Jewish Futurism? We’ve been practising it for millennia 

Futures Thinking is an interdisciplinary field that brings together ideas from across disciplines to explore possible futures. Contrary to what many may assume, it isn't about predicting what will happen. Rather, it expands our imagination of what is possible. 

Evolving from Strategic Foresight, Futures Thinking is also a mindset that uses a range of tools and methods to challenge assumptions, explore multiple possible futures, and build our capacity to navigate uncertainty and shape what comes next.  

We are encouraged to challenge our fixed ideas about the future, so we can picture alternative scenarios that are completely different from what we are used to, unleashing imagination as a powerful tool for collective transformation. 

As a Jewish cultural strategist, I’ve come to realise Judaism already contains many of these tools, built into our practices and values. 

“The future is ancestral,” wrote Indigenous Brazilian thinker Ailton Krenak in his 2022 book reflecting on the way Indigenous knowledge traditions may influence new ways of thinking. 

Indigenous knowledge, including that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and ancient Jewish traditions, emphasises ancestral, relational and intergenerational ways of thinking about time. 

Working with multicultural organisations, creatives, and Indigenous communities, I’ve recognised the important roles traditional and creative communities have to play in Futures Thinking. 

In Western cultures, time is seen as linear and chronological. The past stays in the past; the present is right now, and we imagine the future from the present and the past. This is how econometric models, trend analysis, and data analysis work.