Developed by: Andrew Nicholson (consultant) on behalf of Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE) Inc. (Australia)

• BSc (Hons) Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, UK (1977)
• Master of Arts in Social Work, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK (1984)
• Master of Environmental Education, Griffith University, Brisbane (2000)
• Master of Science by research. The Role of Exhibited Environmental Art in Public Engagement with Environmental Sustainability, University of New England, Armidale (2018)

Project Rationale

Imagining 2040 – Pathways to Flourishing Futures (IMAG40) is a podcast series launched in August 2025 by Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE) Inc. (Australia).

The series responds to a significant challenge facing our ability to create better futures, both in Australia and internationally: many people struggle to imagine what better community futures might look like, or how we might work together to achieve them. This phenomenon has been described as an imagination deficit or social imagination crisis.

 

Introduction

We believe that to counter this challenge of increasing public engagement with progressive futures thinking requires more people to develop shared, compelling visions of better futures—futures that are climate-safe, protective of nature, socially supportive and economically fair. Equally important is the need for citizens to build visionary alliances capable of turning these aspirations into reality.

Without a stronger public imagination of what is possible, and a broader base of strong citizen advocacy for preferable futures, governments and regulatory institutions are likely to continue delivering reactive, inadequate, short-term fixes to our problems. Such responses will not resolve our serious and escalating challenges, including climate disruption, nature loss and growing inequality.

A deficit in public imagination, combined with limited opportunities for genuine citizen-led involvement in development and democratic decision-making, also leaves community debate vulnerable to vested interests promoting short-term populism, market-based solutions and business-as-usual development pathways. These approaches are increasingly failing both people and the planet. Changing course will require growing numbers of well-informed, imaginative citizens who recognise that better ways of shaping our future are not only desirable but achievable—with sufficient collective commitment and political will.

Alongside opportunities for more formal training in futures thinking and foresight, Imagining 2040 aims to provide an accessible, informal space in which guests and listeners can explore plausible, evidence-informed and more flourishing futures—and consider the pathways that could help bring them about.

Ultimately, the series seeks to help expand our collective capacity to imagine and create the better futures that many of us long to pass on to future generations.

 

Reference Material

• IMAG40 – Promotional video links 26 10 26
• IMAG40 – Mini Library Resources – a succinct overview of some of the main ideas and methods involved in imaginative futures thinking – including those used in the Imagining 2040 podcast episodes.
• IMAG40 – Flyer used in initial outreach activities
• IMAG40 – List of Episodes
• Misc. material will be added from time to time