Future Days 101: Behind the scenes

0. Intro

The creation process behind a project like Future Days is deeply intertwined with one's own emotional inner states ??????

In this article I tried to list some of them:

Exploration → Vision → Creation →

Exposure → Choice → Synchrony →

Resilience and perseverance → Gratitude → Positivity

Note: This is not a linear process but rather a complex system.

1. Exploration

Before planting a seed, the soil must be oxygenated and enriched with nutritious minerals. ??

This journey began two years before an idea emerged. It stemmed from a deep process of self-awareness and acceptance.

The concept of Future Days arose from intense exploration (both internal and external). From a profound search for origin and purpose.

It had to take two different forms before becoming what you experienced last weekend.

2. Vision

As some of you may already know, every morning Meri Sahade and I prepare mate ?? and write for about an hour.

Exactly on March 2, 2023, the first mention of Future Days appeared as a beam of light on my morning pages. "Today I feel a flame inside that I can't quite accurately describe." ??

2. Creation

What followed over the next few months was a beautiful journey of new friendships and learnings. We spent our time shaping a structure and working on the concept. We decorated the walls of our tiny apartment with hundreds of post-its describing the experience we had a few days ago at Estufa Fria ????

We were like two kids playing: "we'll talk about the future of the world! About arts and design, about public system and... architecture and urban planning!" / "Yes, yes, there will be 3 focuses... encompassed in a narrative of 3 days!" / "And... with a city immersion and a great wrap-up activity!".

And so the walls gradually filled up... We couldn't stop.

Our friend Jasper Flour started telling us it looked like a sociopath's wall and I gradually transitioned my entire life towards this singular purpose.

3. Exposure

One thing that had terrified me the most for the past 10 years was showing my deepest self in front of the public eye. ???? ??

To create in a different way and take the risk of not being liked.

Going out into the world with just a cool concept, described in a poorly designed presentation, could be daunting.

Still, I managed to convince inspiring people like Pau Aleikum Garcia , Cecilia MoSze Tham , or Nicole Vindel .

Their immediate response was always the same: "yes, we want to participate". They had nothing more than a presentation, yet for some reason, they trusted in the power of this dream. ????

The project continued to gain ground in my life, and positive responses kept coming from all corners of the Iberian Peninsula.

4. Choice

A few months later, this flame returned with even more intensity. Burning me from within in the middle of a call with a client ??

I couldn't contain it anymore, and I said:

• "I'm really sorry, but I have to go."
• "What?" - she exclaimed.
• "I have to go" - I repeated.

Immediately after, I closed my laptop and stared directly at Meri, who was staring back at me in complete astonishment from the other end of the dining room.

I started riding along the edge of the Tejo with my scooter, reading the outlines of the buildings in a sweet orange sunset. ??

I couldn't stop thinking that this project deserved all my efforts. If I really wanted to create something unforgettable, I needed to dedicate all of myself. Economically and spiritually.

This would be the beginning of a love letter to Lisbon and to the world. ????

5. Synchrony

The book 'The Artist's Way' describes one's ability to enter a constant state of projection towards a purpose. To be viscerally attentive to every little sign that the universe puts in front of us.

This is called synchrony. To be in tune with one's environment and trust our most immediate instincts. ????

Looking back, I reflect on how the brilliant people who would shape the production team of Future Days 2024 (FD24) began to come together. As if the stars were aligning, step by step, the initial experience that Meri and I designed was gathering more and more support:

• First, Verònica Fuerte and Colet Casta?o accepted the task of designing our brand. The globally renowned Heystudio shaped the future flower that would sprout from this planted seed ??

• Who was the perfect Portuguese partner? Thanks to a friend, I discovered what is (in my humble opinion) the most inspiring transformative design company in all of Portugal. After several attempts Rui Quinta and Tiago Gon?alves Nunes sat down with me. It was an immediate match. With Company , provided us with a home and a wonderful team that would become the voice and visual language you saw and read at FD24. ??
• A week later, after a series of coffees in the Saldanha neighbourhood, the renowned futurist Lydia Caldana joined us to direct what would later be the networks team. Working tirelessly, curating the content all the talks and webinars, promoting ticket sales, connecting us with inspiring people from all over the world and some of the most recognized voices that you met during this first edition.
• Honestly, I had never organized an event of this magnitude. If you know about event production, you'll agree that the list of details to consoder is endless. Andrea Plazzi mysteriously appeared in my life just when she was needed the most. She took on the role of coordinating all the stakeholders during the days leading up to the event.

What a dream team. It seemed we already had all the ingredients we wanted to combine to create the broth of FD24: experience, design, futures, global and national network, and production powerhouse. Only one thing was missing: academia.

• That same July, I returned to Barcelona to meet with the first person who had introduced me to the world of futures and one of the most passionate teachers I've ever had: Christina Grace Bifano . Later on, her contribution would prove to be one of the most important of FD24.

6. Resilience and perseverance

As we all know, the rollout process is not a smooth path. It's rather a winding road, full of mirages that make you think you're back at the beginning.

It's inevitable that things happen. They might make you believe it's all lost.

The most important thing in this phase is to be resilient. When you think you've fallen, you need to get back up with curiosity - stronger than ever - and find a learning opportunity. Few examples of resilience (and perseverance) that come to my mind:

1. We set the goal of sparking a conversation about plausible futures through the space that hosted us, and this could only be at Estufa Fria in Lisbon ?? A unique venue. Probably the best one in the country. We were granted it and then lost it. We lost it and then regained it. We regained it and created an even better experience in collaboration with Advanced Music, S.L. (Sónar+D)??
2. Even though we were gathering national and international support. We set the ambitious goal of reaching the minimum funding in less than 3 months. Initially, we weren't meeting it, but we remained calm... and waited... and waited... until the last moment. Without losing patience, it arrived when it needed to arrive: Grupo Ageas Portugal , Istituto Europeo di Design , and PwC Japan decided to trust in us.

All the team celebrated it with happiness and joy: FD24 was now inevitable ??

7. Gratitude

Gratitude is at the core value of Future Days ????

A hug, a few kind words or a reciproque smile, might be enough to show others complicity.

Gratitude towards our colleagues,

towards our partners and collaborators, ????

towards the plants and trees that surrounded us, ????

towards the birds that sang during Zinzi de Brouwer 's meditation, ????

towards the city that hosted us during 3 unforgettable days.

Behind this project, there are many people with giant hearts and a strong will who deserve the loudest applause of the week:

Our incredible team ??

Jason Mukasa , Alessandro Ianniello , elena domenicucci , Soukarni Barai (She/Her) , Kristin Fung , Gea Sasso , Mariana Reis, Carolina Almeida, Joana Azevedo, Seb de la Guardia, Jo?o Delgado , Luís Henrique Lima , Christina Grace Bifano , Andrea Plazzi, Rui Quinta , Lydia Caldana, Meri Sahade , Felipe Dinis Di cunto , Giovanna Lananna Lindsey Krummell , Camila Gutiérrez Meade , Angel Bambu and myself.

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Our amazing facilitators ??

Anna Cain , Nadim Choucair , Julia Spie? , Romano Theunissen , Kasia Kaminska (she/her) , Rafaela Englert , Bianca Weinberg , Henrique Vedana , Ricardo Teixeira , Alice Brovelli , Mariana Ribeiro , Alina A. Karl , Pierluigi Delgiudice , Raluca Mitran , Eira Ramos , Sofia Dias , Neil Redding , Anna Bertmark , Daniela Lopes and Alix Liasse .

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Our speakers, inspiration igniters, and lab moderators ??

Cecilia MoSze Tham , Pau Aleikum Garcia , Nyangala Zolho , Gustavo Nogueira de Menezes , Eva Xavier , Monika Bielskyte , Phoenix Perry, PhD SFHEA , Nicole Vindel , John V Willshire , Zinzi de Brouwer , Charlotte Lin , Jan Rod , Leila, Katrien Buys , Catarina Batista , Ole Werner , Mireia Planells , Erica Bol , Tanja Schindler , Henrique Nascimento , Nicklas Larsen , Lovisa Volmarsson , Thor Svanholm Gustavfson , Ana Oliveira and Rui Quinta .

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Our supporters, partners and collaborators ??

Grupo Ageas Portugal , Camara Municipal de Lisboa , Istituto Europeo di Design , With Company , PwC Japan , Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies , School of International Futures (SOIF) , Medialivre , Advanced Music, S.L. , +351 , IdeaSquare - the innovation space at CERN , Futures Garden - European Commission , Void Creations , New Take and many more.

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To all that the dear friends that contributed to this project, either in the shadows, giving me advise or just sitting down and listening ??

May O. Caballero , Antonio Araujo , Thomas Christensen , Jasper Flour , Phil Balagtas , Sarah Owen , Ida Faldbakken , Isabel Fiadeiro Advirta , Sofia Jacob Soares , Patricia Teixeira and again Monika Bielskyte .

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To my parents and sister. Moltes gràcies a tothom, obrigadíssimo, thank you all, this success is also yours.

7. Positivity

I just want to end this article with a bit more of radical honesty, so I won't lie to you... I personally had many reasons to see a cloudy future:

• By October 2023, I had spent all my savings to support this project.
• By November, I had to ask for a loan to pay for my own food.
• Our electricity and water supply was continuously cut off due to lack of funds in my bank account.

A week ago, on the night of March 20, 2024, our electricity and water supply was cut off again.

Despite the nerves, Meri and I spent a romantic night by candlelight, and the next day we woke up with a smile on our face and the same desire to transform the world. ??

On March 21, 2024, Future Days 2024 kicked off the 3 days that so many minds had dreamed during a long time, and it went even better than we could have ever imagined.

This is just to say that a brighter future only exists if we truly believe in it and, for this, we need the last and most important ingredient of this project: positivity.

? Our - true - essence ?

Some "adults" pointed at us and called us naive. For them, our dream was hard to believe... but today it's become a beautiful reality. We acknowledge that we still have a long way to go. We need more institutions and funds to support this project.

But we are sure the future is bright. We just need to believe in it!

We'll be waiting for you next year.

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