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Paper short abstract

The hosts of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan boldly proclaimed that visitors would “co-create our future society." At the Expo, both techno-scientific imaginaries and futures generated otherwise were evident. Can Expo be a microcosm of a world where many worlds fit (Escobar, 2017)?

Paper long abstract

The most recent World Expo was held in 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Part fair, part trade show, part museum, World Expos are global mega-events which offer spectacular, multi-sensory, and deeply moving venues for publics to explore futures. The hosts boldly proclaimed visitors would “co-create our future society." In Osaka, 158 countries told their own stories. Rather than offering a universal narrative, the multiplicity of voices at contemporary Expos can help participants envision a world where many worlds fit (Escobar, 2017).

My research contributes to this panel’s inquiries into both techno-scientific imaginaries and futuring otherwise; both were evident at the Expo in Osaka. For 175 years, World Expos have promoted scientific and technological progress. Past Expos promoted universal, imperial visions of the future, but in recent years they have offered a platform for a more diverse set of voices. If “it matters what stories we tell to tell other stories with,” it also matters who tells stories and how (Haraway, 2016, p. 12). While sociotechnical imaginaries describe national-scale, power-backed stories about futures (Jasanoff & Kim 2015); Keeler and colleagues (2015), Ramos and colleagues (2019), and Ollenburg (2019) share localized, contextual, culturally-specific, and collaborative methods. I will share some of the many experiences of futures at Expo 2025: a subversive art installation (Brazil), evocative color-soaked rooms and rhythms (Spain), vibrant hospitality (Indonesia), mossy dark (Ireland), the hospitable sands of Jordan, plant-centered themes (the Baltics and Poland), critical histories (the Marshall Islands and Malawi), and multi-sensory exhibits (Croatia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Monaco and Colombia).