Making our own collective future in Scotland
Making our own collective future in Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday National, January 3rd 2021 Until it arrived, 2020 was seen by many as a symbol of the future. It was a benchmark and distant date with destiny – aided by phrases like ‘2020 vision’. But 2020 didn’t feel like the future that had been predicted - or like any other year. This is a salutary lesson. Much of the future is always surprising, unimagined and unpredictable - while other parts are predictable or ‘inevitable surprises’. To think, dream and conceive of the future is part of what
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My Scotland and Glasgow during lockdown
My Scotland and Glasgow during lockdown Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 24th 2020 The past three months have been different to anything any of us have previously experienced. We have all lived our lives differently; changed our patterns of behaviour, both work and personal; and been affected by the absence of people who we would normally regularly see and meet, as well as friends, family and people we know becoming ill. Alongside this other big stuff has happened. There has been the staggering incompetence of the UK Government which has contributed to the avoidable deaths of thousands of UK citizens.
The Power of Story and Hope Continued
The Power of Story and Hope Continued Gerry Hassan December 9th 2009 A beautiful piece by Libby Brooks in ‘The Guardian’ today on the wonderful work of the Galgael Trust in Govan who build astounding boats – Gaelic longboats or birlinns – and use this to aid young men and women refinding traditional skills, hope and exploring the waterways of the river Clyde (1). Her article also has a very positive mention of my Glasgow 2020 project, coming up for two and half years after it concluded its activities. She states talking about the work and conclusions of Glasgow
The Dreaming City: The First Step To A Better World Is Imagining One
The Dreaming City: The First Step To A Better World Is Imagining One Gerry Hassan Soundings: A Journal of Politics and Culture 'Tales of the City' Special Issue WInter 2007 Thinking of the future is one of the characteristics of being human through the ages and different societies. Imagining different worlds can be seen in the novels of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne and in the modernist visions of films such as Metropolis and Minority Report with their urban utopian/distopian worlds of flying cars and isolated individuals. However, these powerful public images are far removed from the world
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Glasgow 2020: Final Project Paper
Glasgow 2020: Final Project Paper Gerry Hassan, Melissa Mean and Charlie Tims Glasgow 2020, a 'project of mass imagination' - which shows how new media, and community outreach, could be combined to generate and sustain this new culture of seriousness. Pat Kane, The Democratic Interact, 2007 1. Introduction This project paper covers the following areas: • The idea of ‘the official future’ • The importance of story • Learning from the process • Learning from the content • Glasgow possible futures • Assemblies of hope • Lessons for public agencies • Dissemination Continue Reading Glasgow 2020: Final Project Paper
The Stories of the Future
THE STORIES OF THE FUTURE GERRY HASSAN Glasgow 2020 set out with a belief in the power and importance of story - of story as a way to develop mass imagination, to contribute towards the reimagining of Glasgow and the articulation of a non-institutional view of the city, and to further the understanding and practice of futures literacy. There are numerous ways of developing creative discussion and dialogue. Many of these are used in scenario planning, forecasting and strategic corporate decision-making. Such techniques include the idea of the ‘strategic conversation’ which in the words of Peter Schwartz is based on
The Open City
THE OPEN CITY When the mood of the music changes, the walls of the city shake. Late 1960s slogan, attributed to Plato INTRODUCTION The first step to a better future is imagining one. Glasgow 2020 has been a practical experiment to find an alternative to the closed city by opening up Glasgow’s future to the mass imagination of its citizens. This chapter shares the storylines generated for the future of Glasgow and explores what it and other cities can learn from the process. It then asks how bottom-up storylines can be turned into action and begins to map
