7 minute read
Empowering transformative action for a complex world
We are living in an age of increasing complexity. For decades, humanity has overexploited the very systems that make life on Earth possible. Our soils, oceans, ecosystems and atmosphere are under profound strain, while at the same time, the world order that has dominated for the past 80 years is being rewritten. The convergence of these two forces — environmental overexploitation and geopolitical realignment — is creating a negative feedback loop that intensifies risk and accelerates disruptions at every level of society. This convergence is what makes this moment uniquely precarious and it underscores the need for scalable, systemic solutions more urgently than ever.
For true transformation to take shape, we must rebuild the foundations of the institutions we rely on. Universities, for example, must reimagine the traditional academic model if they are to remain trusted partners in shaping the future. That reimagining must also extend to who leads that work. As the generation that will live with the consequences of today’s decision-making, young people are more critical than ever. They are not passive actors in this moment but catalysts of change. Already, they are sparking movements, pushing boundaries and shaping discourse. If we are to design solutions that are not only effective today but for generations to come, their perspectives must be taken into account.
This edition of Futurecast highlights the work of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory® in action. From restoring coral reefs in Hawai’i to accelerating the global shift to clean energy, these stories reveal how our students, faculty, staff and partners are confronting complexity in real time. Our path forward is being written at this very moment and its trajectory depends on whether we treat complexity as a barrier to progress or as an invitation to act.
A time of increasing complexity
Complexity has always been a part of our landscape, but historically, it was more limited in its dimensions and, therefore, easier to navigate. Environmental stressors were primarily regional. Political turbulence, while still disruptive, was usually confined to geographical boundaries. To adapt to changing environments, communities relied on local governance and generational knowledge to adapt to change.
Today, however, the systems that dictate our world are so tightly interlinked that disruptions carry a deeper, more far-reaching footprint, further straining a planet already under pressure.
This summer, for instance, torrential rains triggered deadly floods in Central Texas that destroyed entire communities. On the other end of the spectrum, the Dragon Bravo wildfire has burned more than 145,000 acres in Grand Canyon National Park, prompted by persistent drought and low humidity. In the Arctic, sea ice reached a record low this past winter, signaling accelerated climate instability in one of Earth’s most vulnerable regions. Migration — often treated as isolated events — is accelerating in response to global change, political turbulence and economic disparity. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is transforming the ways we live, work and govern faster than we can adapt. These are not isolated problems but part of an interconnected network of deeper systemic imbalances in how we have structured our societies and economies and how we have defined ourselves as an integral part of nature.
The question then becomes: where do we turn to for guidance in paving a path forward?
Adapting the role of universities
For centuries, universities have been entrusted to provide clarity amid uncertainty, testing ideas, advancing discovery, cultivating critical thinking and equipping generations with the tools to meet the challenges of their time.
But the world has evolved significantly, and the same structures that once made academia a pillar of progress are now limiting its potential. Disciplines remain divided. Knowledge is often inaccessible due to privilege or hindered by bureaucracy. And the insights that emerge from academic institutions do not always reach the people and communities who need them most. Trust in academia is vanishing due to the widespread belief that it does not offer the insights required by those who must make critical decisions about the challenging issues of the present and future.
Universities, then, must rebuild trust if they are to remain society’s credible guide in times of change. Their future rests on how they adapt and engage with complexity and how deeply their work resonates with and includes the communities they seek to serve. This requires embracing a transdisciplinary, holistic approach that mirrors the complexity of our world’s interconnected systems.
This is where the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory differs from the traditional academic model.
A community of transformative impact
As the prototype for a University for the Future of the Planet, the Global Futures Laboratory is an engine of transformation, designed not only to generate insight but to shape outcomes, while restoring academia as a trusted partner of society. Our work is not limited to observation or analysis; instead, it focuses on building humanity’s capacity to act at the speed and scale this moment demands. Our success depends on seeding a broader movement, where universities, governments, philanthropies, businesses and civil society build on what we have advanced and scale what has proven effective.
To guide this effort, we have organized our work around five foundational spaces — discovery, learning, solutions, networks and engagement — with each space designed to drive transformation at scale. This integrative approach strengthens humanity’s ability to confront the challenges at our doorstep and reframe them as opportunities for creating a more resilient and regenerative future.
But this work is not ours to claim alone. Every initiative, every effort is cocreated in partnership with the very communities we seek to serve. We work across knowledge systems, drawing on the insights of the humanities and the analytical power of science and technology, recognizing that no single discipline or worldview holds all the answers.
This integrative approach enables a more holistic perspective across all geographical and temporal scales, allowing us to act more justly and innovate more responsibly. Nowhere is this more important than in our relationship with young people.
As the generation that will navigate the consequences of today’s choices, young people are not merely stakeholders in the future; they are co-designers of it. Across the globe, they are challenging norms, driving action and shaping public discourse in ways once thought impossible and they are doing it with the urgency needed to drive real change. The time to listen is now. If we are serious about building the resilient future we so often invoke, we must do more than make space. We must follow their lead, amplify their efforts and invest in their vision in a much more substantive way than we have so far.
This is what it means to design a future in which all life thrives on a healthy planet.
Shaping the way forward
The success of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory depends not only on its fundamentally different approach but also on its recognition that the future cannot be designed by one generation alone. Those who will inherit the challenges of the past must be given real agency today. By forging an intergenerational contract that enables young people to participate in the decision-making on critical issues concerning their future, the Global Futures Laboratory ensures that it does more than build knowledge; it cultivates the shared resolve to guide society toward a thriving planetary future.
Our inability to respond more effectively is not due to a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. For decades, we have understood the risks, yet the systems that once held our world intact are unraveling faster than we ever thought possible. We already possess the knowledge and tools to activate meaningful change. What we need now is the societal will to act.
In this way, complexity is neither a fundamental problem nor an excuse, but rather a signal we need to build a future defined by opportunity. It asks us to confront not only what is failing , but to examine why it has failed and to use that insight to design what must be built in its place, not just for the moment, but for generations to come.
