and beliefs about the future affect the present.

This poster introduces some of our best methods for sparking meaningful dialogues about democracy and fostering futures imagination that are easily accessible and can be used with young adults and other age groups.