INWARDS

You can't change the world — change yourself. Everyone changes themselves — the world changes. This may seem like a naive formula. But in the face of societal paralysis, amid multiple crises, where neither complex policies nor simple promises bring about substantial positive change, it may seem to many to be the best way forward. With INWARDS, we were interested in the possibility of a reflective shift after a long period of stagnation, which offers hope but also presents particular individual, social, and ethical challenges.

Five Audio-visual Scenarios for an Introspective Shift

INWARDS explores an intro­spec­tive shift in Euro­pean soci­eties through five audio-visu­al sce­nar­ios. We devel­oped the project as part of the EU Pol­i­cy Lab's Futures Gar­den, which aims to sup­port pol­i­cy­mak­ers in envi­sion­ing and work­ing with alter­na­tive trans­for­ma­tion­al futures to design more future-fit poli­cies in co-cre­ation with its cit­i­zens. INWARDS is uti­lized in work­shops with EU cit­i­zens and pol­i­cy­mak­ers to stim­u­late debate on the desir­abil­i­ty of the depict­ed future.

The future depict­ed here is one where Euro­pean cit­i­zens reclaim agency through intro­spec­tion. As pre­vail­ing nar­ra­tives of per­pet­u­al eco­nom­ic growth and tech­no­log­i­cal fix­es fal­ter, more and more indi­vid­u­als believe that chang­ing the world begins with per­son­al trans­for­ma­tion. By extrap­o­lat­ing cur­rent trends in spir­i­tu­al prac­tices, self-opti­miza­tion, and soci­etal dis­course con­cern­ing the self and one's sub­jec­tiv­i­ty, the project antic­i­pates a soci­ety where these ele­ments have gained dom­i­nance, shap­ing the dai­ly lives of EU cit­i­zens. In doing so, it aims to fos­ter debate and reflec­tion on the sce­nar­ios' via­bil­i­ty, desir­abil­i­ty, and pos­si­ble consequences.

Inner Attainment 

3D Animation with voice narration
Runtime: 3'11"

Mar­ti­na cul­ti­vates her self-aware­ness through a dai­ly rit­u­al of intro­spec­tion. A device lets her inter­act with the lay­ers of her inner world and iden­ti­fy unre­solved issues.

Neural Bonfire 

3D Animation with voice narration
Runtime: 3'58"

Oksana and her friends form a com­mu­ni­ty built on absolute empa­thy. They are gath­er­ing to share their feel­ings on a neu­ro­chem­i­cal lev­el, fac­ing everyone's ups and downs together.

The Collective Path 

3D Animation with voice narration
Runtime: 3'25"

Mar­ti­na, Gun­ther, and Oksana are meet­ing about an upcom­ing ‘neigh­bor­hood acti­va­tion’ project. Under Hild’s super­vi­sion, they weave their own paths into their com­mon mission.