What could a good life for all within planetary boundaries look like?

Activity title

How do we envision a good life for all? 

Overview

Participants use the activity of freewriting to get a better understanding of how they envision a good life for all to look like. 

Objectives

• To imagine and write down what a good life for all could look like

Materials

Pens, paper

Optional: PowerPoint slide or print out of graphic 2 ‘National performance relative to a ‘safe and just space’’

Time

20 – 40 minutes

Group size

Works for all group sizes

Instructions for trainers

1. Hand out a pen and paper to all participants.
2. Introduce the participants to freewriting. Freewriting is a practice that helps us to liberate our writer’s voice and connects us to our own creativity. It helps us to write down ideas from our unconscious. Freewriting is simple, flexible and forgiving – you can’t do it incorrectly. When we freewrite, we try as much as possible to suspend judgment about what we are writing. It is an exercise in getting out of our own way. Some guidelines to achieve that are:

• Use a prompt. If you run out of ideas during writing go back to the prompt.
• Set a timer. Write until the timer rings. Finish your thought afterwards, if you want to.
• Keep your pen moving. Don´t stop writing until the time is over.
• Write quickly, a bit faster than you would write normally. As if you had a lot to note down but only a little time.
• Write a draft, not a text. Use the first word that comes into your mind. Don´t worry about how something sounds or about spelling or grammar. 
• Independent of how ridiculous a thought is, go for it! See where it goes. There is no need to filter any idea.

1. Let´s together imagine that instead of plenty of social and ecological problems there could be a good life for all people. What does your vision of a good life for all look like?
2. Write the following prompt on the board: ‘There it is! I can see the good life for all. It looks like…’ 
3. Tell the participants that they have 10 minutes for freewriting whatever comes into their mind in response to the prompt. Time them. 
4. Invite participants to share their ideas for a good life for all with the group. This should be voluntary. Participants can either read out what they have written or introduce others to some core ideas.

Debriefing and evaluation

For a good life for all, we need to put the essential things into the centre of our economies. Optional: show video ‘Change the Goal: Doughnut Economics’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkg2XMTWV4g

Introduce the framework of a safe and just space for humanity (chapter 4). Optional: use graphic 2 on a ppt slide or print out to explain the framework.

Tips for trainers

For the debriefing of the exercise read chapter 1.4, ‘What could a good life for all within planetary boundaries look like?’

Alternative A: Freewriting to questions instead of prompts: instead of freewriting in response to one prompt you could also ask participants the following three questions, one after each other, and give them 3-5 minutes time per question for freewriting: How do I want to work? What should my relationships look like? What role should money play in my life?

Alternative B: Reflection on what constitutes a good life for oneself: additional material: if wanted, board or flipchart and calm music for the reflection,

 1. Invite participants to reflect individually about what they need for a good life. Ask them to note down some key points. Tell them how much time they have for this reflection (e.g. 10 minutes). If wanted, play calm music during the reflection. 

2. Invite participants to share with the group what it is that they think constitutes a good life. If you want, take notes on a board or flipchart (5 – 25 min).