Presentation—Scenarios: The power of the future

This presentation at the annual conference of the International Communication Association in Fukuoka, Japan, focuses on an ongoing research project of the World Bank-Annenberg Summer Institute on Communication and Reform and the USC Annenberg Scenario Lab called the Power of the Future. Participants write scenarios of the future in their home countries set 10-20 years in the future and describe the visions they foresee for their countries along with the drivers of change and the wicked problems they must confront. The analysis of these scenarios covers the power of language, the assessment of change practices, the contextual intelligence displayed and the ways “the future” is collectively understood. The “life-changing” power of the exercise is detailed and the analytical approach is discussed. USC Scenario Lab researchers: P. Riley, R. Wang, and C. Hagen