⚡ Creating new narratives for Black millennials: meet FutureHero Aaron Samuels
“The vision for Blavity is a world in which all Black people are happy.” Aaron Samuels’ life is a tale of intersections: he is Black and Jewish, a published poet and nationally acclaimed performer as well as a Forbes 30 Under 30 rising star entrepreneur, and also a builder of community in both the real
⚡ The power of a future-fit education: meet FutureHero David Price
David Price wants us to be curious in today’s digitally connected world. We can solve wicked problems with learning culture.
⚡ A bright future is possible: meet FutureHero Eduard Vallory
“To change the world, we need to change the people who will change it.” Social analyst and world scout guru Eduard Vallory wants us to take advantage of the current health crisis to rethink the education system – although he is convinced that before the pandemic, the system was already weakening. President of the UNESCO Centre
Giving deadstock new life: meet FutureHero Stephanie Benedetto
Stephanie Benedetto has repurposed fabric in her blood. At the end of the 19th century, her great grandfather started finding unused textiles and turning them into clothes. A hundred years later, Stephanie has taken the same idea and run with it. In 2018, she launched Queen of Raw – an online marketplace that uses blockchain technology
Cameroon’s protector of the oceans: FutureHero Ismaël Ebone ⚡
“I have a deep desire to make Africa a better place.” From its volcanoes to its tropical rainforests, Cameroon is one of the most biodiverse countries in Africa. Often considered the ‘second lungs of the earth’, the Congo Basin boasts a beautiful coastline, mountains, savanna, desert and tropical rainforests – and endangered species like bonobos,
Meet the fashion mavericks: FutureHeroes Kate Fletcher & Mathilda Tham
Fashion can put the Earth first. Two academic activists prove how – in a bold new plan. The clothes we wear allow us to express our identity, individuality and creativity, and fashion often plays with fantasy to stunning effect. A darker fantasy lurks within the fashion industry, however: the fantasy of never-ending growth on a
Get ‘outside’ with the Wonderful Wizard of Minecraft: FutureHero Adam Clarke ⚡
Think adults don’t play Minecraft? Think again. Games help solve society’s challenges. Minecraft is a lot more than the biggest video game in the world, with a community of nearly half a billion players. Set inside a map made up of virtual blocks, it’s a game of possibilities that has become a global pop phenomenon, an educational tool
FutureHero Dr. Knatokie Ford: Wonder Woman of STEM
Biomedical scientist, South Central Los Angeles teacher, Obama White House Senior Policy Advisor, creative science communicator and #BlackGirlMagic ambassador; you would never know that Dr. Knatokie Ford was once a “shy girl” who had to learn to deal with confidence issues. But she did, and made her way from Harvard University onto the White House and
The FutureHero fighting for ocean justice: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Celebrated ocean conservationist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson knows that caring about the ocean doesn’t just mean thinking about marine ecosystems, but people too. That’s why the invertebrate-loving Brooklynite has made her focus the intersection between ocean conservation, coastal communities and social justice. “There is a home for everyone in this movement – in conservation, climate
FutureHero Easkey Britton: Surfing the big waves of a sustainability storm
Easkey Britton is an ocean pioneer in so many respects. A multiple championship-winning and big wave surfer. An interdisciplinary academic researcher, driven by a passion for our intimate, interdependent and inextricable relationship with the oceans. A powerful advocate for diverse voices and an intuitive seeker of deeper, embodied truths about connection, meaning and purpose. “The
This ‘climate geekess’ FutureHero uses the law to protect the planet
“If you want to do something about climate change, change the politics. Use the system to fight the system.” Imagine being able to say that the Earth is your client. Self-proclaimed ‘climate geekess’ Kirsty Schneeberger is in that humbling position. Honoured at just 25-years-old for services to environmental conservation by the Queen of England, the
FutureHero Alex Atala: Enter the jungle with Brazil’s top chef
“Ants are an example of the little surprises gastronomy can give us.” Amazonian fruits, canastra cheese, fermented manioc, ants; these are just some of the Brazilian indigenous ingredients being championed by South America’s number one chef, Alex Atala. Named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people on the planet, the double
FutureHero Tony Lovell: 5 billion hectares of hope
Cows are often the scape-goats (or scape-cows) for climate change; the methane-burping livestock animals have become confused with our management of them. By giving the animals a more holistic hook, carbon-canny cattle rancher Tony Lovell, co-founder of SLM Australia Livestock Fund, has raised a whopping $100 million to help to regenerate the billions of hectares of damaged
FutureHero Christine Fox: The Pentagon’s real Top Gun
Blazing a trail for other women, Christine Fox has held the highest rank ever for a woman at the Pentagon and was the inspiration for the Kelly McGillis character ‘Charlie’ in arguably the best film of the 80s… Top Gun (of course). The first female Deputy Secretary of Defense (Acting) in American history has flown in B-52s, escaped submerged
FutureHero Jock Zonfrillo: Australia’s top chef builds database for native flavours
“You’ve got to give back more than you take.” Jock Zonfrillo is going above and beyond in taking Down Under on a journey of Aboriginal food discovery. He’s the Italian-Scottish ‘Mad Max of foraging’ who happily swapped three Michelin-starred kitchens in London for starting a nonprofit in Australia – and then won the prestigious Basque Culinary World Prize
FutureHero Agamemnon Otero: Dynamo of renewables
“If you want to be Che Guevara, stop walking around pointing to what’s bad. Want to be a true revolutionary? Rip up the paving slabs, plant a garden and cover your roof in solar panels.” In South London a Uruguayan-born, New York-raised community entrepreneur and artist is tackling fuel poverty with renewables – while catalysing
Food as a portal into the future: FutureHero Carolyn Steel
Guest post by Jonathan Minchin Urban visionary Carolyn Steel has captured the public imagination by giving us food as a way to understand how we live our lives and build our cities. With food at the centre of our civilisation, we have a medium to practically design an ideal world for the future and live a good
FutureHero Steve Rader: NASA, Mars – and you
The things NASA want to do next are “really, really hard”. That’s why Steve Rader – NASA’s Deputy Manager for the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation – appreciates the way the space agency harnesses people power and diversity. We circumnavigated the mighty Saturn V rocket with the crowdsourcing evangelist to find out about NASA’s current challenges – and The Martian.
Aquawoman: Fishy FutureHero
In the sprawling high plains of the Free State province of South Africa, Conchita Milburn is playing a key part in freshwater aquaculture projects – sharing knowledge and implementing sustainable practices. Aquaculture is exactly what it sounds like – farming fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, algae and other organisms – under controlled conditions. Combined with agriculture,
AtlasQ&A Dan Barber ► 6 questions for a food FutureHero
From culinary creativity and food fads to a dystopian future soil crisis, friends of the Atlas ask Dan Barber – Blue Hill chef and co-founder of Row 7 Seed Company – their burning questions… 1. Ande Gregson, founder of GreenLab, an experimental space in London for urban agriculture: “Is urban agriculture future or fad?
FutureHero Dan Barber: The chef planting hope
To read The Third Plate is not only to take an extraordinary journey in the company of chef and writer Dan Barber. It is to be a guest at the birth of a brilliant and important idea. His travels, investigations, reading and thinking go beyond an exploration of what ails our food systems – and
FutureHero Dougie McMaster: Ethical Jedi chef
Britain’s most ethical restaurant doesn’t have a bin. Founded by ex-St John chef Dougie McMaster, the team at Silo brews its own booze, mills its own flour, churns its own butter and even has chairs made from jeans and plates formed from plastic bags. At the UK’s first ever zero waste restaurant, all materials are digestible by
FutureHero Jessi Baker: Blockchain’s spies for good
Blockchain isn’t just about finance and Bitcoin, but when Jessi Baker started Provenance that wasn’t the case. That’s why her idea was considered crazy at first. The software company uses technologies like the blockchain to help businesses share truths about the people, places and materials involved in their products. Labelled as one of the UK’s ‘coolest female startup
Adventures with FutureHero Gaia Vince in The Age of Humans
This year it will be ten years since environmental journalist and broadcaster Gaia Vince began her 900-day journey around the world to take stock of humanity’s impact on the planet. Back then she never expected to see the important changes now happening globally – the explosion of renewable energy production, the rise of electric vehicles, tariffs
FutureHero Nelly Ben Hayoun: Designing the impossible
Faster-talking than the speed of light, louder than a sonic boom and sparkier than a volcano, extreme ‘experience designer’ Nelly Ben Hayoun has simulated all of the above. The hyperreal world is her disaster playground. From the safety of her East London pad, the French space enthusiast catapults us through her flights of fancy-made-real – including
FutureHero Richard Ballard: Growing greens in bomb shelters
A microgreen-fingered hydroponic hero is proving that ‘zero km’ is possible – in London’s disused bomb shelters. With his groundbreaking subterranean farm Growing Underground, Richard Ballard demonstrates how plants don’t need sunlight and that urban agriculture can help tackle food scarcity. Located 100 feet (33 metres) under the streets of London in a disused World War II air raid shelter,
FutureHero Kate Raworth breaks down Doughnut Economics
In today’s world we are addicted to growth. That’s why renegade economist Kate Raworth wants to radically reframe the way we look at economics: “The goal of the 21st century economy should be to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet.” It’s an exciting challenge to ensure that no one falls short on
FutureHero Marco A. Attisani: Supercomputer creator
If you’re responsible for creating the “biggest solar powered computer in world” and it’s capable of delivering three fundamental services – clean water, electricity and the Internet – to the developing world, then you’ve probably got high ambitions. A generator that can supply a hat trick of the pillars of modern civilisation, Watly harvests the sun’s
FutureHero Mark Stevenson: Stories from the future
There is no better time to reboot our world than right now, which means there is no better time to read the two bestselling books by ‘reluctant futurist’ Mark Stevenson. The pragmatic optimist tells stories of people doing things differently to meet humanity’s challenges in innovative and surprising ways. Part of a subset of people who think differently, Stevenson
FutureHero Carlo Ratti: The Choral Architect
As more and more sensors, electronics and data radically transform the way we understand cities, Carlo Ratti makes dazzling interactive environments from the information we create – like our phone calls and the garbage we throw out – to create surprising visualisations of city life. Known as ‘The Choral Architect’, he senses the future of architecture as collaborative; with design intervening at the
FutureHero Birgitta Jónsdóttir: Icelandic poet-ician
Hacker, activist, geek and poet Birgitta Jónsdóttir is best known for founding Iceland’s Pirate Party – a movement of anarchists and techies that asks for direct democratic reform beyond party politics. We chatted to her about civil rights, transparency and accountability. She wants us to know that we can all participate – beyond protesting. Birgitta Jónsdóttir: “I am a poetician. You
FutureHero podcast ► The good energy of Juliet Davenport
In episode 3 of their podcast, the Atlas Futurenauts (AKA top selling author and futurist Mark Stevenson and leading sustainability expert Ed Gillespie) interview the extraordinary Juliet Davenport, founder and CEO of leading renewable and ethical energy provider Good Energy. A true renewable pioneer, Juliet built Good Energy from scratch in 1999 to tackle climate change. Learn about her
FutureHero Ramez Naam: More than human
The Cairo-born futurist, technologist and award-winning science fiction author on Elon Musk, how his best ideas come on hikes and why we’re all transhuman. Ramez Naam: “Transhumanism is a weird word to most people. If you have a cell phone, you are already transhuman, as you have abilities above your human ancestors. If you have learned to
FutureHero Marley Dias: Mini-literary activist
Bored of only reading about “white boys and their dogs” at school, in 2015 an 11-year-old from New Jersey launched a book drive. She collected books from around the world with one thing in common; they all represented black girls or “girls like me”. Then she donated them to schools, starting in Jamaica. In one year #1000blackgirlsbooks amassed over
Wanted: FutureHeroes!
Since the Atlas launch just a few months ago we’ve seen some of the most forward-thinking and insightful minds on the planet walk through our virtual doors. We call these high profile futurists, farmers, tech stars, entrepreneurs, 3D computational artists, design economists and epic people doing things differently ‘FutureHeroes’. Each one inspires us with what really matters – from cunning ways of solving
FutureHero Camila Achutti: Brazil’s leading grrrl-geek
The tech evangelist behind Mulheres na Computaçao (Women in Computing) on spreading the good news about technology’s power to change the world, educating people out of poverty – and getting more women into IT… Camila Achutti: I grew up listening to my dad talking in COBOL on the phone. For me it was like a secret language
FutureHero Samantha Storr: The heroine of virtual reality
Samantha Storr keeps a low profile, but is very much the woman behind top directors Terry Gilliam, Chris Milk, Spike Jonze and Robert Redford. We chatted to the VP and Executive Producer of experience studio Here Be Dragons about the evolution of virtual reality for good, sharing immersive documentaries with world leaders and collaborating with the United Nations.
FutureHero Rebecca Hosking: Wild at heart
The Devon dairy farmer’s daughter – who left the Pacific to come home and start a little revolution with Village Farm – on the way we see food, raise stock and treat our environment… Rebecca Hosking: “Farming has always been making a mess of things. That started long before the modern era, although the speed of destruction has been
FutureHero Peter Crnokrak: Data is big and beautiful
The Croatian-born 3D computational artist, geneticist and ‘data-friendly Elvis’ on the beauty of maths, transmitting emotions as visuals and data selfies. Peter Crnokrak: “I make art from math. I used to be a quantitative geneticist – the study of nature versus nurture – but purely numbers. Now I use numbers to be expressive as a
FutureHero Alastair Parvin: Property, plywood and power
The lead founder behind the revolutionary WikiHouse – the digitally manufactured building system that anyone can download and make – on solving the housing crisis, YouTube kittens and why he wants to control time… Alastair Parvin: “Pulp’s ‘Mis-Shapes‘ is a song that I love. I studied Architecture at the University of Sheffield, so Jarvis Cocker was
Hello world: FutureHeroes, virtual reality and the Pope
I’m thrilled to introduce myself as editor-in-chief of Atlas of the Future, the new international Barcelona-London venture from Oriol Soler, Cathy Runciman and Arnau Grinyó. Launching September, this will provide a home and hangout for all those committed to long-term thinking, and take you on a journey through the technology and advances shaping our world in every way
⚡ 21 kick ass women we need in 2021
These are the women who make us realise that the future is not as f* as you think… As a women-led team, don’t get us started on the concept of Women’s Day. Every day we celebrate the collective efforts of those who care about human rights. However, this 8 March does give us an excuse to
🔝 A Human AtlasChart of an American City: 5 remarkable stories from Detroit
“The purpose of ‘A Human Atlas’ is really simple – to inspire a new generation to co-author their lives, not in the shadow of those who came before, but in honour of them.” British artist Marcus Lyon is so passionate about social change that he’s devoted years to creating books and exhibitions in celebration of the people making
🎙️ New podcast series: How to survive the future by Jon Richardson & the Futurenauts
“Are killer death robots from the future already among us?” That’s the sort of question you can expect from the Atlas’s very own in-house ‘Futurenauts’. Sounds dark, but optimism outweighs the cynicism in this quick-witted new podcast series about the things that keep us all awake at night. Top selling author and futurist Mark Stevenson and leading sustainability expert Ed
🔝 AtlasChart David Price: 5 schools doing things differently
This month, Atlas of the Future has been swotting up, dedicating ourselves to spotting and showcasing the most inspiring education projects around the world. So we asked global thought leader David Price to take us on a tour of schools that show how to do things differently. “I’ve chosen five very different examples of schools”, he tells us “but what they have in common
New content channel! This is #FashionFutures
Today we are launching the call for our new content channel, #FashionFutures. We’re asking for your help to hear about the designers, craftspeople, social innovators, educators and communicators who are transforming our broken fashion system. The challenge is truly urgent – we know what is at risk and we cannot turn away. “When it comes to the
► Atlas of the Future presents: Living and creating in the ‘Department of Dreams’
As part of Civic Square’s Department of Dreams project, on 22 June 2020 we will be offering a half day of talks during the Re_Festival: focused on hope for a collective brighter future. In each session you will hear about their work and have an opportunity to ask questions and be part of the discussion
► Make my May! 31 Editor’s Picks for a spring spent at home
Welcome to Groundhog May. In most parts of the world May is a time of joy, when everything seems possible; spring has sprung, swifts and swallows swoop, trees blossom and buds open (in my case, chilli plants). And the birds and bees go for it. While this spring will be remembered as the one where everything
🌳 AtlasWeekly: fair fashion, easy farming & climate-comedy
What a week. (Does anyone know what day it is?) This week saw the digital landscape flooded with action: Earth Day turned 50 and went digital for the first time – and Fashion Revolution, the world’s largest fashion activism movement, named (and shamed) the transparency of the world’s biggest brands. As fashion, culture and climate
► Home alone together: 33 things to read, watch, listen & chill out to
Good news: Kindness has gone viral. OK, things are definitely weird now that we’re inside for the foreseeable. But on the plus side, the coronavirus outbreak’s crowning glory is a digital tidal wave of sharing, collaboration, mutual support and entertainment. Volunteering sites like Invisible hands are quickly mobilising communities to pull together to deliver supplies
Love in the time of corona: stories of hope & action
It’s time to work together. It’s time to think creatively. And it’s time to be useful. That’s why we’re collating your stories of real action and resilience in the face of crisis. This is an accumulative list of the projects rapidly popping up all round the world with one thing in common: facing the coronavirus
► WANTED: Content creator for Atlas of the Future (Barcelona)
Atlas of the Future is growing. Join the team! We have an exciting new job opportunity for a Barcelona-based digital media content creator/editorial assistant – fluent in Catalan, Spanish and English. About us ► Atlas of the Future is a joyous resource of hope – an online map of inspirational stories about the people dedicated to solving our
AtlasVideo ► Inside the event: Fixing the future 2019
“I am the Amazon. Please look after me.” Thought–provoking and emotional, the stirring sound of a 22-year-old afro-indigenous eco-activist from the Brazilian Amazon drumming on a Barcelona stage signified the beating heart and soul of our planet, an urgent need for a new era… and the start of Fixing the future 2019. This year’s event opened
The cleantech collective keeping our planet cool 🌵
For those working to battle climate breakdown, the complexity, uncertainty and scale of its challenges can make any single solution feel insignificant. That’s why the aptly-named Clean + Cool is on a mission to bring together and celebrate a community of cleantech FutureHeroes who share the same vision: relentlessly pursuing the reduction of negative environmental impacts. “Those working in
Global Climate Strike ► Why I strike: Fridays for Future
This week, the Global Climate Strike will go down in history. On Friday 20 September 2019, the world witnessed the biggest environmental protest the world has ever seen. In 185 countries, from Kabul, Afghanistan to New Delhi, India, millions of children didn’t turn up to school. Instead they took to the streets to support young climate strikers
► Fixing the future 2019: workshops and screenings
Are you joining us for Fixing the future at the CCCB in Barcelona on 7-8 June? As if 53 ‘FutureHero’ speakers wasn’t enough, we’re offering eight screenings and interactive workshops that let you get up close and personal with our themes of biodiversity, oceans, food and farming, cities and the climate crisis. Let us transport you from from Peru to Indonesia via Barcelona in the year 2093… ⚡1. Guardians
The new normal: the gender-equal future of festivals
“Why do an equality lineup now? Because we should have done it ages ago.” It’s 2019 and we’ve all had enough. Frustrated with a lack of diversity and ‘male, pale, stale’ panels and lineups at events, one Spanish festival has declared a 50/50 gender ratio benchmark. They’re calling this ‘The New Normal’. We’re talking about Primavera Sound.
Biodiversity: save the bees, the trees and the chimpanzees
Biodiversity is a hot topic at the moment, but what is it? Put simply, biodiversity helps regulate climate, air, soil and pretty much all of the good things we need for life. But a drop in global biodiversity is putting our ability to produce food at risk. Insects are dying off at record rates — an
► Fixing the future is back! Meet the speakers…
We’re overjoyed to announce that ‘Fixing the future’ is back. And this year it’s bigger, better and faster – because the future can’t wait. ► Download the full programme After 2018’s sold out event in Barcelona, we’re returning to the CCCB – in partnership with Holaluz – with TWO full days and 40+ FutureHeroes from around the world. This
► Inside the event: 2018 CultureFutures
For the past year Atlas of the Future has been excited by creative and cultural projects with a social mission. We’ve been chatting with the artists, filmmakers, photographers, illustrators, curators and collectives who are building a better – more colourful and imaginative – world. We call this storytelling project #CultureFutures. In November we introduced you to
Happy holidays! 12 days of good actions
Have you been naughty or nice this year? Good news: you can redeem yourselves! As the bumpy, transformative, but never-boring 2018 comes to a close, we’re spinning ‘The 12 days of Christmas’ into 12 sparkly, positive ways to take action and spread holiday cheer. No ode to conspicuous consumption here. Join a flavour mutiny, put plastic
AtlasEvent 24 November, London: The Collective City
If you’ve taken part in a morning rave, group run or public art experience; if you’ve joined a campaign to improve your neighbourhood or teamed up to better your workplace; if you’ve shared knowledge or data to bring about a change you want to see, you will know the joy and power of the collective.
AtlasEvent 24 November, London: The Collective City
If you’ve taken part in a morning rave, group run or public art experience; if you’ve joined a campaign to improve your neighbourhood or teamed up to better your workplace; if you’ve shared knowledge or data to bring about a change you want to see, you will know the joy and power of the collective.
Fab City Summit 2018: A new urban manifesto
Imagine if you could get a ‘city’ to agree to making the world more self-sufficient. A creative team of pioneers and makers is doing exactly that. They’ve created a set of ten principles as a sort of instruction manual to build a more sustainable and inhabitable new world. And they’re getting cities to agree to it. In fact, 28
It’s an economics puppet rap battle! (Yes, really)
“Not everybody wants to work for money on a platter. Sometimes we do things just because they matter.” An economist, a songwriter and a puppet-maker walked into a recording studio. What do you think came out?… We love a surprising collaboration, but didn’t see this one coming: animatronic-loving puppet designer Emma Powell, musician Simon Panrucker and renegade
Video ► Green fingers design a better future: Inside London’s Green Lab
Let us take you inside an old school made from recycled theatre salvage, decommissioned bio labs and art freight containers – because something special is happening. Green Lab is creating a vibrant city community for creative sustainable food innovators. As London’s first incubator workspace for urban farming entrepreneurs and ‘agritech’ startups, the space was set up by Ande Gregson. Having
Video ► Inside the event: Fixing the future
Ever travelled back to the future? Well, you’re about to. Strap in, because we’re transporting you into the heart of Barcelona’s ramshackle old town, to within the sleek white and glass walls of its modern CCCB cultural centre – and smack bang into our very first AtlasEvent, Fixing the future … via the medium of video. It’s
8 Agricultural Mavericks
Something special is happening inside an old school made from recycled salvage from a theatre company, decommissioned bio labs and art freight containers. As London’s first incubator workspace for urban farming entrepreneurs and ‘agritech’ startups, the Green Lab is creating a vibrant city community for creative sustainable food innovators. Having previously co-founded Fab Lab London, Ande Gregson was
Will creativity save us? ► Culture for good
Let us transport you from Mauritania to Indonesia via blood, sweat and paint, pixels and words… Over the past few months we’ve been digging deep into the joyful world of artists, filmmakers, photographers, illustrators, curators and collectives who are helping to build a better, and more imaginative, world – in all its technicoloured glory. This week
► Ready Player One: the future is already here
In the 1980s, sci-fi prophet William Gibson coined the term ‘cyberspace’ to describe a consensual hallucination created by millions of computers that we can jack into. By 2003 the visionary had warned: “The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.” Even though we are optimists at the Atlas, we’re also big fans of dystopian
Fixing the future: Adventures in a better tomorrow
Are you ready for the good, the bad and the ugly? Here’s the bad news: the world is broken. The good? This lot can help us fix it. And now for the ugly: it’s going to get messy. Luckily there are plenty of people who are happy to get stuck in. Having now mapped over
Fixing the future: Introducing the event line up!
Future curious? On 13 March a future-‘supergroup’ will gather for the first time in Barcelona. Brought to you by Atlas of the Future and Ara, ‘Fixing the future: adventures in a better tomorrow’ will explore the talent solving the audacious goals of our planet with radical methods. Join us at the CCCB to meet the innovators
Un dia ‘fixing the future’ amb l’Atlas del Futur
Coneix deu ments brillants que estan canviant el món! Tenen en comú que han trobat solucions a reptes globals que semblava que no en tenien i les han posat en pràctica. Són, doncs, “arregladors” del futur que per primera vegada es trobaran a Barcelona el dimarts 13 de març a la jornada ‘Fixing the Future adventures in
Feel the love! 20 reasons 2017 gave us so much joy
When you find yourselves somewhere between Gotham City Police HQ and Blade Runner’s Leon’s Hotel chatting to a Westworld sexbot you know that it’s been an interesting – and surprising – year. OK, it’s been relentless too, but there are so many reasons to feel hopeful. From Cameroon to Patagonia, 2017 has seen your projects make the
New podcast ► Atlas co-founder Cathy Runciman
This week in Barcelona we celebrated over a cava (or many) that The Futurenauts are now officially part of the Atlas! In this special ‘strong and stable’ show, Mark and Ed interview Cathy Runciman, Atlas of the Future co-founder and former MD of Time Out International. Listen ► Feel the joy as Cathy talks about the most creative Atlas project and the most
Breakthrough: inevitable or possible?
As storytellers we’re interested in how transformative change happens. This week we hosted the first Salon with our Project Breakthrough partners Volans. The topic for discussion was ‘Breakthrough: inevitable or possible?’ Are we driven forward by ‘push’ factors – like technological progress – towards an inevitable future? Or are ‘pull’ factors – like an inspiring vision of a
AtlasEvent 8 May, London: Mapping the Possible
Atlas of the Future aims to ‘Democratise the Future‘ by raising the profiles of the people and projects creating a better world. In this lunchtime talk at Shoreditch House, co-founder Cathy Runciman will share the story of the Atlas and introduce her favourite projects from around the globe – from the skateboarders liberating girls in Afghanistan and
Podcast ► Introducing… the Atlas Futurenauts!
Want to know what a green energy guru has in common with Ozzy Osbourne? This podcast. Sailing close to the winds of change, the ‘Atlas Futurenauts’ are top selling author and futurist Mark Stevenson and leading sustainability expert Ed Gillespie. In this FutureHero podcast they interview the extraordinary Juliet Davenport, founder and CEO of leading renewable and ethical
FutureRead: We Do Things Differently – Mark Stevenson
There is no better time to reboot our world than right now – which means there is no better time to read this book. At the Atlas, we love people who speak ‘human’. Anyone who tells stories that help everyone understand the super-cool stuff making the world better is alright in our book. In his latest slice of
► Best Breakthrough Videos of 2016
As we enter a new year, it’s time to look back at our recent videos for Project Breakthrough. Whether it’s the ex-American football player-turned-food saviour, the ex-Panamanian prisoner demanding transparency or the ex-travel writer fighting toxics, these nine FutureHeroes all have one major thing in common. They are all ex-ponential leaders. And they’re all disrupting entire industries – from food to
14 ways you can make 2017 better
As the world turns upside down and unhinged becomes the new normal, we want to provide some positivity from within the deep divisions of 2016. Take comfort. The world is better than you think. From Silicon Valley to Bulambuli Valley, social entrepreneurs are tackling the world’s most difficult problems. Technology is being democratised, access to education is causing global
Mark Stevenson: The world is not over!
Given his job as a futurologist, a lot of fearful, liberally minded types have been asking Mark Stevenson what he thinks about the future in light of the new US president-elect. The world, some believe, is over. That’s it. The most powerful nation on Earth has chosen a childlike, racist and sexist bigot for its highest office. There
Best of the Atlas 2016… so far
This year might have had its dark times, but there are many reasons to get excited. From the Faroe Islands to Patagonia, 2016 has seen the Atlas travel far and wide to bring you projects that democratise the future. Thanks to your suggestions and innovations, over the last six months we’ve explored sex hacks and exposed fast fashion; shone a light on projects bringing
“The Internet was like a movie trailer. It tells you a lot about the main feature.”
The Atlas of the Future team is humbled by the turnout of over 160 people who fought their way through Barcelona’s unusually rainy streets for last week’s AtlasEvent with Mark Stevenson – ‘The future and what to do about it‘. Catalonia’s leading newspaper La Vanguardia was also in attendance and chatted with the futurologist, who knows that the only way we can
AtlasEvent: Mark Stevenson – The future and what to do about it
We’re proud to invite you to the first Atlas of the Future event. On Tuesday 10 May, FutureHero Mark Stevenson will take us on an optimistic tour of the future and the challenges humankind faces – at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona. (Sceptics and pessimists, you’re invited too.) The pragmatic optimist
AtlasChart Helena Puig Larrauri: A peacetech Top 5
Spreading a message of “You can do it!” all around the world, peacebuilding practitioner Helena Puig Larrauri facilitates projects through technology – from filmmaking on the Sudan-South Sudan border to polling think tanks in Somalia. When it comes to tech, the Valenciana doesn’t want people to be scared to be amateurs: “Face the future. Believe you can do it and get to it.” Over a
The Big Short: Housing without debt
This week WikiHouse co-founder and FutureHero Alastair Parvin went to the cinema to see The Big Short (2015), Hollywood’s take on the real life traders who discovered that the housing loans holding up most of the economy were high risk – which led to the collapse of the US housing market and ensuing global recession of 2007-2009. The witty, depressing and
Best of the Atlas 2015
From a Noah’s Ark of seeds and American Idol for rural farmers to 3D printing prosthetics in conflict zones and igloo orphanages on skis, this year has seen hundreds of projects mapped on the Atlas from Syria to the North Pole. We’re celebrating the end of 2015 and looking to the future by ranking our favourite 16. So get your
Houston, we have a postcard
Recently NASA has felt more on the radar than usual. With Major Tim Peake – the first official British astronaut to travel to the International Space Station – due to perform scientific experiments on the ISS from 15 December and NASA simultaneously simplifying the Astronaut Selection Program to three criteria (aspiring explorers must have a STEM degree,
AtlasChart Mark Stevenson: An optimist’s tour of the future
The author and futurologist transports us from India to Germany through his top 5 Atlas projects – from teeny, tiny 3D printing to the Airbnb of energy. He knows how to do things differently. 1. Open Source Drug Discovery “In New Delhi, OSDD takes the shamefully inefficient (5000:1) and expensive ($2.6 billion per drug) hit rate quoted by big pharma
AtlasChart Rebecca Hosking: She’s no sheep
The village farmer and holistic grazer’s top 5 ways to regenerate agriculture – from mushroom-related technologies to the Noah’s Ark of seeds near the North Pole. 1. Soil Food Web Dr Elaine Ingham is leading the way in teaching farmers across the world in understanding their soil biology. This enables farmers to increase their productivity
AtlasChart Samantha Storr: Seeing the world in 360°
The virtual reality storyteller and documentary producer, who has realised the visions of Terry Gilliam, Chris Milk, Spike Jonze, Robert Redford and Beastie Boys, takes us on a 360-degree trip through her top 5 Atlas projects – from the holo world to the reality of dog poop. 1. Microsoft HoloLens “Imagine a virtual world
Atlas London Launch: Makerversity, Somerset House
There’s more to the historic Somerset House than courtyard concerts, dancing fountains and London’s most iconic Christmas ice rink. In its cellars you can find Makerversity, a pioneering community of emerging maker businesses and producers kickstarting the third industrial revolution within its hidden fabrication spaces. Which makes it the perfect location for the first ever (physical) meeting of the Atlas advisory
AtlasChart Peter Crnokrak: A trip through data
The Croatian-born London-based computational artist – who works with 3D visualisation systems for a post-data world – takes us on a journey through his top 5 Atlas projects, from the sounds of Detroit to the noises emerging from the Vatican… 1. World Values Survey The WVS is a comprehensive questionnaire administered by a global
AtlasChart Camila Achutti: From São Paulo to Buenos Aires in 5 tech steps
The rising tech star and software engineer behind Mulheres na Computação (Women in Computing) maps her top 5 Atlas projects – from the favelas in Brazil to the streets of Argentina. 1. Chega de fiu fiu Sexual harassment in public spaces is pretty common here in Brazil. This is a nationwide campaign against it. Lots of people think
Postcard from: The London heatwave
As NASA’s mission passed Pluto last week, I undertook my own flyby of London to meet up with Atlas of the Future co-founder Cathy Runciman and author, entrepreneur, futurist and sometime comedian Mark Stevenson. Setting out to answer ‘What’s next?’, the curious author’s An Optimist’s Tour of the Future rocketed up the book charts in 2011 (and can now be read in
Video: A History of Architecture
The future of construction goes far beyond 3D printable homes or smart cities. In this video created for Beyond Building Barcelona 2015, Atlas FutureHero Tomás Diez breaks down the history of technology applied to human housing, from its origins to the possible future. With his work a IaaC and Fab Lab Barcelona, Tomás is interested in how the history
Postcard from: Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute
In which our roving editor attempts to return to London in a major transport strike, fails, and wakes up 20 minutes outside of Oxford on a bed of 120 guitars within the grounds of Garsington Manor. Once home to Aldous Huxley and the legendary artists’ and writers’ groupie, Lady Ottoline Morrell (aka the real Lady Chatterley), the
AtlasChart Alastair Parvin: The ‘accidental’ design economist’s Top 5
As co-founder of the open source building system WikiHouse, Alastair Parvin sees democracy as a design blueprint, has never shied away from provocation and likes people who are trying to be useful or doing seriously disruptive stuff. Take a journey through his favourite Atlas projects. 1. Ethereum This super-interesting project is looking at how you can use the
