Adolescents Shaping Their Future: A Foresight Toolkit

Adolescents Shaping Their Future: A Foresight Toolkit is for the use of UNICEF staff and partners in countries around the world. It provides an introduction to foresight and an overview of some of the main methodologies appropriate for use with adolescents. The toolkit draws on the best available tools and resources from governments, the private sector, academia and civil society organizations. Hyperlinks are included throughout the guide to facilitate easy access to online toolkits and facilitation manuals.

Foresight approaches enable adolescents to positively and creatively re-imagine their futures, shape alternatives and develop pathways to achieve them. This can be particularly formative in situations where their regular lives have been interrupted or prospects are deeply uncertain, including situations of conflict and displacement. Similarly, it could be a positive tool to engage adolescents living in areas with high levels of poverty and violence, or in areas threatened by climate change or environment degradation that face relocation in coming years. Such exercises should move adolescents from feelings of powerlessness in the face of overwhelming circumstances to self-determination and possibility.