Leadership | Being more than we ever imagined

LEADERSHIP

BEING MORE THAN WE EVER IMAGINED

he phrase ‘be more than you ever imagined’ is encountered frequently at Diocesan. We see it on our posters about future careers, it appears in the School’s advertisements and it’s even etched into the pathway as we pass School House each morning. At Dio we think all our girls are able to be more than they ever imagined and this is made even more likely when we consider ourselves in a future that is very different from the present day.

Over the last year, girls across all year groups from 7-13 have engaged in two days of Futures Thinking where they considered how different aspects of our society have changed throughout history. This was followed up with some exploration of the trends that appeared to be shaping the future. This work has continued this year alongside some intense stretching of our imaginative muscles as we begin to explore what else could happen and how life could be different.

The future appears to be on our mind more and more these days. Climate breakdown, exponentially accelerating technologies, housing affordability, and a plethora of other threats and opportunities seem to capture our attention on a daily basis. It can be both exciting and terrifying simultaneously.

However, history tells us that regardless of the nature of our surroundings, humans find reasons to laugh or cry; to quarrel or love; and to worry or hope. So, this year our students have been exploring a wide range of alternative futures to explore how humans will continue to thrive and strive. Most recently our Year 11 girls explored the future of Dio as an organisation that exists to support the prosperity of its community. Over the course of a day in June, the girls travelled to a Diocesan of the year 2030. The girls explored four different versions of 2030 through a range of different future scenarios. The scenarios were created to cover a number of possible futures while also showing how the human condition in all its forms remained resilient. The scenarios included aspects of the world of 2019 that have collapsed, been transformed, continued to change in similar ways to how we’ve become accustomed or been shaped by a drive to be sustainable or reach some kind of equilibrium.

While in these different futures, the girls developed relevant stories and artefacts. To do this, the girls played a game where their imaginations were stretched to design objects that were found in specific locations of the School and evoked specific emotions in the students. The artefacts connected to the future of the School and also the future scenario in which they were based.

After developing some incredibly inventive artefacts and stories, the girls travelled back to 2019 and began to curate four different museums designed to help people in the present get a sense of what Diocesan could be like in each of four futures. The girls then visited all four museums to learn how life had changed and how the various elements of the human condition continue to exist. What makes people laugh? What do people worry about? What do people strive for? While such a playful approach to the future might at first seem little more than a fun game, the experience had far deeper intentions at its heart. Our exploration of the different futures was an experience in itself, but it was also a fact-finding mission into the unknown. Since the future hasn’t happened yet, it can only exist in our imagination. With this in mind, our ability to imagine is key to our ability to create something better than the present.

The resilience of the human condition was also evident in each of the museums. While none of the futures were obviously better or worse than the others, they were all very different and demonstrated how adaptable we humans are to change. This exploration of the imagination also helped the girls explore what kind of ‘more than they imagined’ they would want for themselves and their school. Furthermore, it allowed the girls to become more comfortable with the inevitability of change and how this often leads to the emergence of what makes each of us incredible.

So, while the future can be simultaneously terrifying and exciting, it is also important to remember that it only exists in our imagination – it hasn’t happened yet. By equipping our girls with this knowledge, they were able to explore possible futures that were outside their usual field of vision. They were also able to discuss the ways that humans have an incredible ability to adapt. While many aspects of the future might be challenging – this one fact should give us all hope!