Leading Change (Back to the Futures #4)
There’s change in the air, and not just the seasonal kind.
This month’s theme is leading change. Because if there’s one thing we know from working with futures, it’s that insight alone isn’t enough. We also need courage, clarity, and community to move things forward.
As I recently shared, leading change requires more than a vision, it requires guiding people through uncertainty. That’s why I've been deepening my own skills in change leadership, adding practical tools to the mix to match the frameworks we already use at ANTICIPATE.
In the middle of all this transformation, it’s easy to feel lost in the noise. That’s why we also reflected on how important it is to pause, observe, and look for the early signals shaping our futures. You can find some of those reflections here.
After a great March with a lot of things happening, we are excited to get more focused in April from bringing a group of professional on a Sustainability Futures Field Trip to Amsterdam to (finally) releasing our new Megatrends framework, as well as engaging and with and bringing futures to everyone from students to the broader public!
Change might be a constant but it also empower us to look for opportunities to create better futures!
Looking Back
📌 Democrisis. We explored the critical role of imagination and design in revitalizing democracy together with the Council of Europe. Read more
📌 ACT Foresight Framework. We gave a peek into our updated framework that helps teams go from signals to action. Explore here
📌 Futures Literacy Lab: Democracy Reimagined. Together with Finn Ehrenberg, we hosted an open Futures Literacy Lab in Copenhagen to reimagine democratic futures. See the lab
📌 Futures Shapers. We introduced our new program concept for civic engagement and democratic imagination, already gaining traction across Canada, the US, France, Belgium, and Greece. Join us
📌 Megatrends Teasers. We’ve been teasing our new Megatrends Framework launching next week. See teaser 1 | teaser 2 and an Article
📌 Culture Connectors. Mathias contributed a cultural snapshot of Denmark for this brilliant international project. Now the report is out. Take a look
📌 Thank You, Søs. A big thank you to Søs for her excellent contributions—especially around design, strategy, and systems thinking. Read farewell
📌 Circular Economy Collaboration. We provided foresight input and appeared on camera for a global player in the food & beverage industry. More to come on this.
📌 APA Foresight Community. We’re back at it with the American Planning Association, contributing signals and analysis on urban futures. Check out our contribution
📌 Change Management Learning. Mathias has been diving into change theory and tools with Implement Learning Institute. See reflections
📌 Republikken Community Breakfast. We shared more about our work at one of our creative hubs here in Copenhagen. See post
📌 How to bring people with you. Change isn’t easy. Sometimes the best path forward is the most pragmatic one and maybe using the word "future" is not always effective. Here’s a thought
Looking Ahead
⚡ Megatrends Launch (April 2025). We’ll be releasing our new Megatrends Framework and hosting a short intro webinar. More than 100 people have already signed up. 🔗 Sign up to get the free report
⚡ Futures Literacy Lab: Citizens Reimagined. We’re hosting a new online lab on April 24th. Sign up here
⚡ Futures in Academia. On April 8th, Mathias will join sessions at Aalborg University and KADK/CBS to guide students working on speculative futures and design sprints.
⚡ Future Days (April 30 – May 2). We’ll be joining the action at Future Days ys with an unconference activity on Symbiotic Futures in Lisbon—perhaps even hosting a side activity as well and immersing ourselves in global futures work. More here
⚡ Sustainability Futures Field Trip: Amsterdam. We’re leading 10 professionals on a journey through pioneering futures, systems, and sustainability orgs. See post
⚡ Impact Investing Project. We’ve started a new project on the futures of impact investing and will be interviewing key voices. Have tips or ideas? Reach out to hi@anticipate.dk
Signal of the Month: A Train Network for the 21st Century
With climate and geopolitical disruptions rising, Europe needs to reimagine mobility. One bold idea? A new trans-European high-speed train network.
🚄 Explore the vision: 21st Europe Train Project
Spotlight
Futures Literacy Labs
Named a key 21st-century skill by UNESCO, Futures Literacy is all about changing how we think about the future. Through interactive half day to 2-day labs, we invite teams, citizens, and organizations to experiment with new ways of thinking.
In March, we hosted a Futures Literacy Lab on democracy. In April, we’re doing it again—this time on Citizens Reimagined. You can also bring a lab to your organization.
👉 Interested? Just reply or reach out at hi@anticipate.dk
Futures Insights
📖 Megatrends: The Global Forces Shaping Our Futures
Foresight Events
Explore upcoming futures and foresight events: 🔗 Full Futures & Foresight Calendar
🎯 We will be hosting Citizens Reimagined – Futures Literacy Lab – April 24, Online
We will also be attending and contributing to:
🎯 Future Days – April 30–May 2, Lisbon
🎯 Rulebreaker Future Congress – May 17-18, Leipzig
Back to the Futures is your monthly glimpse into what we’re doing at ANTICIPATE. If you’d like to collaborate, bring foresight into your work, or just stay more plugged into the futures space, we’d love to hear from you.
All the best,
Futurist & Founder, ANTICIPATE
