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Short abstract

By comparing visions, needs, and goals expressed by current but also future generations during deliberative workshops held in two locations in Poland using the IFG method, I predict our future behavior and outline the future we want to create in 2060.

Long abstract

The climate crisis has raised numerous questions about what kind of future awaits us as a society. To manage the impact of these changes on the environment and human communities, many significant social, political, and economic changes can be implemented for current but also for future generations. Although the role of future generations has been noted, there is a lack of research on the procedural use of the category of future generations in the design and prediction of future human behaviour. Is it even possible to gain insights into the values and worldview of future generations?

The Imaginary Future Generations (IFG) method proposes creating imaginary groups that represent future generations (not yet born) and negotiate with representatives of the current generation regarding visions of the future and related decision-making processes. In this way, future generations could become one of the stakeholders in the deliberation process.

In my presentation, I’ll show the results of the application of the IFG method in deliberation about green transformation policies (energy, housing, food, and transportation policies) in Poland, comparing visions of the future and the needs and goals expressed by the current and future generations during participatory workshops conducted in 2025 and 2026 in two municipalities. In the workshops, young adults and elderly persons envisioned their future and what they could and want or could not and want not do in the future, in the context of the climate crisis. I analyze their statements qualitatively as a way to predict future human behavior.