Anastasia is an interior architecture student and chose to volunteer via the Erasmus+ programme to get involved in societal issues, travel and meet new people who share the same passion and goals as her. 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Laura is a marine biologist and ocean advocate. After her experience in several European countries, she felt the need to use her knowledge and passion for the ocean to stir the blue conversation in her home country. She’s the co-founder of “Po bangom” (in English: “Under the waves”) – a pioneer ocean literacy organization in Lithuania which disseminates scientific information about the ocean in an easy-to-understand way as well as shares stories from the ocean told by Lithuanian divers, sailors, scientists and other ocean enthusiasts. 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

In 2040, everyone acts upon their very best intentions for the planet and fellow human beings. “Value” is re-defined on the basis of that. Humans no longer feel the need to structure their life around activities that bring them economic value, in order to participate in this society.

Rather, equity is provided in this system, in the sense that human beings all have access to high-quality education, health care, and can enjoy further human rights, as identified in the UN Charter. Furthermore, the participation in society is valued on the basis of the contribution that individuals make to this social and ecological environment. 

Focus on Human Wellbeing in a new economic system – a redefinition of economic value from GDP growth, towards social and ecological wellbeing takes place. Society is structured accordingly. This leads to a shift in the economic thinking, and allows for de-growth to occur. 

New Political System – technological innovations enable transparency and new ways of political decision making. Political power is redistributed in a way that decisions are weighed upon best intentions, and best mid-term and long-term outcomes. Political priorities are collectively decided upon, but for sure: the ecological boundaries are not crossed. It is no longer important who holds political power, since the best intentions and collective priorities are the key within the political system. Hence, the power of the nation-state considerably declines. The agenda of the United Nations is no longer determined by the national interest of the main member states, but becomes and even better reflection of the General Will (as coined by Rousseau).

Overall, I have hopes about the empowerment of technological innovations for grassroots innovation. There are many people who strive for their dreams and ideals, and it’s fascinating to see how many children at some point have the following question on their mind: how can I contribute to a better world? The changing information infrastructure facilitates a bottom-up generation of ideas in our society.
Simultaneously, I feel despair for the challenges that human greed cause for humanity. Globalisation may disfavour the world’s poorest regions and spur a concentration of social and economic wealth, while the earth planetary boundaries are crossed. This can challenge the continuation of life on earth, and necessitate drastic transitions in our political, social and economic systems. Ideally, we ensure that we can progress on these transitions, before we have to experience the dire consequences of current trends in society.

Feeling

I am hopeful about the fact that the changing information infrastructure facilitates a bottom-up generation of ideas in our society. This empowers many people who strive for their dreams and ideals, and it’s fascinating to see how many children ask themselves: “How can I contribute to a better world?”. Now, they can act upon it. 

Simultaneously, I feel despair for the challenges of human greed for humanity. Globalisation may disfavour the world’s poorest regions and spur a concentration of social and economic wealth, while the earth’s planetary boundaries are crossed. This could challenge life on earth, and necessitate drastic transitions in our political, social and economic systems. We need to act quickly.

Influence

Firstly, the influence on the future of regular consumers are only limited. In my view, there is an overestimate of consumers buying power. Companies with a bad reputation on human rights and ecological impact are insufficiently filtered out by the system. Secondly, those persons who engage with active political or societal engagement can reach a boarder audience than in history. In that sense, the power of the individual has increased. Yet, one needs to ensure that these persons can actually reach decision-makers, and that decision-makers take their demands seriously.
 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Everyone would feel good. For example, children or young people would not be scared to go to school because of bullying. Bullying would be tackled immediately if it happened. Everyone should be able to get help if they need it. No one would be slandered for any reason. Everyone would be included, and no one would be left alone.

Feeling

I’m hopeful, but I’m still afraid the bullying will never stop. However, I believe that we can make a difference.

Influence

I can influence the future, but I can’t influence much. For example, I can make sure my friends or people I know are not bullied. But I can’t make a difference elsewhere, at least not yet.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Monica is an athlete of the National Paralympic swimming team. Swimming is a very important aspect of Monica’s life, as it taught her to understand that disability is not a limit, rather than a strength. Monica’s dream is to specialise in medical genetics and study diseases of which still little is known and try to find a cure. 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

During the summer of 2020, five of my best friends from school and I were selected for an Interrail Pass by DiscoverEU. We were really happy about it, because we had already planned to travel round Europe and now we had a chance to save some money that we could use during the travel instead of on transportation. 

We started our journey by taking a train from Copenhagen to Berlin where we had rented an apartment in the middle of the city. Due to the Covid restrictions a lot of Berlin were shut down, but we still got to see and experience a lot. 
After Berlin we went to Krakow where we had also rented an apartment for four days. There were less restrictions here so we got to enjoy both city life and night life.

We now all agreed that we had seen enough of the big city life and we wanted to go somewhere warm with a chance of bathing. We decided to go to Split in Croatia. Due to Covid-19 the train from Krakow to Split would take 40 hours so we made a kind of boring decision and flew from Warsawa to Split. We took a train to Warsawa and from there we took a flight without any problems. It would have been nice to experience more of Warsawa. 
When we arrived in Split we actually decided to take a trip out of the city to a village called Slatine. Here we had rented a part of an estate for four days which we shared with a nice old couple. 

We really enjoyed relaxing there, bathing, and make pizza from a stone oven. 
At the end we decided to go into Split where we had rented an apartment in the middle of the city for five days. It was nice to enjoy the goo weather and night life that was not very affected by the Covid situation at that time. 
After our days in Split we took a very long train ride from Split to Copenhagen. The whole journey was without any accidents or problems and we all agreed that this had been one of the best experiences of our lives. 
 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

7am, March 28th 2042:

My personal assistant wakes me up with my favorite workday song and turns on the coffee machine. An ordinary alarm clock would perfectly do the job, but the automatic coffee machine is convenient after all.

While I brush my teeth, my personal assistant displays daily news on the mirror in front of me. Scientists came up with a new way to efficiently store an infinite amount of energy. I guess we are close to reaching complete carbon-neutrality for electricity production (8 years ahead of the plan!).

The next article reports that the 4-day workweek which was implemented in the EU in 2035 shows promising results. People started exercising more, spent more time with their families, attended more cultural events and participated more in local politics. I would tend to confirm it in my own case.

The following article reports how the unified EU-wide social security system enables workers to swiftly move from one country to another with significantly less paperwork and administrative hurdles. I always wondered why it was not implemented earlier.

The next article discusses an ongoing problem in our society. Biotechnology has enabled humans to amplify their physical and cognitive abilities. These technologies became increasingly affordable (though still quite expensive), and it led to a dualistic society. I keep asking myself what we can do about it, probably nothing. We made a lot of progress in guaranteeing and protecting freedoms to choose our life paths, education, careers, whom we love, how we dress, which god we worship and so on and so on. I guess choosing to enhance our abilities is also part of these choices.

The last topic of my daily news review concerns the increase of retirement age. Apparently it's a side effect of the 4-day workweek. I guess I won't be retired before 2085 or something… But at least most bullshit jobs have been taken over by AI and automated systems and I have all the freedom to choose a professional activity that fulfills my life goals.

Feeling

I feel overwhelmed by the complexity and uncertainty of future developments. That is why foresight is a fascinating discipline in the sense that it allows structuring that complexity and imagining solutions to future challenges.

Influence

Yes, by taking actions today that are known to produce long-lasting positive effects.
 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Entering the 2020s, humanity's prospects were bleak in the Western hemisphere. After decades of hindered productivity growth, widening social differences, growing polarisation, and unresolved climate change no one could picture life getting better in the future. However, like so many times in the past, when all seemed lost, technology proved to be the answer once again.
 
In the late 2020s, we could finally see the technologies that had been building up their momentum in the previous decade converge, and radically change the lives of all people for the better. Breakthroughs in AI and data science combined with robotics allowed us to optimise our production and ensure material abundance for everyone. On top, no more tedious labour is needed anymore, our robots take care of most manual tasks! We can dedicate our time to more meaningful and fulfilling work, helping and serving each other and feeling a much deeper connection with our communities.
 
Faster-than-expected advances in quantum computing, nuclear fusion, and the related AI algorithms allowed us to craft new cheap and scalable materials and methods for clean energy production. It was hard and we needed to compensate a lot of people for whom life got temporarily more expensive, but we finally overcame the long shadow of climate change that worried us for so long. Today, energy is clean, cheap, and abundant, and we pollute the environment no more!
 
We live much longer than in the past today. Our scientists managed to build new wearable sensors that monitor every person's bodily function 24/7, transforming healthcare into a proactive force, and greatly increasing our lifespan and life quality. It might seem like a story of science fiction, but it seems that we are close to living forever now! Longevity research has gained huge momentum and the rich are already adding decades of time to their lives - it is only a matter of time before the technology gets cheap enough for everyone else! Moreover, we could soon be able to upload our consciousness to the chips Neuralink is creating, wouldn't that be amazing?!
 
The governance of this whole process is much more balanced today than it used to be in the past. Everyone realised that the challenges we face must be tackled in cooperation, or everything will crumble. Unlike in the past, states and big enterprises no longer fight each other. Firms realised they need to pay their fair share to keep the society stable, while states now know they must give the markets the freedom to do what they do best - to innovate. Scientists are the rockstars of our time!
 
Well, life just seems great! I am just a bit worried about the news talking about the newest superintelligent AI model that seems to be gaining consciousness - but I am sure that is nothing!...Or is it not?

Feeling

I am very optimistic with regards to the exponential progress we are able to bring on as our technology advances. However, for that aim, we need enough time, and I am worried we are short of it as our ability to destroy ourselves is growing rapidly. My optimism and my worries are quite balanced.

Influence

I think many young people are overly optimistic about citizens' influence on the future. We are living in an age of "superstars" where a handful of individuals have more power than billions of commons, and this phenomenon will only accelerate. I will do my best to become one of these individuals, or to gain some influence over them, but my chances are admittedly slim.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Jennifer has studied in Germany and has been working on the applications of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) in the fields of crisis management, education, and decision-making processes. She has worked on a few European research projects and is now working on how virtual reality can support students in achieving their learning goals. In this pioneering field, she is an inspiring figure to follow.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

I'm Linda and I worked in a project for residents of social housing and organized events with and for children, families and older people, e.g. an afternoon care for children, an internet café or movie nights. I also worked with young people in difficult life situations on the topic of mobility and assisting with info events, camps and public relations. The highlight was an international youth exchange with young people from Belgium, Italy, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

I profited a lot from the (European Solidarity Corps) volunteer service and especially from encounters with people of different backgrounds – with some I am still in contact. Together with two former volunteers, I started an informal initiative to connect volunteers from all over Belgium. This showed me that I enjoy a lot to bring people together.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026