Last week, I had the privilege of co-hosting a session during World Futures Day – Young Voices Edition, a 24-hour global event led by Teach the Future. This marathon of intergenerational conversations connected young people, educators, and futurists across time zones, ensuring that youth voices were not just included but central in shaping the world they will inherit.
Our session, Futurepreneurs: Creating Your Financial Future, took place in the 22nd hour—near the event’s close, yet still buzzing with energy. I co-hosted alongside two dynamic young leaders, Vedant Tiwari and Rawan El-Bendary, both under 25, who brought fresh perspectives on futures, entrepreneurship, and career paths. Together, we explored how young people can design financial futures that are both visionary and practical—not just preparing for economic change but actively shaping change for their families, communities and even the world!
Why Futures Literacy Matters Now More Than Ever
The conversation illuminated something I’ve long believed: futures literacy is not optional—it’s essential. Yet, it remains largely absent from mainstream education.
Futures literacy isn’t about predicting what’s next; it’s about expanding our ability to imagine, anticipate, and create what comes next. It equips people—especially young people—with the ability to:
- Navigate uncertainty rather than be paralyzed by it.
- Think in systems rather than in isolated problems.
- Challenge dominant narratives rather than inherit them unquestioned.
- Design pathways toward preferred futures rather than react to crises.
This is why organizations like Teach the Future matter. Their mission—integrating futures thinking into education—isn’t just about preparing students for careers. It’s about preparing them for life in an era of rapid social, technological, and environmental transformation. Without futures literacy, young people are left as passive recipients of the status quo, rather than active architects of change.
Teaching the Future is a Necessity, Not a Luxury
My own journey into structured futures thinking began in elementary school, when I was introduced to the Future Problem Solving Program. Even then, I remember the exhilaration of being invited to think beyond the present, to imagine solutions to complex global challenges, to see the world not just as it was, but as it could be.
That early exposure changed the way I think—it gave me:
- The confidence to think systemically and anticipate change.
- The skills to recognize early signals of transformation.
- The understanding that the future isn’t something that just happens to us—it’s something we can shape.
Now imagine if every student had access to this kind of learning. Futures literacy in schools wouldn’t just prepare students for jobs; it would equip them to lead, innovate, and adapt in an increasingly uncertain world. It would teach them:
- How to identify emerging trends and shifts before they become crises.
- How to engage in speculative thinking to envision alternative possibilities.
- How to develop strategies for long-term resilience and justice.
Futures literacy isn’t about giving young people answers—it’s about empowering them to ask better questions.
A Call to Action: Let’s Teach the Future, and in Doing So, Change It
As someone working at the intersection of foresight, regenerative governance, and systems transformation, I see the impact of futures thinking every day. Whether it’s in government, philanthropy, urban design, or social innovation, the ability to anticipate change and act with intention makes the difference between reacting to crises and proactively designing solutions.
Young people deserve these tools—not as an afterthought, but as a core part of their education.
If you’re an educator, policymaker, or someone invested in building resilient futures, I encourage you to explore the work of Teach the Future and advocate for futures literacy in schools. Bring these conversations into your classrooms, organizations, and communities.
And to the young people who led Futurepreneurs and the many other sessions during World Futures Day—keep imagining, keep questioning, and keep building the futures you want to see.
The future is not something that happens to us—it is something we co-create.