Future builders: equipping young minds for a fairer Europe

What if, instead of just preparing children and young people for ‘the future’ we could hand them the tools to shape it? What if we asked them not the usual “What do you want to be?” question, but “What future do you want to help build?” This is the vision driving our work in the EU Policy Lab on futures literacy and intergenerational fairness. 

We say this in all our foresight reports, workshops and articles: today’s world is fast-moving, uncertain, and full of complex challenges. But young people have something powerful on their side: the ability to imagine, create, and navigate change better than many adults. Here at the EU Policy Lab, we believe that if we want a fairer, greener Europe, we need to help the next generation become futures-literate: equipped not just to respond to change, but to anticipate and shape it. 

What does it mean to be ‘futures literate’? 

Futures literacy is not fortune-telling, it’s learning to think ahead, ask big questions, and use collective imagination to explore different possibilities. Like us here at the European Commission, UNESCO sees futures literacy as the essential skill for the 21st century. When young people become futures-literate, they learn to spot fresh opportunities, imagine new solutions, and bounce back from the setbacks they will inevitably run into. These skills are just as vital as maths or reading in a world where the only certainty is constant change. 

Futures literacy also ties directly into the EU’s Green Competence Model which lists “thinking about the future” alongside social and environmental skills as a must-have for anyone looking to thrive in a sustainable world. 

How are we inspiring young minds?  

We usually work with policymakers, but our capacity building efforts also try to help young people and their teachers become futures-literate, as they will become the policy makers of the future. This is why we created “Future Forward”: a lively, accessible set of 20 lessons developed with TED-Ed and experts from around the globe inviting young people, teachers and their carers to explore big ideas:  

• How do we think about time?
• What hidden assumptions do we carry about the future?
• Why settle for a single storyline when you can imagine many futures, then work together to create your favourite one?

Each lesson is co-curated by leading figures from global futures organisations, blending practical activities with fresh insights from thought leaders. 

Throughout this year we have kept you updated on our journey to create an EU Strategy for Intergenerational Fairness spearheaded by Commissioner Micallef (read about the kick-off of the strategy design process and the scoping phase).  

In order for the future strategy to be truly inclusive and represent the rights and interests of all generations -  those now present as well as those who are not born yet - we were recently invited to the EU Child Participation Platform’s General Assembly, organised by the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and co-created together with the Children's Panel. The EU Policy Lab team was there to facilitate an interactive workshop on intergenerational fairness, and we were joined by Commissioner Micallef who opened our workshop and then handed a ‘Futures Thinking Playbook’ to every child.  Developed by Teach the Future, the playbook is an invitation for young Europeans to play, dream, and design what comes next, turning big visions into real action. 

In our interactive part of this assembly, we asked young people to project themselves in time: they went back to the past and forward into the future to play the role of advocates of various generations, to connect the past with the present and build on a future for the next generations. 

"We want a change in the mentality in society: adult role models have to stop negative talking and bullying of others and stop blaming victims."
Watch the full Call to Action from the EU Children Participation Platform

Listening to their visions and input confirmed to us that building a fairer Europe isn’t something adults can do alone. Young people have the creativity and vision to spot problems early, dream up alternatives, and push for bold solutions. By giving them the skills and confidence to think ahead (and including their voices in big decisions, like we are doing with the Intergenerational Fairness Strategy) the EU Policy Lab is helping make sure that the future belongs to everyone, at every age.  

So next time you think about what’s ahead, remember that instead of trying to predict the future, it’s better to create it – together and starting now.