GSI Assembly: What will the world look like in 2050 and how can we prepare?

Overview

The Global Systems Institute is hosting a University-wide assembly, for a dialogue around the question: What will 2050 look like, and how can we prepare now?

The assembly is open to all, including students, academics and non-academics, policy- and decision-makers, and the local community in Exeter. This assembly will be run in collaboration with Laurie Laybourn, who has extensive experience engaging policymakers on climate impacts through science-based visualisations of the future. Laurie will guide us on a visualisation journey of what 2050 may hold, after which we will collectively deliberate on the priorities we must focus on today.

This assembly is run by the Global Systems Institute in collaboration with Exeter Community Assembly.

What is an assembly?

Assemblies are a way for communities to get together and listen to each other about the issues that most concern you and discuss what we can do together. In an assembly, we welcome all perspectives; we respect each other, and listen to learn – it’s essential that we be curious and open to changing our point of view!

Assembly schedule:

Arrive from 14:15 to meet other participants and make yourself tea/coffee. The assembly will start promptly at 14:30. We will introduce the assembly’s intention and principles, and Laurie will guide us through a science-based visualisation of what the UK might look like in 2050. Then we will get into small groups for dialogue that will be guided by a trained facilitator, on the question: What will 2050 look like, and how can we prepare now? Each group will deliberate on their top 2-3 priorities, captured by notetakers with AI support. Afterwards, we will break for refreshments and find out about each group’s top priorities. You will then be invited to vote on the actions that matter most to you. The top priorities and actions emerging from this collective consensus building will be announced at the end of the assembly. End 16:30.

Can you help run the assembly?

We are looking for volunteers to help facilitate this assembly! As a facilitator, your role will be to moderate a 20-30min conversation in a small group of 5-7 attendees. It’s an essential role for the success of the assembly. It is fun and rewarding, and you don’t need prior experience – sign up for one of our training days on Wednesday 15th (book here) or Saturday 18th October (book here), or get in touch with us at gsi.support@exeter.ac.uk.

Laurie Laybourn is an award-winning researcher, author and strategist. He leads the Strategic Climate Risks Initiative. He is also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and holds fellowships at the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter. He regularly writes for a range of publications and appears on TV and radio.

About the use of AI during this event:

During this assembly, we will use Dembrane Echo, an AI software that will record small-group conversations. In the past, participants have often noted that feedback to the whole group did not accurately reflect what the group discussed and agreed. We will trial AI assistance to complement notetakers and make outcomes more inclusive and complete. All recorded data will be used anonymously, only during the assembly and for a short report; the data will be deleted afterwards. We are aware that AI has its own biases and challenges, and we are not currently planning to use it systematically in every assembly -- we just want to try it out and use the learning to inform our next steps. Our priority as assembly organisers is to foster listening, connection and engagement with each other’s ideas.

Registration

Please register using the ‘register’ link on this page. If you wish to register without using Eventbrite, or if you have any questions regarding the event please contact infogsi@exeter.ac.uk

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