With the Back From The Future project, many future workshops have been held in different forms, constellations and spaces, with a variety of topics and participants. A few points have emerged from this that are particularly noteworthy.

☝🏼Selection of participants for a participatory future workshop

Who do you invite to a participatory future workshop? Experience to date has shown that it is particularly valuable to select a heterogeneous group of participants to represent the widest possible variety of perspectives on a topic. For example, on the topic of learning, both educational institutions and places of knowledge such as libraries, learners and representatives of parents' associations were invited. This not only enables a broad spectrum of perspectives, but also serves to network local actors around a topic.

☝🏼Balance of individual imagination and co-creation

Participation cries out for collaborative methods and processes. Nevertheless, in the context of workshops for participatory future making, it is recommended to also, or even especially, rely on individual imagination. Especially for generating different future scenarios, the "safe space" in one's own head is of great value. In our view, it is therefore important to offer a good balance of individual imagination processes and collaborative exchange opportunities.

☝🏼The return a.k.a. the "real" trip

Participative future-making often tempts us to limit the process to a mental journey from today into the future. However, the power of the tool "future" unfolds its potential especially when the journey back to "today" is started and thought through. How can futures be used as tools for today? What do concrete scenarios mean for the paths we take today? How do we want to take action today based on what we learn?

☝🏼Create appropriate spaces

For participatory future-making, we need to broaden our view. It is important to open up the mental space of possibilities and to think courageous thoughts. To strengthen this cognitive state, it can be helpful to play with different contexts and a conscious change in between. Aids for conscious context changes are, for example, lab coats, the design of spaces in between as "future locks", music and light effects.