Future Worlds Challenge

A multi-platform educational experience teaching today's youth the skills they need to thrive in an uncertain future. We shift their role in the world from passive participant to capable creator by empowering them to design a society of the future.

The Future World Challenge (FWC) is a dynamic multi-platform learning experience. It prepares today’s youth for tomorrow's world by developing their cognitive flexibility, critical thinking, ethical frameworks, and giving them stronger awareness of the risks and opportunities new technologies present to humanity and themselves.

We harness the best of face-to-face workshops and online learning via our unique platform and physical card game. Students learn how society functions through an understanding of systems thinking and mental models applicable to every area of life and work.

FWC transforms individuals from passive participants in society to capable designers of the future they want to see.

Our nonlinear methodology allows students to learn across multiple disciplines, see develop pattern recognition to identify relationships and how to learn over what to learn. The challenges and obstacles they experience, both random and designed help them deal with change.

Using the FWC society building canvas we explore the 9 key pillars of a society including all 17 of the UN Sustainability Goals. This provides a valuable and meaningful context from which students begin to design their society through analysis,  experimentation, and evaluation.

As a team they evolve their society and conclude by presenting their world to an expert panel, defending why their world is the best solution to forward humanity in a positive way.

Through our Program, students can obtain 10/10 Skills for 2020 as listed by the World Economic Forum plus storytelling & presentation skills.

Our rapidly scalable program empowers facilitators in any location to customize our digital content library and downloadable resources. The program leverages the positive aspects of social peer-to-peer learning by enabling large numbers of individuals and communities to connect and contribute.

The network of facilitators can share best practice, crowdsource ideas across cultures, and grow a library of solutions generated by students.

Most current education programs are based on a model that teaches knowledge in silos and don’t equip students with complex problem solving and creative skills, skills which are least likely to be affected by robotics and AI in the future.

Focusing on specific topics neglects the importance of systems thinking which is essential for understanding life and how to create sustainability at 4 levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, societal and planetary).

Many courses fail to take advantage of the best parts of face-to-face learning with high touch engagement and the opportunities that online learning provides with its potential for nonlinear exploratory experiences.

Our program’s strength is its carefully curated content and combination of online and face-to-face delivery methods which are scalable and adaptable to any community or local culture. AI embedded in our digital platform can make recommendations that encourage curiosity and self-guided learning, a technique mentioned in the Economist.

In phase one, we teach students skills that will futureproof their ability to find employment and increase resilience.

In phase two, students obtain entrepreneurial skills and learn how to build social enterprises. This course has been extensively validated on our platform (see Testimonials) with over 600 students graduating with prototypes, & some launching businesses. 

Our goal is to empower thousands of individuals around the world through our program, transforming them into resilient, adaptable thinkers who bring a deep understanding of society, technology and ethics to their families, communities, workplaces and the global community. Our program contributes to 8/17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, building a more stable world for disadvantaged youth directly and indirectly.

Our solution is globally accessible at a nominal cost allowing progressive schools and teachers to explore our foundational content and evolve the materials to increase relevance. Our platform supports a network of teachers and students and the sharing of knowledge.

Track number of individual registrations and courses delivered - 5,000 students complete the program

Track number of registered facilitators and completed workshops.

Number of items of content evolved and share on the platform. - 400 facilitators trained and delivering the program independently and customising their version of the program for their local culture.

Track the number of graduates employed and number of businesses created. - A growing network of facilitators and graduates developing via the online platform with 500 success stories related to employability or businesses created.

Our program leverages the best of face-to-face discussion and online learning by tying both methods together through a physical card game which explores our “Society Building Canvas”, with matching curated online content from around the world.

Whist there is a framework for the course, it allows for non-linear learning based on the random path generated by the cards selected by teams, and the natural curiosity of each student to dive deeper on subjects that excite them.

Our course resources are designed to be adapted and evolved by the facilitator to increase relevance in their communities, and into the future.

Develop the individual (intrapersonal, interpersonal)

Students learn systems within themselves: physical, mental, emotional throughout the course. They can then understand systems in their family, school, or workplace and extrapolate how systems work across a society or at a planetary level.

Develop a future world (societal, planetary)

Students are challenged to design a world that positively moves humanity forward, where the health of the society is based on the happiness of the citizens.

The adaptability of the resources by facilitators allows it the highest chance of staying relevant to local cultures and into the future as ideas evolve in our world

The program runs for 7 weeks as a 3-hour face-to-face class with a facilitator in any learning environment that has internet access.  

Outside class, students will learn independently via curated content playlists on our online learning platform and can dive deeper into our crowdsourced online library.

The cost the program will be subsidized with corporate sponsorship or government and community funding.  Program pricing is on a sliding scale based on affordability.

The main cost is training facilitators which can happen online and in-person. The cost for access to Neutopia and the card deck (purchased or printed at home) is nominal.

We are personally committed to developing this program for its social impact.

All team members have other employment and are providing personal funds or time in kind, to develop the program and run the pilot. For growth and scale stages we seek to bring on partners and sponsors to cover expenses related to wages. The goal is to establish a self-sustaining not-for-profit program.

We will be charging participants a nominal amount to help fund the cost of running each course. Depending on location and affordability some courses may be net positive to support locations that need subsidies. We endeavour to employ a ‘give as you learn model’ where a percentage of proceeds from some courses will fund scholarships for other students.

Independent facilitators pay a fee for training, access to our program resources and support network. They may charge tuition (and keep any profit) or seek funding to support participants.

Difficulty training facilitators in all aspects of the program so they are fully empowered to independently run future programs.

Providing facilitators enough training to easily manage individual participants needs in addition to the depth and breadth of course content.

It takes too many pilots to achieve a consistent outcome.

Challenges related to managing a large number of future world ideas being generated by teams across the world.

https://www.futureworldschallenge.com

https://drive.google.com/a/neutopia.co/file/d/0BwNYQ1nnmuLeUENoUHpaQWNISm8/view?usp=sharing

Through joining the Solve network, we seek strategic partnerships with key companies and people who will help us to scale a successful pilot to locations beyond Australia to reach as many teachers and students as possible.

With the assistance of resources and expertise via the Solve network we hope to scale quickly and add additional programs, such as the Level 2 Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship program.

We also hope to contribute our expertise and scalable resources for potential use in other Solve initiatives and provide solutions for other problems related to improving education, futuring, scenario planning and professional development.

Our partners work at the intersection of leadership, tech, education and culture. They're passionate about digital literacy and inclusive access to technology and education. They seek to facilitate brave conversations and civic discourse around the future of humanity. Partners include Intersticia, Brave Conversations, Web Science Trust, Director Learning, and Neutopia.

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