“Living Utopias – Within Us and in the World”
Conference Transformative Education for Livable Futures and the Power of Collective Imagination
The conference is jointly organized by ZIN and the Franz Hitze Haus Academy and will take place on 14 and 15 January 2027 at the Franz Hitze Haus Academy in Münster.
“That's utopian!” – a phrase that shows how, in everyday language, the term utopia is often associated with an unattainable state. This also narrows our understanding of the future: one version of the future is regarded as probable, and the path towards it as predetermined. Since the 1980s, the TINA principle – “There Is No Alternative” – has helped cement the supposed inevitability of a neoliberal-capitalist society. At the same time, however, we can observe everywhere the escalating destruction and crises caused by this system. Fear of the future is widespread, while techno-fascist dystopias are leading many people to stop thinking about the future altogether.
But what if TINA was never true? What if TAMA – “There Are Many Alternatives!” – is the reality? The plural alone is liberating: there is not one single future that is simply going to happen to us. Instead, there are futures, spaces of possibility, a pluriverse of worlds. Futures and utopias can be dreamed, desired and imagined – and beyond that, explored, shaped and created. There is no fixed path dependency, but rather an open landscape full of paths that emerge as we walk them.
This is precisely where the conference begins, inviting participants to explore desirable and life-affirming futures together – both within ourselves and in the world. Collective imagination will be stimulated, on the one hand, through inspiration from living utopias from different periods and regions of the world. On the other hand, transformative methods will whet our appetite for a “Good Life for All” and help us strengthen our “utopian muscles” while learning to perceive and embrace uncertainty as an opportunity.
Aim & Format of the Conference – and a Warm Invitation to Contribute and Participate!
The conference is conceived as an interactive space shaped by a range of people using “utopia-nurturing” methods and enriched by examples of living real-world utopias. The overarching educational framework follows the format of a Future Workshop: participants are first grounded in the here and now, then invited into the space of utopias, and finally leave with concrete steps towards implementation. Food will also be deliberately integrated as an element of the educational design. The detailed conference programme will be woven together on the basis of the contributions received.
The conference is aimed at everyone who wants to explore Living Utopias together. It is conceived as an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary space for exchange and dialogue in the context of transformative education, bringing together researchers, educators and students as well as activists and interested members of civil society.
Programme and Registration: The programme will be available here shortly. Registration for the conference will then be possible via the Franz Hitze Haus website.
Questions & contact: innohub@uni-muenster.de