What role can “stories of the future” play in transforming conflicts in the present? Scenarios are stories of possible futures. Human beings have always used stories to talk about things that are difficult, complex, or even taboo, to encourage a change in thinking, illuminate pathways, and inspire right action. Creating and telling stories about possible futures allows us to lift our gaze above our current stuck situations and polarized conversations into a longer time horizon and ask ourselves “what if?”
In the latest addition to the Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, Mille Bojer engages this question in light of her decades-long experience as organizer and facilitator of social dialogue and transformative scenarios processes around the world. She draws on work in the Americas, Brazil, Colombia and South Africa, on issues ranging from drug policies across land reform to post-war peace processes to present a transformative approach to scenario planning and dialogue across divides. Read the article.
by Mille Bojer contact bojer@reospartners.com follow @millebojer