ABSTRACT. Although empathy is considered crucial to the success of the talking cure, empirical studies focusing on the role of empathy are scant and almost entirely neglect qualitative methodologies. To help address the gap in understanding how empathy can be experienced within psychotherapeutic processes, we conducted an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis involving interviews with 16 adult patients currently in or who had recently completed Lacanian psychoanalysis. Seemingly paradoxically, Lacanian theory holds that empathy can be unethical insofar as it implies imagining understanding rather than respecting otherness. Our resulting group experiential themes were that 1) empathy was experienced as an effect of the analyst’s listening as well as 2) of the responsiveness of the analyst, but was not primarily experienced as understanding; 3) participants felt their analysts had empathy for their unconscious as well as conscious experience; 4) participants were ambivalent about the prospect of receiving empathy in the form of validation of their perspective; 5) participants’ experiences of empathy were shaped by their transferential relation to the analyst. Notable implications include possibilities for empathy studies through viewing individuals as ambivalent about receiving empathy as well as the potential to employ in other contexts a type of empathy that aims to respect difference.

ABSTRACT. Research shows creativity is an effective way of coping with trauma (van der Kolk, 2015), and creative action helps restore continuity and connection, enabling one to transform their trauma (Richman, 2014). Indeed, Viktor Frankl’s (2006) memoir of life in a WWII Concentration camp gave birth to logotherapy and the existential psychology movement.

Clinicians serving clients with trauma histories can learn from artists, who create “a transformational object of art,” combining loss in imaginative ways, addressing the reality and pain while engaging playfully in an attempt to create a new construction of life following trauma (Knafo, 2004).

Though clients might not identify as artists, our encouragement to engage their own personal creativity while processing trauma may enable them with a whole-brain approach in working through the pain of their pasts.

This presentation will review research on the connection between creativity and trauma. The author will recite from two collections of poetry on trauma-related themes, sharing its impact creating a social movement giving voice to survivors globally.

Harnessing “the incandescent spark of personal human creativity” (Davies, 2016, p. 230) can enable patients with trauma histories to see the actualizing tendency within and to “repair the damaged link to the world” (Ioannou, 2016).

ABSTRACT. Therapeutic tattooing, the pseudo-permanent pigmentation of the skin to improve aesthetic and psychosocial outcomes, may help cancer survivors (CSs) cope with altered bodies post-treatment. This study aims to explore the impacts, barriers, facilitators, and types of this practice from artists’ perspectives and to understand the meaning-making and co-creation of tattooed symbols on cancer survivors.

Twenty-two artists, who had tattooed at least one CS, participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Tattoo artists with consent to share images, shared 400+ images for analysis.

Two themes related to impacts were identified: Psychological Impact on Artists and Psychological Impact on CSs. Three themes related to barriers: Artist Barriers, CS Barriers, and the Decisional effects of stigma for CSs. Two themes related to facilitators: Artist Facilitators and CS Facilitators. A typology of therapeutic tattoos was established based on design type (reconstructive/decorative) and existent skin damage (medical/non-medical).

The analysis of images of therapeutic tattoos gives a unique insight into the perspectives and meaning-making in cancer survivorship. Therapeutic tattooing may empower CSs by giving them creative control over the possibilities for how they represent their journey and create a body in which they feel confident while offering professional fulfillment to artists.

ABSTRACT. Resilience is often viewed as an entirely positive psychological attribute fostering beneficial outcomes following adversity in various circumstances. However, adversity isn’t experienced equally, with some individuals facing greater resilient demands than others. The actual benefits of resilience for individuals remain unclear, despite their resilience offering advantages to society as a whole. This study adopts a critical psychology approach to investigate experiences of resilience, utilizing qualitative methods with data from semi-structured interviews with participants (N=14) from various social class backgrounds. Through multilevel analysis, incorporating socio-cognitive and Lacanian discourse analysis, this study found many participants engaged in resilience practices enabling them to manage their daily activities by reducing initial distress associated with adversity. However, these practices did not contribute positively to their long-term mental health. The resilience observed in this study involved strategies based on enduring strength, emotional suppression, and resilience performed to meet social norms. While these practices maintained social norms and structures, they came at a cost to individuals' mental health and underscored the disparities in resilience across different social classes. This suggests psychological processes such as resilience operate dialogically between society and individuals and are a key site of inequality but offer possibilities for activism and social change.

ABSTRACT. This contribution aims to analyze the potential of counterfactual thinking for deriving possibilities of construction for the reframe that apply across Futures Literacy Laboratories (FLL). From a didactic point of view, the reframe phase in FLL plays a crucial role in building Futures Literacy (FL) in learners, which is the ability to imagine different possible futures. The purpose of the reframe is to encourage participants to move beyond their routine ways of imagining the future and to expand their imagination by confronting an unfamiliar picture of the future - one that is currently considered neither likely nor desirable in dominant discourses. Although the reframe is the linchpin in the development of FL, a systematic approach to its practical construction has been lacking so far. The aim of this contribution is therefore to attempt to identify generally applicable rules for constructing the reframe. To achieve this, counterfactual history is examined: Since counterfactual history provides springboards for the concrete construction of fictive thought experiments beyond prevailing consensuses in imagining the future, this body of theory has proven valuable in gaining a deeper understanding of reframing processes within FLL.

ABSTRACT. Our contemporary world is dominated by technocentric and technosolutionist narratives that shape our vision of the future and render particular “default futures” socially performative. In contexts marked by colonial legacies, these narratives perpetuate a narrow notion of progress, amplify the power of “big tech,” and exacerbate global inequalities. Despite growing critiques, few frameworks examine alternative futures rooted in social relationships and community-based knowledge systems. In response, this interdisciplinary paper draws on critical futures studies and design to propose a theoretical framework that foregrounds social technologies – practices, relationships, and systems that strengthen communities, embrace diverse epistemologies, and support sustainable development through collective knowledge, collaborative action, and reciprocal ties with nature. By examining the intersections of technology, power, and culture through a decolonial lens, this conceptual innovation highlights a pluralistic approach that prioritizes social relationships and community-based knowledge. The implications of this research are threefold: it expands possibility studies by integrating decolonial perspectives, opens pathways for interdisciplinary inquiry into non-technocratic innovations, and inspires futuring approaches that center relationality with community- and nature-driven processes. It redefines progress via collaboration. This paper concludes by advocating for the integration of social technologies into futuring practices to imagine and realize alternative futures beyond Western-centric paradigms.

ABSTRACT. Epistemic agency refers to individuals’ ability to control their belief formation and revision processes. While the debate over the voluntariness of belief formation has been longstanding, recent concerns highlight how the proliferation of fake news, misinformation, and AI-generated content - specifically deepfakes - undermines the ability of internet users to exercise their epistemic agency. A central question in the philosophical discourse surrounding this issue is: How can we maintain an evidence-based relationship with technology-mediated news when the authenticity of what we see and read is increasingly in doubt? In this article, I argue that the rise of deepfakes offers an unexpected avenue for embracing a fallibilist approach to news consumption. By acknowledging the existence of misinformation and technological manipulation, the discussion regarding deepfakes should emphasize the need for individuals to adopt a fallibilist mindset that recognizes the inherent uncertainty in belief formation and emphasizes the possibility of error. This paper contends that certain forms of ignorance can be a reminder of the need for greater epistemic humility. In this context, adopting a fallibilist perspective helps individuals navigate the complexities of modern media and underscores the importance of collective action toward improving science communication and democratizing the way news is consumed.

ABSTRACT. Despite widespread recognition of their importance in the literature, question types that foster creative thinking are rarely included in question taxonomies. A related literature review on the link between questions and creativity reveals a lack of research on questions that facilitate reframing and possibility thinking. This study addresses this gap by examining how experts approach creative tasks, specifically how they use questions to stimulate their creative process. To elucidate their approach to creative tasks professional designers participated in a short unconstrained design challenge using the think aloud protocol, followed by a semi-structured interview. To overcome the pitfalls of specific domain experience, the design challenge involved participants generating as many real-world design solutions as possible to an imaginary science fiction related design prompt. The findings highlight the diverse use of existing question types in creative tasks by design professionals while also exposing gaps, particularly in disruptive thinking. The findings also reveal how different question types support ideas across the incremental-to-disruptive spectrum. Moreover, professional designers tend to think in propositions rather than questions. Overall, these insights are significant, as they not only identify gaps in current question taxonomies but also suggest a relationship between question types and levels of creativity.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, teacher education has observed a burgeoning of both research and practice that focuses on the development of student teachers as reflective practitioners (Liu, 2020). Less attention has been afforded to the teacher educators however, as they navigate the complexity of imparting pedagogical/content knowledge (Shulman, 1986) within increasingly performative (Ball, 2003) higher education environments. Moreover, policy imperatives require both student teachers and educators to demonstrate creativity across many domains. Modelling such creativity on multiple levels calls for metacognitive awareness of the moment-by-moment sensibility to learning encounters, anticipating the possibilities and reflections that might follow. Building on several theorists, e.g., Kelchtermans’ notion of the future self, Egan’s (1992) focus on imagination, and Pinar’s (1976) ‘currere’, Conway (2001) advances a temporally distributed model titled “anticipatory reflection”. He argues that various retrospective tools should feature on a continuum of reflective processes that merge present and future, generating an imaginative approach to anticipatory reflection. Citing Buber (1995), Conway notes that such future-oriented preservice teachers are essentially “persons with possibility” (p. 104). In this paper, I discuss how consideration of a multiplicity of possibilities (Glăveanu, 2022) can foster rich ‘currere’ in the music education environment for both students and teacher/educators.

ABSTRACT. Creative self-regulation skills have been previously positively linked to creative achievement across different domains (e.g. art and everyday activities). However, it remains unknown whether instrumental music training could enable musicians to be creative in other domains through the acquisition of creative self-regulation skills. Previous research suggests that sustained, progressively challenging instrumental practice enhances self-regulation skills, while parental emotional support further stimulates self-regulated practice. To address this gap, we aim to examine how creative self‐regulation skills acquired through (in)formal instrumental music training during childhood and adolescence could transfer to other creative domains throughout life, and how parental psychological support and positive relationships further influence this process. Professional adult instrumental musicians (n=29) (resident in the Netherlands) with different music education backgrounds (formal and informal) and creative hobbies were recruited to participate in semi-structured online interviews. Thematic analysis will be used to analyse participant’s data. Our findings will shed a light on how different types of instrumental music learners use distinct phases of creative self-regulation (forethought, performance and self-regulation) for musical and non-musical activities. Furthermore, our findings might reveal how different types of parental psychological support and relationships affect each phase within and beyond the music domain, contributing to a multi-creative school curriculum.

ABSTRACT. Based on the doctoral research of the first author, this presentation proposes the context of free improvisation as the birthplace of creative processes by their very nature. Improvising is always about giving rise to the new, submitting new readings and grammars to creative discourse. To watch an improviser in action is to witness the new emerging. This musical practice mobilizes processes of construction of meanings in the present moment, connecting with otherness and projecting itself into future actions. In this work, we seek to dialogue with musical concepts, cultural theories of human development and creativity, and the Possible Theory, offering a new perspective on musical improvisation. The goal is to (1) align with a growing body of research that views creativity as inherently social, situated, and embodied, highlighting that cultural tools and social interactions always mediate creative acts, (2) encourage us to move beyond static models of creativity in favor of a more dynamic and process-oriented understanding, and (3) add to existing models of creativity and offer new ways of examining the complexities of artistic expression. We argue that musical improvisation embodies the essence of human creativity, manifesting itself in our daily interactions and artistic expressions.

ABSTRACT. Free artistic expression of children of early and preschool age is one of the fundamental components of child development. Given that it encourages the development and expression of creativity, free artistic expression allows children to explore new ideas without the possibility and fear of making mistakes, which is important during the creative process. This research was conducted with the aim of determining the influence of the visual motif as a stimulus on the richer artistic expression of children of early and preschool age. 140 children aged 3-6 years participated in the research. Using the method of classification and observation, 142 children's artworks were analyzed in order to investigate the presence of three-dimensionality and types of masses in children's artworks. The first category is works of art that were preceded by the encouragement of artistic expression with a visual motif. The second category of works of art that were not preceded by the encouragement of artistic expression through a visual motif. The results of this research show that children of early and preschool age to a greater extent formed art compositions three-dimensionally and depicted several types of masses within them without a visual motive as a stimulus.

ABSTRACT. Aims The pleasure of a multi-arts making activity through collaborative creativity. Generating a story that is unique. How meaningful stories can be generated quickly, using the ‘seven basic plots’ as the springboard. The process of making newspaper puppets and their world. Development of imaginative possibilities which are not tied to rationality. Skills of puppet manipulation. Experience risk taking in a safe but brave space. This kind of art making is also about problem solving. How to make intimate theatre.

Rationale This workshop is designed to show how with very simple form and materials, stories of all kinds can be told. Building capacity for artistry, including skills and knowledge, collaborative creativity, and the imagination.

Description of the content of the workshop See the workshop description below

Take aways How simple materials can be quickly turned into puppets and the world of the puppets How collaborative creativity works in this context How to provide a safe but brave space for all participants How make and manipulate newspaper puppets How participants can create meaningful stories. This way of working can be transferred to many other contexts Pressure of time can be a force for creativity

Materials: See below list.

ABSTRACT. UK universities require major research breakthroughs to be competitive, but face criticism for restrictive research cultures, gamed research assessments, and a ‘leaky pipeline’ of early career researcher (ECR) talent, all threatening the ability to innovate. Foregrounding creativity as a means of improving innovation has been identified by funders, employers, management theorists, and the researchers themselves as the path to success. Problem solved? Not quite.

This paper sets out the systemic enablers and constraints in the UK research environment; summarises key reports that challenge its shortcomings; and shares examples where UK universities are improving research culture by centring creativity. A specific intervention, Creative Skills Development for ECRs, was piloted at the University of Exeter in October 2024. A survey and workshops assessed the impact of creative skills training. Eight core creative skills were identified for their relevance across disciplines, two of which – noticing and questioning – were prioritised for the initial workshop. Findings indicate increased awareness and confidence, with a strong intention to seek further creative skills training. The intervention highlights the strategic importance of creativity in research and suggests a model for integrating creative skills development into institutional ECR training frameworks.

ABSTRACT. Studying possibilities calls for diverse and creative methodologies capable of doing justice to the complex both and character of life-living as processual becoming. Methodologies must become capable of attending to and interweaving both the actual and the possible. Traditional methodologies are too narrow in scope. Yet, we also propose that terms commonly describing methodologies are simulacra; labels without a stable identity, always changeable and in flux. Methods shift and continuously transform, and research practices become something not entirely and not yet thought out, something which is always new and different. These practices could be seen as speculative experimentations in a (methodological) pluriverse, methodologies of possibles, slow methods, and processes which utilize modes of ontological difference-making and (re)creating. We share examples of inquiry approaches including poetic thresholding, polyphonical analysis, and topologies as ways to explore the both/and of becoming. Our experiments manifest themselves when we broaden discourses and habits of thought, and when we move beyond habitual knowledge production routines. It is possible that methodological experimentation cannot be traced back to a singular author, text, practice, discipline, tradition, or discourse because it continuously differentiates itself, sometimes beyond recognition. Methodologies of possibles reveal alternative and potentially more ethical futures.

ABSTRACT. This presentation focuses on the challenges of designing awe research and its implications for future research and practice. Research suggests that feeling awe leads to prosocial and positive mental health effects, and awe may be a mediator for the benefits from music-, nature-, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Therefore, it is important that the fundamental theory on awe is robust.

The leading definition of awe stems from Keltner & Haidt's 2003 paper, suggesting vastness and accommodation as necessary components. Recent questionnaires have suggested five factors: vastness, accommodation, time perception, sense of self, and physiology. However, the factors have mixed or low-quality findings, and accommodation as a factor lacks empirical evidence.

Focusing on accommodation and novelty, a previous study tested whether experiencing the same virtual reality game multiple times diminished feelings of awe. Participants reported feeling less awe on repeated viewing, but surprisingly, also reported feeling awe in the non-awe-game. Building on the previous study, the current study adds a manipulation check and mixed-method measures. The findings will have implications for both theoretical components and future methodological designs regarding awe-elicitation.

ABSTRACT. Contemporary formal Western education has largely focused on cognitive and socio-emotional development, yet emerging research in collective consciousness, as well as consciousness and quantum studies suggests new possibilities for learning that transcend traditional paradigms. Building on Christopher Bache’s The Living Classroom: Teaching and Collective Consciousness and Parker Palmer’s The Courage to Teach, this paper proposes a conceptual framework for education that places consciousness at the center of pedagogy from early childhood through young adulthood. Children display an innate attunement to what Bache describes as the “field of collective knowing," an ability that seems to diminish as learners become entrained into Western ways of being and knowing through formal educational practices. By nurturing this capacity from the earliest years, education can foster deeper connectivity, intuition, and holistic development. While Montessori, Waldorf, and contemplative education provide valuable foundations, a truly integrated, systematic, and longitudinal approach to consciousness development as pedagogical praxis, one that embraces indigenous wisdom traditions, remains unexplored. This paper envisions a transformative educational paradigm where learning is not merely the transmission of information in hopes of developing knowledge, but an accessible experience of an evolving, interconnected field of awareness that shapes human development in profound ways.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the challenges of housing sustainability in Ireland's social housing sector, with a specific focus on Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and maintenance policies. Drawing from qualitative interviews with 28 key stakeholders, including Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), Local Authorities (LAs), government representatives, private entities, advocacy groups, and social housing tenants, this research identifies critical barriers to achieving sustainability in social housing. Thematic analysis of interview data reveals core issues related to social housing sustainability, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and maintenance challenges and among those we focus in this paper on two central findings: (1) IEQ remains a low priority despite growing health concerns, with policy and economic barriers impeding progress; and (2) sector-wide recommendations propose solutions such as proactive maintenance strategies, technological interventions, and stronger regulatory oversight. Findings suggest that while national policies prioritise housing supply, they often overlook sustainability concerns, exacerbating long-term public health risks. This paper argues for a major shift towards evidence-based housing policies that integrate sustainability and health considerations into social housing design and maintenance strategies. By addressing the intersection of environmental, social, and economic dimensions in housing sustainability, this research contributes to the broader literature on sustainable cities and resilient communities.

ABSTRACT. Current research suggests that cognitive rigidity, defined as the inability to switch between modes of thinking and consider different perspectives, is linked to both conservatism and extreme political beliefs, particularly far-right ideologies. On the other hand, cognitive flexibility (the opposite of cognitive rigidity) has been linked to creative thinking, complex problem solving, and an increased ability to imagine the future.

Given these findings, this paper argues that cognitive rigidity may help shape conservative views by limiting individuals' ability to imagine new societal possibilities. Instead of thinking about transformational change, cognitively rigid individuals may prefer sticking to the status quo, thus supporting conservative values. This idea is further supported by the fact that when conservative individuals do seek significant societal change, it often involves reverting to past societal structures. These are possibilities that, unlike the plethora of unexplored futures, require little imagination to conceptualise.

Exploring this concept will not only deepen our understanding of the already established relationship between cognitive flexibility and political ideology, but it will also provide valuable insights for designing educational interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive flexibility. This could, in turn, enable individuals to envision a broader and more diverse range of possible collective futures.

ABSTRACT. The traditional 9-5 workday model, established during the Industrial Revolution, may no longer serve the needs of contemporary knowledge workers and digital nomads. This theoretical contribution examines how coliving and coworking spaces create new possibilities for integrating work, life, and community. Drawing on social psychology and organizational behavior theories, I explore how these emerging models challenge conventional boundaries between professional and personal domains while fostering meaningful social connections. The research identifies a significant gap in understanding how intentional living-working communities might address rising concerns about loneliness, work-life balance, and social isolation in modern societies. Through analyzing case studies of successful coliving-coworking initiatives, I propose a conceptual framework for understanding how these spaces facilitate both productivity and authentic community formation. This work has implications for urban planning, workplace design, and community development as we reimagine post-industrial work arrangements. The findings suggest that coliving-coworking models could offer promising solutions for younger generations seeking more integrated, community-oriented lifestyles beyond traditional work structures.

ABSTRACT. Whether we think of it figuratively or literally, people consume the creative qualities of products and ideas. For example, watching a movie or listening to music are ways to figuratively consume these creative works. People often re-watch the same movies and listen to the same song repeatedly. This presentation addresses a timeless theme: our relationships with the consumption of products as part of the creative process. It is tempting to distance ourselves from other consumers, to stress one’s role as a critical observer of the consumption habits of “the others”. Nonetheless, in our appreciation of creative work, we are also performing a creative act. Some new vision is triggered in us by our contact with the creative work, something unique is born in us. This is why consuming creativity is also a creative act on our part. In this presentation, I will attempt to distinguish creativity as a superficial aesthetic vs. a process of bringing something new into being. I will conclude this presentation with the fundamental question: “What are we creating and why?”.

ABSTRACT. This interactive workshop introduces an application of Martin Seligman’s PERMA model of psychological well-being that integrates arts-based coaching interventions to activate and stimulate creative potential.

Seligman (2007, 2011) recognised that Positive Psychology and the PERMA model would be profoundly useful in coaching. Moreover, as people in work and life seek to enhance their creativity, interest in coaching for creativity and coaching creatively has increased (Gash, 2016; Turner, 2024). We are interested in the creative possibilities that can occur when the PERMA model informs coaching interventions which use a range of arts-based activities.

Grounded in insights from positive psychology, coaching, creativity and arts-based research, this session offers an immersive, hands-on experience where participants will explore each of the five PERMA components—Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment—through structured arts-based interventions. Activities such as narrative writing, music-based activities, empathy mapping and perspective-shifting exercises will provide a multi-dimensional approach to fostering creative thinking and well-being. The workshop will conclude with a reflective discussion on the practical applications of these techniques in coaching, education, and professional settings.

ABSTRACT. As global unrest intensifies, the urgency of transformative activism is eminent. This workshop positions Black historicities as a methodology for social movements, using African American folk traditions as a tool to interrupt colonial legacies and shape collective futures.

Grounded in Black Dignity, this approach reframes early African American musical traditions as more than historical artifacts; they are insurgent strategies that carried encrypted messages of liberation, structured communal survival, and asserted humanity in the face of dehumanization. These songs were not just expressions of pain, but radical assertions of possibility. Today, we extend that tradition by having all people—including those complicit in oppression—experience these songs as a means of dismantling the colonial logics embedded in their bodies and institutions.

This participatory workshop moves beyond theoretical discourse into embodied activism, compelling participants to engage viscerally with histories of resistance and resilience through song. This methodology challenges the oppressor-oppressed binary, offering a pedagogy in which the act of collective singing disrupts hierarchies, and transforms hearts. Through the communal practice of historical Black musical forms,we will activate decolonial futures—not as an abstract hope, but as an experiential and actionable reality.

Come, let us unmake oppression, and sing possibility into existence.

ABSTRACT. Co-Creating the Futures – An Interactive Workshop invites participants to explore and shape multiple possible futures by developing their own ideas in a supportive, collaborative setting. Designed for those seeking to navigate complexity and uncertainty, this session integrates creative manual and cognitive methodologies, scenario-building, and guided discussions to help individuals uncover fresh perspectives.

Through inclusive, hands-on methods, each attendee is empowered to surface their own insights and prototype innovative concepts. The workshop’s experiential format ensures every individual voice is heard—no idea is too ambitious or unconventional.

By the end of the workshop, participants will gain a clearer understanding of how to harness their individual creativity, align their visions with broader objectives, and establish tangible pathways toward desired outcomes aka applied serendipity.

ABSTRACT. Do arts-based experiences influence post-primary teachers' adoption of creative pedagogies in classroom practice? The focus- power relations, representation, and educational values– challenges conventional modes of representation, prompting critical engagement with the constructs of teaching, learning and assessment. It will use arts-based research practices to address the aim, adapting creative arts to engage participants and offer multimodal forms of data representation and data analysis to interpret visual and textual elements.

Participants will engage in interactive exercises aimed at deconstructing and exploring the word "presentation” prompting reflection on education, power, and the significance of arts-based learning. This methodology seeks to encourage critical thought about what is presented and hidden, how creative methods foster active response and co-responsibility in learning. Through this experiential approach, participants will come to understand the theoretical underpinning of the study.

Engaging with arts-based experiences encourages teachers to reimagine their roles, embrace presence, and reconsider conventions of teaching, learning, assessment. The proposed contribution is to support teacher education by highlighting the potential of arts-based methodologies to cultivate critical and reflective teaching practices. It emphasizes the importance of experiential, co-created engagements in professional development, underscoring how such methods can challenge entrenched paradigms and support teachers in adopting nuanced approaches.

ABSTRACT. How can literature and the arts help us imagine new, courageous and hopeful possibilities for our lives and collective futures? How can they inspire visions of human flourishing and help us build communities of possibilities? In this workshop we will be uniting our creativity to explore these questions through the Pre-Texts method, developed by Harvard professor and literary scholar Doris Sommer. Pre-Texts is a pedagogical tool that fosters creative reading, critical thinking, civic development, holistic well-being and collective imagination. By using literary texts as vehicles for collective art-making and collaboration, in this workshop we will engage creatively with literature to activate our capacity to explore, envision and enact poetic possibilities of being and dwelling in the world with others. UNESCO recognizes Pre-Texts method as “Education for Peace”.

ABSTRACT. We live in a context of rapid change, volatility, complexity and uncertainty. Having blocks of time to focus on one activity has become a rarity whilst multitasking with its consequent impacts on productivity, attention span and energy, is pervasive. Despite the many gains of life in our times such as economic growth and access to food and education, there are also significant losses including social alienation, declining wellbeing, climate change and post-truth politics. In this presentation I provide three entangled perspectives on the wellbeing possibilities of spatiotemporal embodiment. The first temporal perspective examines technologically mediated connectivity, introspection and fragmentation. The second spatial perspective outlines the value of being in the presence of, or sharing space with someone or something. The third embodied perspective explores the potential of aesthetics or sensory experiences. These perspectives offer insights into why in this ‘age of connectivity’, we are facing an epidemic of loneliness, how virtual presence differs qualitatively from physical presence, and how the senses are fundamental to cognition. Spatiotemporal embodiment, I propose, opens up significant possibilities for richer, deeper and more expansive relationships and connections that foster wellbeing through better understanding of self, human and nonhuman others, and our environment.

ABSTRACT. What if imagination were not merely a mental act but an extended phenomenon, enacted across external systems, tools, and environments? Drawing on the theoretical framework of extended cognition (Clark & Chalmers, 1998), this keynote examines the possibility of rethinking imagination as distributed across minds, tools, and social systems, thereby expanding our understanding of future-oriented thinking and possibility spaces.

Building on Asma’s (2022) exploration of embodied imagination and Glăveanu’s (2023) work on possibility spaces, I propose an extended theory of imagination that goes beyond individual cognitive processes to encompass the material, social, cultural and systemic scaffolds that enable imaginative thinking. By positioning imagination as an extended and relational process, this keynote argues that futures thinking must be understood as an enactment of social and material systems that mediate and amplify our capacity to envision possible futures.

The talk will explore the implications of this extended framework for futures studies, particularly in terms of how external systems — technological, institutional, and cultural — serve as both enablers and constraints on our imaginative capacities. It will argue that creating the conditions for expansive futures thinking requires not only fostering individual cognitive flexibility but also designing environments that scaffold and extend imaginative possibility.

ABSTRACT. When reading comics, do people monitor the protagonist’s spatial shifts in their mental representations of the depicted environment? To answer that we examined the location effect, i.e., the well-documented finding that information about the room in which the protagonist is located is more accessible compared to other rooms. Across two experiments, participants first encoded object locations visually (Experiments 1a and 1b) or verbally (Experiment 2), and then, while reading stories, via texts or comics, they responded to prompts about whether objects were in the same or different rooms. In Experiment 1a and 2, but not 1b, participants were instructed to attend to spatial relations. Participants monitored spatial shifts with texts and comics when the environment was encoded visually. However, with comics, participants monitored shifts even without instructions to attend to spatial relations. Overall, findings suggest that comics can support the construction of situation models and may even be more efficient to foreground spatial shifts than texts.