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The New Abnormal

Sohail Inayatullah 'Visioning the Futures'

Sep 10, 2024
Sohail Inayatullah, a political scientist and the inaugural UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies, shares his expertise in envisioning alternative futures. He discusses innovative methodologies like the Futures Triangle and Causal Layered Analysis to navigate uncertainties. The conversation delves into urban planning's shortcomings, the need for inclusive storytelling, and how inner alignment can drive social change. Inayatullah emphasizes the importance of collaboration to uplift communities and encourage transformative approaches to contemporary challenges.
45:56

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Sohail Inayatullah emphasizes the importance of futures thinking, specifically the Futures Triangle, in understanding potential outcomes based on current realities and changes.
  • The podcast highlights the need to rethink rigid narratives and cultivate hope and agency to foster innovative problem-solving for future challenges.

Deep dives

The Foundation of Futures Thinking

Futures thinking revolves around understanding and mapping potential outcomes based on current realities and the dynamics of change. A significant aspect is the Futures Triangle, which consists of three variables: the pushes of the present, the weights of the past, and the pulls of a preferred future. This framework allows individuals and organizations to visualize and analyze various factors that influence future scenarios, including technological advancements, demographic shifts, and socio-political changes. By employing such methodologies, futures thinking encourages proactive adaptation rather than reactive responses to unforeseen events.

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