We created U+ by bringing together nearly 100 artists, activists, researchers, who had in common the intersection of creation, futures and ecological-social transformation, as well as being interested in the plurality of futures.
We then had no existence, no track record, no network. Just a little money and a lot of energy.
Six years later, we (U+, its members and friends) have learned and changed a lot. The world has also changed, not necessarily for the better.
It’s time to come together again.
We now have many achievements to our credit, 600 members, the beginnings of notoriety.
But no money.
How to organize an international event without money?
There are obvious answers: we can find some money; we can organize a frugal event (stay with locals, cook together, partner with other events, etc.), etc.
But we also want to turn this handicap into an asset: how can the absence of money help us imagine an event - and the process that leads to it - differently, with more meaning?
We propose to (largely) replace money with two other currencies: time - we give ourselves until the end of 2026 - and energy - ours, but also yours!
This begins by imagining a process that begins now and ends with an international meeting, which will draw its meaning from what has preceded it.
We have imagined a collective journey in three stages:
- Memory and learning : we want to invite you to share what you and we have learned over these six years: about what it means to work on futures, imaginations, stories; on the links between creation and ecological-social transformations; on what plurality means… Let us build together a memory resulting from our practices, experiences and research!
- Links: on this basis, we want to renew the conversation around the questions and projects that motivate you today. What do you do, how, with whom, and why? What would you like to share beyond your natural networks? What subjects, what points of attention, seem more important to you today than yesterday?
U+1 : We would also like to take this moment to extend the conversation to others, by asking you to invite someone else, who is not yet part of the U+ conversation.
- Our Futures: finally, with a view to the 2026 meeting, we invite you to talk about our futures - those of U+, yours and what connects them: what would/should we do? What shouldn’t we do anymore? Where do we need each other? If we meet physically, what do we expect? (and how to include those who can not participate?)…
This is just the outline of a plan.
It will only make sense if you want to participate in it.
And then you will change it. Without money, but with passion!
