Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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PAPERS: Troubling Transitions 1: Frictions of power in futuring efforts Location: 50 George Square, G.04 Zoom Link Accessibility: https://www.accessable.co.uk/the-university-of-edinburgh/central-area/access-guides/george-square-50 Session Chair: Dan Lockton, Norwich University of the Arts Session Chair: Anja Overdiek, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences | |
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Keeping it Real with Responsible Futuring: Reflecting on the Epistemic and Political Ambition of a Transdisciplinary Approach for Societal Transitions 1: University of Twente, Netherlands, The; 2: Future Compass Amidst the upheaval of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the threat of the Sixth Extinction, designers focus on approaches that help communities connect and imagine alternative, desirable futures. Transdisciplinary approaches promise more sustainable and just transitions by valuing and integrating diverse forms of knowledge to co-shape more equitable design interventions. However, these ambitions often fall short. Transdisciplinary practices may be reduced to justice-washing or corporate co-optation, frequently failing to achieve epistemic and social justice. This paper introduces Responsible Futuring, a transdisciplinary design-led approach that enables communities to actively shape their future trajectories, embracing collaboration and diverse perspectives as catalysts for transformative action. We, as designers, self-reflect on cases using this approach to surface worldviews, explore alternative futures, and challenge the status quo. We discuss the epistemic and political shortcomings we experienced in practice. We highlight growing pains and offer recommendations for achieving transformative transdisciplinary ambitions in addressing societal transitions. View Paper: https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2192
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