The foresight workshop Emotion Ecosystems 2040 was conducted on 📅 24-25th of June 2025, as part of the project Eye of Europe . 

Over the course of the two-day workshop, the participants explored the theme of emotion ecosystems by working through a structured process in three facilitated groups, whose composition shifted at key moments. The work began by framing the concept of “emotion ecosystems” in terms of a curated set of societal tensions, each expressing the strain between a shared aspiration and its undesirable consequences: 🌀 Hyperconnection vs Isolation; 🌍Craving for unity vs Tribal polarization; 🩹 Healing collective traumas vs Solitary coping ...and more.

To delve into these tensions, participants applied the Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) framework twice: first, 🔍to examine the present by unpacking common narratives, systemic structures, shared worldviews, and deep cultural metaphors; and then again, in a creative key, 💡to imagine preferable futures. This second phase involved reconstructing alternative metaphors, beliefs, and systemic designs, supported by a short horizon scanning exercise based on a set of pre-existing and participant-generated key drivers of change. 

The MUSAE Factory Model is a cutting-edge approach to help companies stay ahead in a rapidly evolving world by fostering artistic experimentation with advanced technologies. It provides a structured, future-driven innovation model that empowers SMEs and startups in collaboration with creatives and artists in envisioning future scenarios and creating innovative, future-driven solutions. At its core, the Factory Model is based on the Design Futures Art-driven (DFA) method, which blends Design Futures and Art Thinking approaches.

Factory Model Pack is developed primarily for (European) Digital Innovation Hubs, companies, artists and designers to initiate and support art-tech collaboration. Beyond this, the Design Futures Art-driven (DFA) method has been also widely used and applied in the educational activities in universities. 

“The fabric of society is woven with emotional threads, from empathy to outrage, and it is these feelings that shape both harmony and conflict in the world.” — Dalai Lama

Emotion Ecosystems 2040 — the foresight workshop hosted by Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) within the Eye of Europe project — was an inspiring, mind-expanding experience! The co-creation workshop was held on 📅24-25 June 2025 at 📌Conacul Cozieni, near Bucharest, Romania.

💡The event explored the concept of emotion ecosystems — the dynamic, interwoven emotional currents that shape our collectives, whether in communities, institutions, or digital spaces.
To capture this complexity, the event brought together voices from across Europe and from various disciplines: social psychology, psychotherapy, anthropology, philosophy, cultural history, spirituality, political science, art and the creative industries, journalism, media studies, science and technology studies, and robotics.

One portion of the workshop was dedicated to surfacing emotional tensions that mark our time:
🌀 Hyperconnection vs Isolation; 🌍Craving for unity vs Tribal polarization; 🩹 Healing collective traumas vs Solitary coping ...and many more. Using Causal Layered Analysis, participants unpacked these tensions through multiple layers — from surface narratives and systemic structures to the deeper worldviews and metaphors/myths that sustain them.

From there, each working group leaned into the future:
💡 by exploring drivers of change relevant for the tension discussed in their group, and then
💡 by discussing and proposing new metaphors, worldviews, beliefs, and systems that could soften or transform these tensions. Ultimately, the goal was to imagine what more desirable emotional futures might look like.

We help people and organisations imagine, work with, and shape their future. 

CIFS is one of the worlds oldest think tanks exclusively focusing on foresight. CIFS teach very popular courses in foresight, gives key notes and launch various initiatives and do research projects. CIFS is a self-owned think tank, completely independent of special interests. 

4CF The Futures Literacy Company is a consultancy entirely focused on strategic foresight and long-term strategies. For nearly two decades, 4CF has been on the mission to help its clients prepare for an uncertain tomorrow. The Company has executed hundreds of projects for private companies, public institutions and international entities, including the European Commission and its agencies (EUDA, ENISA), FAO, UNFCCC, UNESCO, UNEP and UNDP. 4CF is at the forefront of global innovation, and actively contributes to the development of cutting-edge foresight tools, including 4CF HalnyX (Delphi platform), 4CF Sprawlr, 4CF FLEx.

The Inspire project has been running at MOMus since 2012. In a fascinating anarchic creative environment, young artists are invited to create original artworks in one week under the guidance of an established artist. At the same time, curators are invited to set up the exhibition just hours before the official opening.

Merging Design Futures and Art Thinking approaches for responsible, sustainable and future-proof innovation.

MUSAE aims to set up a Human-Centred Factory Model, based on the Design Future Art-driven (DFA) method, and integrate it into a (European) Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) network, to support companies in guiding strategic digital technology innovation and address future challenges in the food domain to improve people and planet wellbeing. 

MUSAE will establish a deep connection with the S+T+ARTS ecosystem, bringing together expertise in design, art, nutrition and wellbeing, and human-machine interaction. MUSAE will run 20 S+T+ARTS residencies involving 20 artists and 10 tech companies working with 3 main technologies – Artificial Intelligence, Wearables, and Robotics – to envision 10 future scenarios for technologies application and design 10 prototypes, thus opening up new markets and innovations. To validate replicability, MUSAE will set up and activate one Factory within the DIH partner and create the Factory Model Pack and the Label that will allow other DIHs to adopt it.

S+T+ARTS is an initiative of the European Commission, launched under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme to support collaborations between artists, scientists, engineers and researchers.

MISSION
Science, technology and arts (STARTS for short) limn a nexus at which insightful observers have identified extraordinarily high potential for innovation. And innovation is precisely what’s called for if we’re to master the social, ecological and economic challenges that Europe will be facing in the near future. With the S+T+ARTS initiative, the European Commission’s focus is on projects and people that have the potential to make meaningful contributions to this effort.

VISION
S+T+ARTS is driven by the conviction that science and technology combined with an artistic viewpoint also open valuable perspectives for research and business, through a holistic and human-centered approach.

STRATEGY
S+T+ARTS is sustained by the STARTS Pillars that represent all the dimensions STARTS works with. Different funded projects offer complementary opportunities and services.

The i-Portunus Houses project, implemented on behalf of the European Commission by a consortium of three partners – the European Cultural Foundation (coordinator), MitOst, and Kultura Nova Foundation – was dedicated to testing and analysing diverse transnational mobility schemes for the cultural sector. Apart from granting support for local hosts from all Creative Europe countries for the mobility of artists and cultural professionals, the project also included research on mobility in culture and the design of policy recommendations.

In the research, the mobility of artists and cultural professionals is understood as the temporary, cross-border travel of artists and cultural professionals with the purpose of creating, connecting, exploring and learning. The research was carried out by experts from different disciplines with Dea Vidović being the research leader. As a result of the aforementioned research, in 2022 Kultura Nova Foundation published a 4-volume publication. Each volume represents one of the research sections: 

(1) conceptual framework of mobility in culture; 

(2) the study on mobility in culture from the perspectives of artists, cultural professionals, hosts and funders; 

(3) an evaluation of i-Portunus Houses mobility grant scheme and 

(4) scenario for the future of mobility in culture.  

The research covers a wide range of topics related to mobility in culture, such as its participatory and networking dimension, its digital dimension and virtual mobility, as well as its green dimension. The culmination of the research, alongside extensive recommendations and action points for sustainable mobility, is Scenario for the Future which introduces a new concept of "slow mobility".

https://culturalfoundation.eu/programmes/i-portunus-houses/ 

https://kulturanova.hr/eng/rampd/projects/i-portunus-houses