Bali Futures Forum

The inaugural Bali Futures Forum was held in Uluwatu, South Bali, on 20 July 2026. It brought together practitioners working across diplomacy, foresight, technology, education, sustainability, design, science and culture. A common question connected the gathering: what does it mean to practise futures well?

The Forum considered how futures practice can improve the conditions around us and help societies respond intelligently to what lies ahead. Participants brought different methods and vocabularies to an intimate, off-the-record setting designed for candid exchange, collaborative enquiry and reflection.

Bali Futures Forum was co-hosted by Futures Imagined Ltd and Tent Futures. Seven sessions opened distinct windows onto the future, examining questions of adaptive capacity, heritage, meaning, artificial intelligence, work, travel, education, art, science and design.

Honor Harger and Cheryl Chung opening the Bali Futures Forum — Honor Harger and Cheryl Chung opening the inaugural Bali Futures Forum. Image courtesy of Bali Futures Forum.

Sessions

Seven windows onto the future

Different questions were held together by a common purpose: putting futures practice in the service of people, communities and the planet.

01

The Future of Adaptive Capacity

This conversation examined how climate advocacy can shape perceptions of what vulnerable nations are capable of surviving. It considered how narratives of vulnerability can mobilise support, but can also diminish recognition of local knowledge, agency and adaptive capacity.
02

Batik Motifs of the Future

Led by Cheryl Chung, this interactive making workshop invited participants to imagine possible worlds through heritage and pattern. Participants developed batik motifs inspired by the values, rituals, environments and forms of work they hoped might endure or emerge.
03

The Future of Meaning-Making

Vaughn Tan explored meaning-making as a vital human capacity: how we decide what matters, create value and navigate genuine uncertainty in a future increasingly shaped by AI. Konstantin Levinski complemented this discussion by explaining the architecture of risk associated with artificial intelligence.
04

AI and the Future of Work

This session considered how AI might enhance strategic, creative and organisational work. It examined what can be delegated to machines, what must remain a matter of human judgement and where people should direct their attention as working practices change.
05

The Future of Travel and Connection

Marko Russiver used Wayfolk, his platform for place-based connection, as the starting point for a conversation about how meaningful relationships might be created and sustained across increasingly mobile lives.
06

The Future of Education

Led by Esther O'Callaghan OBE, this interactive workshop considered whether education is keeping pace with emerging technology, who risks being left behind and what young people need in order to shape what comes next.
07

The Future of Art, Science and Design

This emersive lecture explored what becomes possible when creative imagination, scientific enquiry and design practice meet. It considered how these disciplines can work together to make emerging questions tangible, engage different publics and expand the range of futures we are able to imagine.