THE STRENGTH OF CO-CREATION

By Thomas Kramer

Hooked on Futures

I think it was 2015 in Berlin when Futurism struck me first. I was in a workshop hosted by Tanja Schindler and Nicola Baker Rosa. Trend cards, futures wheels and some other methodologies with which you could peek into the future, not waiting for it to happen but co-creating it together. Futurism had me in its grip and last year I decided to follow two Futures School programs and get certified as a strategic foresight practitioner. From being mainly active in the Netherlands in my former job as an educational developer and advisor I suddenly met all those new people from all over the globe. Expanding my network and view on things. The main element of the programs which I enjoyed very much was co-creation. Co-creating on the theme of human potential, opening your mind up to new possibilities and actually creating scenarios on how the Future can possibly look like.

Learning rebellion

The Future school network wasn’t the only ‘community in which I got involved in. There was also the learning

“Co-creation is about engaging people to create more value together. It involves redesigning interactions through “ the experiences of individuals. Through co-creation, organizations can unleash the creative energy of people — especially employees and internal stakeholders, but also customers, suppliers, and related external stakeholders ” and communities — to create mutual value. Ramaswamy and Gouillart, 2010”

rebellion. A LinkedIn community set up by Mari-Luz Gracia a dutch learning experience designer with Spanish roots. Learning Rebellion is made up of round peg learning rebels who are activating with compassion learning innovation while facing the square traditional learning holes. COVID had hit and the traditional learning structures collapsed. Overnight the entire school system moved from physical to online education. This among other things made clear that the educational system had to change. Mari-Luz Garcia together with JoseAngel Dominguez came up with the idea of writing a book in co-creation with the Learning Rebellion community. A playbook in which learning rebels could give their view, tips and hints on how to change education for the better. To let talent not go to waste and create new ways of navigating the futures of society and work. I got involved in the whole co-creation process, writing, reviewing, and leading teams. In a few months the book ‘Learning Rebellion in Times of Stillness’ was written and published with 40+ people from all over the world.

Futures of Talent

Being in these different co-creation processes as an active participant made me enthusiastic. Why not lead a project myself? Tanja Schindler who’s name you heard before had in the meantime set up Futures Space together with Graciela Guadarama Baena. Futures Space is an international community made of professionals, some experienced, others curious, all passionate about Futures and Foresight. They host events, bring people together and co-create futures. I have been given the opportunity to set up an open space.

My passion is creating space for human growth. Building circumstances in which people can grow as individuals, develop themselves and make use of their talents. Learning and developing go past the educational system. We are constantly learning in every situation. The world is changing at an ever-faster pace. Old systems have to be broken down and new systems emerge. So, I will be launching the Futures of Talent Open Space! A Space where we cocreate the Futures of Talent.