Pathways for Positive Change

How to enhance future preparedness?

UNGP Finland and UN Country Team Cambodia

What

A format for running a series of interactive workshops was developed and tested in Cambodia to explore emerging issues and dynamics in the broader political and human rights context. Participants included members of Civil Society Organizations and Cambodian youth. These workshops generated insights into the key issues and changes in the political and human rights domain and identified potential agents that can drive positive change in Cambodia. The outputs were used to make the Common Country Analysis and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework more forward-looking.

Why

UNCTs often deal with situations marked by high uncertainty in the short term that could have implications for the medium and long term. Including a range of perspectives through participatory foresight helps to understand emerging risks and opportunities in political and human rights contexts and explore how to support positive changemakers.

Key lessons

  • Participatory foresight can provide a safe space to discuss future challenges with multiple stakeholders, but inclusion should be addressed systematically in process design.
  • The use of longer time horizons in foresight exercises helps participants move beyond current realities and assumptions to imagine different and alternative futures.
  • Running FutureCast workshops multiple times with different groups provides a diversity of insights.

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