Co-creating our future society

This month, we’re joined by Toby Shulruff, PhD candidate at Arizona State University.

World Expos are global mega-events where millions of visitors encounter different visions of the future through immersive, multisensory experiences. At Expo 2025 in Osaka, 158 countries participated, creating not one unified vision of the future, but many.

Toby’s research explores what kinds of “futuring” happen at World Expos and how diverse publics are invited to participate. Using her Multidimensional Engagement Matrix, she examines four dimensions: Temporality, Multiplicity, Representation, and Participation.

She’ll share findings from field research at Expo 2025, including subversive art from Brazil, color and rhythm from Spain, hospitality in Indonesia and Jordan, plant-centered visions from the Baltics and Poland, critical histories from the Marshall Islands and Malawi, and multisensory exhibits from Croatia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Monaco, Colombia, and others.

Together, we’ll explore a bigger question: Who gets to imagine the future, and how can more people take part in shaping it?

******About Toby******

Toby works at the nexus of technology, people, and planet, helping build our collective capacity to understand and shape the technologies and systems woven into our lives.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobyshulruff/

********Event details:

When: September 17th, 6pm – 7pm EST

Where: Zoom (registration link is sent to members)
Questions: e-mail hello@canadianforesightnetwork.com