A post by NGFP Fellow Marcela C. shares her key learnings and final reflections on day 5 of the SOIF2022 retreat.
It has been an incredible week of stimulating and thought-provoking discussion at the SOIF2022 retreat. As this week filled with intense learning comes to an end, we reflect on the things we have learned as we’ve moved through the SOIF four-stage foresight process – scoping, ordering, implications, and integrating futures.
One of the key highlights for me this week has been the real-life application of foresight to a live challenge, which we have worked through as a group. It has been incredibly stimulating and has highlighted the value and importance of having multi-disciplinary and diverse perspectives as part of the foresight process.
Whilst it has been a challenging week with a lot of intensity and deep learning, something which has stood out throughout the whole experience is that this is a community. Our experiences during this week, both the moments of enlightenment as well as the moments of struggle, have fostered meaningful relationships, both professional and personal, which I have the confidence to say will continue long after these five days.
For some, the notion of entering a five-day retreat on foresight with perhaps limited knowledge or experience may have been intimidating, but this week has given us a sense of reassurance that we are not alone. It has reinforced that there are others who are grappling with similar challenges, asking similar questions, and who value opportunities to share, discuss, and take action. The diversity in the room gave us the opportunity to look beyond our areas of expertise and dive into a world of different possibilities woven together to envision an equitable, inclusive, and fair future.
We entered as a group of strangers that had a desire to dig into the world of foresight for impact, and we leave as an enriched community inspired to go away and plant the seeds of change in our different spheres of influence.