Storying Just Futures (SJF) is a joint project of the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Flagship Hub, and Humanities for the Environment North American Observatory, and Create the Change.
At this pivotal moment in time for environmental justice communities, SJF aims to give graduate students, early career faculty, and members of the public opportunities to integrate storytelling and futures thinking into their research, community-facing work, and career planning. Launched in Spring of 2025, Storying Just Futures will culminate in the Spring of 2026 with a Convergence.
Over the course of the year, we will feature public lectures, workshops, and summer research stipends that support graduate students and early career faculty in exploring alternative pathways in a shifting funding landscape impacting careers in the environmental humanities, climate policy, and justice-oriented research and community-facing projects.
As a living, evolving platform, Storying Just Futures stands as a reminder that the future is not something to predict—it is something we can anticipate, plan and story together.
The Power of the ‘Anticipatory Toolbox’
At the core of Storying Just Futures is the belief that storytelling is a fundamental human technology. By integrating humanities-driven methods with sustainability science, the initiative helps youth build futures literacy.
Through workshops, lectures, creative storytelling, and futures-thinking methodologies co-developed with UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES, Storying Just Futures offers workshops and creative experiences that move beyond traditional classroom learning. Participants use diverse creative forms, including writing, performance, dance, and drama, to evaluate what justice looks like across different communities and to express those visions as alternative future scenarios.
Connecting Scholarship to Global Impact
Storying Just Futures serves a broad spectrum of emerging leaders, including graduate students, early-career faculty, and environmental justice advocates. The initiative acts as a bridge, connecting humanities and social science expertise with environmental justice communities across ASU.
Key pillars of the programme’s current work include:
A Mission for Resilience and Equity
The vision of Storying Just Futures is a world where collective agency leads to more equitable and resilient societies. This mission is currently being realised through a series of high-impact events, such as the Futures Literacy Workshops and the Climate Justice webinars, which centre frontline communities and highlight the importance of just transitions.
As the programme looks towards its Fall 2026 Convergence, the focus remains on equipping "change agents" with the confidence to take ownership of the future. By merging creative narrative with environmental research, Storying Just Futures ensures that youth voices are heard, and are positioned to influence the highest levels of global conversation. Through this initiative, the next generation is proving that by "re-storying" our relationship with the planet, we can begin the work of building a more compassionate and just world today.
"Across all its efforts, Storying Just Futures advances one central goal: to equip young people with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to take agency over the future they desire and deserve."
