"Future kisne dekha hai, jo hoga dekhi jayegi," said a student from Odisha. This sentiment—"Who has seen the future? Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it"—captures the sense of resignation amongst today’s youth. Often, they see the future not as something to shape but as something to passively accept. A world marked with crises has foreclosed our imagination for alternatives. Now more than ever, young people need the skills to open up their imagination and think about desired futures.
We are at the brink of change where technology is replacing jobs; record temperatures are leading to loss of life and livelihoods; and wealth inequality is rising. Simultaneously, we hear promises of new jobs while we hope to be carbon neutral by 2070 - as if minor tweaks to business-as-usual can chart our way forward. But the reality is: our old model has ceased to work while the decision makers grasp at familiar solutions for an increasingly unfamiliar future.
Amid this, the youth find themselves sidelined from discussions about the futures. They unanimously feel they bear the burden of the future. Either they feel anxious, fearful and overwhelmed, or in other cases, they stand in denial with a disproportionate belief in the government deciding the future for them.
While the projections are being made by people at the top, it demands that we ask - how equipped are young people to reflect upon the futures being presented? A study published in The Lancet with over 10,000 youth from 10 countries, including India, found that more than 50% respondents felt helpless and anxious about climate change while 75% thought the future is frightening. This highlights that the youth need to not only adapt to inevitable changes but also influence the future themselves.
Recognizing the role of futures literacy is crucial. Futures literacy is a skill that enables individuals to think critically about possible futures. It creates space for diverse narratives that challenge dominant ‘inevitable’ paradigms. The future, by its very nature, exists only in our imagination. Therefore, imagining and accepting that multiple futures exist, can aid the young to move away from a singular narrative that colors their current reality. It can help them in transforming anxiety into agency as they chart out their desired futures.
To understand how this plays out, consider the experience of students in Nuapada, a district in Odisha. A young girl in an Industrial Training Institute had to compromise on her education because of household duties. Everyday she had to travel far to fetch water as the nearby wells dried up due to the rising temperatures. While she was experiencing the wrath of climate change in her daily life, the only solutions she could present were to plant more trees and reduce waste. This is reflective of how the curriculum and dominant discourse disproportionately blames individuals rather than examining systemic issues. A boy in her group exclaimed that every household in the country should plant one tree which should be mandated by law. As the discussion progressed, another student challenged him by asking, “Should a billionaire and their classmate both be mandated to plant a single tree?”, sparking a discussion towards unequal responsibility and unfair impact of climate change.
Rajashri (name changed) anticipated coastal submergence in 2040 and the subsequent migration to inland areas like Kalahandi which is also located in Odisha. She said, “Demand for housing and work will increase. Accompanied by rising heat, it will kill agriculture.” The conversation, however, swiftly evolved from anticipating challenges to imagining solutions of the future like greenhouse biomes for agriculture.
These snippets demonstrate what happens when young people are encouraged to think critically about their futures. Rather than feeling helpless, they begin to imagine alternatives. As Vinay (name changed) remarked, “I never thought about the future this way before. We need more discussions like this, so we can anticipate challenges and be prepared.” Driven by this newfound agency, the students began exploring ways to take their solutions to decision makers, moving towards becoming active shapers of their futures.
The challenge of empowering the young through futures literacy is particularly acute in education systems like India's, where young people are seen as empty vessels waiting for deposits of knowledge. Scholars have been advocating for students to bring their lived experiences into discussions where teachers and students investigate problems together. It's time to move away from rote learning and transform education into a space that fosters new possibilities.
Futures literacy can prepare the youth to adapt to an ever-evolving workforce and be resilient in the face of uncertainty. Incorporating futures literacy within the curriculum is one concrete way forward. Governments elsewhere are engaging their youth with futures literacy. In Laos, for example, the first Youth National Policy 2021 included recommendations from youth futures literacy sessions.
The future is a shared, public good. It cannot be envisioned by a select few; those who will live in it must have a voice in shaping it. Education offers a powerful space to build these democratic futures. The question isn't whether we can afford to make this change – it's whether we can afford not to.