How do we build hope and trust in the future when we cannot count on one of the key promises of developed societies: the promise that the economy will grow and make the lives of people better? When such a fundamental premise upon which societies are built is questioned, how do we move forward?
All developed societies are undergoing major transformation. We are living in volatile times and economic growth no longer equates to progress as it did in the industrial era. We need a new kind of pluralistic view of what constitutes progress in society, where individuals’ basic material needs are met and people focus more on non-material gains.
At the NextEra societal progress workshop in Tokyo the invited participants will work on how progress should be defined in developed 21st-century societies. The workshop will include a programme of presentations and co-creative working groups.
Presentations
- Rewiring progress: Aleksi Neuvonen, Co-founder of Demos Helsinki
- What happened to the liberal state? Timo Miettinen, researcher at the University of Helsinki.
- Ageing societies: Teppo Turkki, The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, Embassy of Finland, Tokyo
- The changing working life and changing identities: Daiki Kanaoka, FabCafe Tokyo
- Sustainable economic policy leadership training: Jenna Lähdemäki, The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra
- Comment by Riichi Miyake, professor, architect
The Tokyo workshop is part of The Next Era workshop series bringing together people, projects and organisations throughout 2017. The workshops are timed to coincide with research papers on The Next Era topics. In each workshop, between 30 and 45 specialists from various fields will work on a variety of themes and identify emerging ideas for an open and forward-looking society, examining the connections between the ideas and seeking ways to improve them.
- Helsinki, Finland – “From Pause to Play – Work and income in the next era” paper launch, 12 January 2017
- San Francisco, USA – The Future of Work and Income workshop, 19 January 2017
- San Francisco, USA – Meetup, 28 February 2017
- Helsinki, Finland, – “From the trials of democracy towards future participation” paper launch, 21 March 2017
- London, UK – The Future of Democracy and Participation workshop, 29 March 2017
- Tokyo, Japan – A New Vision for Societal Progress workshop, 31 May 2017
- Helsinki, Finland – “The New Face of Progress” paper launch, 7 June 2017
The Next Era is a joint initiative between Sitra and Demos Helsinki. The aim of The Next Era project is to create a new progressive societal vision aimed at reforming our current societal model – the next era of well-being.