What the Future Wants

What the Future Wants is a youth initiative from Tactical Tech that aims to put young people in the driving seat of their digital futures through education, co-creation and capacity building.

Young people grow up in an environment that is increasingly driven by and dependent upon digital technologies. Their social, learning and play spaces are being encroached upon by ubiquitous technologies so that the divide between public and private, online and offline is being eroded. At a time of crucial development this leaves them exposed to a unique set of challenges, such as tech habits and addiction, information pollution, algorithms and discrimination and data surveillance.

The What the Future Wants project seeks to define and address these challenges alongside young people and those that support them. Through research, educational curricula and creative interventions, we will work towards increasing the data literacy of the next generation so that they can think critically and proactively about the digital environment they want to live in now and in the future.

The project includes among others:

• What the Future Wants exhibition – a public education intervention, co-developed with young people, that explores the impacts of technology on society.
• Data Detox x Youth – an activity book to help young people take control of their tech. This interactive toolkit encourages young people to think about different aspects of their digital lives, from their social media profiles to their passwords, with simple activities for reflection and play. The activity book includes sections on digital privacy, digital security, digital wellbeing and misinformation.