Tuesday, 10 November, 2026
13:00 to 14:00 SAST
PLAAS seminar room, Jakes Gerwel Hall, University of the Western Cape
Register on zoom
How do we imagine futures beyond the constraints of the present, and whose ideas shape what we consider possible? Amid interconnected social and ecological challenges, the futures we imagine influence the questions we ask, the knowledge we draw on and the choices we make. Opening up those futures requires attention to the assumptions and relations of power that shape our expectations.
This seminar explores the role of imagination in thinking about and working towards more equitable and sustainable futures. Drawing on participatory futures work and African perspectives, it considers how stories, scenarios and creative processes can bring different aspirations into conversation. It asks how engaging with diverse experiences and ways of knowing can broaden our understanding of change, including possibilities that conventional approaches may overlook.
The discussion also connects these questions to the SURPRISES project, offering a starting point for reflecting on how we engage with uncertainty, question familiar assumptions and make space for unexpected possibilities. What might we learn from taking unfamiliar ideas seriously, and how might this influence research and collective action?
The seminar invites participants to reflect on the relationship between imagination, knowledge and agency, and on what it takes to turn shared aspirations into possibilities that people can explore, debate and pursue together.
Bio
Laura Pereira is a Professor in Sustainability Transformations and Futures at the Global Change Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand. She leads the ERC Synergy project, Afri-CAN, as co-PI. She was co-PI on the Future Ecosystems for African Programme, a partner on Solving-FCB partnership, and leads the Blue Africa ASCEND synthesis project. Prof Pereira is also a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre working on sustainability transformations and futures, and leading several projects: EU Horizon Europe INSPIRI, Biodiversa emBrace, SURPRISES and PowerShift projects. She is interested in the interface between Indigenous and local knowledges and innovation in the food system, and the role of futures techniques and visioning in enabling transformative change.
