Liverpool Hope University launches new Festival of Futures

Liverpool Hope University is inviting the people of Liverpool to tackle some of society’s greatest challenges at a new community event launching this December.

The Festival of Futures takes place at the University’s Hope Park campus between Monday 2 and Wednesday 4 December and is an opportunity for people from across the city to come together to explore solutions to important global issues related to the UN’s sustainable development goals.

With 45 events taking place over three days, the free festival includes expert speakers and collaborative workshops covering everything from the future of work and fossil-free careers to drugs and justice. There will also be several fringe and social events led by local comedian, Henry Churney.

Some of the most thought-provoking sessions include:

Islamophobia and far-right extremism: Exploring the impact of the 2024 UK riots

• This session will discuss the concepts of hate, Islamophobia, and far-right extremism, with insights into the recent UK riots. Representatives from the Muslim community will share their personal experiences with Islamophobia, providing a platform to understand the challenges faced by Muslims in the current social climate.

How to make Liverpool a child-friendly city?

• This workshop will raise awareness and understanding of children’s rights and UNICEF’s Child Friendly City initiative. Participants will hear from the Liverpool Child Friendly City team and have an opportunity to apply their learning and contribute to a project capturing children’s voices.

AI in society – Facts, fiction, and representations

• The Terminator and Black Mirror are two examples that portray the future of AI in a dystopian way. This workshop will explore the reasons why AI has been portrayed in such a manner as well as the implications this has had in the public representations of AI since its recent refinements. It will explore and contrast the representations in fiction and in popular discourse with some of the facts, attempting to distinguish the real ethical and technical issues surrounding it from imagined ones. The workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss how we can take action to help our communities understand the real scope, limitations, and ethical challenges that AI implies as opposed to the fictional representations of its implications.

Professor Cate Carroll-Meehan, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at Liverpool Hope University, said:

“The Festival of Futures aims to be more than just an event.

“It is an opportunity to debate, discuss and learn about some of the grand challenges facing us as we head into 2025 and we hope it can spark meaningful action among our staff, students and stakeholders from across Liverpool.

“The festival underscores our commitment to engaging with the local community and we look forward to welcoming the public to experience three days of inspiring innovation and collaboration.”

This is a free event. Attendees must book onto individual sessions as part of the festival. Please claim your free ticket/s via Eventbrite.

To find out more and to view the full line-up, please visit the Festival of Futures website.

Find more events across Liverpool here.