Monika Bielskyte on Protopia Futures
Informed Hope as an Antidote to the Politics of Fear
Monika Bielskyte is Futurist Speaker, Speculative Designer, Founder | Protopia Futures. She is also a fellow Evolutionary—a member of the Design Science Studio. The excerpts below are from Monika Bielskyte’s “PROTOPIA FUTURES [FRAMEWORK]” article from May 18, 2021. Read the full article on Medium.
Dystopia vs Utopia: A False Binary
Currently, the two most commonly familiar frameworks to discuss the future are the seemingly polar opposites of Dystopia and Utopia. But has Dystopia vs. Utopia ever been a binary, or are these concepts just two sides of the same coin? Is this argument just another manifestation of self versus “other” entrenched into Western thought by colonization as “thingification” (Aimé Césaire, Le Discours Sur Colonialisme, 1954)? Haven’t most utopias been someone else’s dystopias, and vice versa? Instead of being productive frames of inquiry, are dystopias and utopias mere neo-religious content outlets for dualistic ideas of Heaven, Hell, and the fetish for the Apocalyptic Rapture?
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Dystopian Futures are generally depicted as desolate beyond repair, and consequently mostly futile to be engaged with or salvaged. Whatever action happens in such a setting looks pretty much like cyberpunk dancing on the deck of the Titanic.
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Utopian Futures are generally envisaged as so “perfect” that they can only exist by prodigiously leapfrogging all of the most urgent inequities of the present. Consequently, they are mostly closed to critical inquiry. Utopian imaginings pertain to communicating a peaceful and magically post-austerity world, yet somehow the peace of such a future is always peace without justice.
Why Protopia?
The critical setting of context is vital so we can at least attempt not to fall back into common future stereotypes. BUT! Just saying NO is not enough. Protopia is our framework for shared YES VISIONS of the future, intended to inspire and support us in making the hardest choices of the decades to come.
At @protopiafutures, we have taken a significant departure from the original framing of “better futures” via the route of incremental technological innovation to proactive prototyping of radically hopeful and inclusive futures that shiftS the gaze from technological panaceas to focus on future cultural values and social ethics. Simply: technological innovation without humanitarian evolution always leads to Dystopian Futures. We consider humanity rather than the abstract notions of “technology/science” (as featured in Kelly’s 2010 book What Technology Wants) to be the drivers for said evolution. To boldly address past and present injustice and exploitative frameworks IS to strive to replace them with regenerative and equitable alternatives, rather than merely patching things up with inevitably temporary, disposable, technological solutions.
Monika Bielskyte at Imagination Day 10
As the Founder of Protopia Futures, Monika Bielskyte is the architect of a platform and a community to proactively prototype inspiring and actually livable future visions. Her journey as a nomadic explorer in over 100 countries has given her first-person experience of the interconnectedness between human cultural priorities and the unfolding future. Monika was born in the Soviet Union, and grew up in the newly liberated Lithuania, before leaving the country at age 17. Her perspectives as a futurist have been shaped by the collapse of the physical boundaries of a totalitarian regime, and the opening up of the digital world – its opportunities and its harms. She currently resides in Johannesburg, South Africa – which gives her deeper insights into broader futures perspectives, beyond the imaginations of the Global North. Monika started her career as a creative – working on movie sets in her late teens and progressively moving towards the bleeding edge of technological innovation and scientific research by her mid-20s. Her multicultural and multidisciplinary background, as well as an uncompromising focus on the intricate relationship between future fictions and real-life, have guided her on a journey that makes her voice clearly distinct in today’s foresight industry. Monika has worked not only with established global media, tech and lifestyle companies such as Universal, Google, Nike, BBC and the WEF, but also various governments and cities. Her contributions have resonated across both industry corridors and academia, from The Royal Society to CERN.