During the annual summer school, you will gain insights into what is called futuring.

Central topic is the dynamics of images of the future and how these influence our perception of our present.

"This year, we ask how to navigate sustainability concerns in an era of political backlash and democratic decline. This Summerschool will bring you up to speed on our theories of futuring, a novel approach to future-making pioneered by the UFS, with an empirical focus on the fractured politics we observe around us on a daily basis.

An outstanding feature of our approach is to connect the macro to the micro and vice versa. So in the course, we bring a macrolevel perspective on democratic decline, geopolitics, and cultural change together with an intimate interest in the practices that create our images of the future. As such, in the summer school, we experiment with innovative futuring methods such as the futures prism, the futures window, stretching the future, and many others. At the same time, we inquire about the relationship between democracy and society's images of the future, introducing novel concepts such as techniques of futuring, dramaturgies of change, and dominant symbolic orders.

So, apply to our summer school if:

• You want to learn more about futuring as an academic discipline and as a practice;
• Want to understand how futuring methods and approaches may help stave off democratic decline;
• Want to learn how to apply futuring methodologically in research and policymaking;
• If you are a policymaker or practitioner and want to bring a case and see what a futuring perspective might bring you;
• If you enjoy collaborative work in experimental settings;
• If you are eager to think about and willing to fight for democracy.

Teachers will include Prof. Dr. Maarten Hajer, Prof. Dr. Timothy Stacey, Dr. Jeroen Oomen (course coordinator) - and more will be announced soon.

More information can be found here: https://utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/social-sciences/ufs-futuring-summer-school-futuring-for-democracy

We welcome applications from PhD students, practitioners, and policymakers. If you are PhD student, you are welcome to apply now. If you are a more senior researcher, please circulate this widely in your networks. We welcome applicants from all disciplines, as well as practitioners and policymakers."

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jeroen Oomen (j.j.oomen@uu.nl).

Rolling admissions will be open until May 1st.