Transformative Times
In February 2019, while Luís, Henrique, and Thomas were working on the strategy for our rebranding, they shared an idea for a journal of speculative strategy. Called Transformative Times, this digital place would allow us to speculate about anything that interested us, individually and collectively. It was the perfect fit for a time when we wanted to get out there and seek solutions for the problems we care about, without having to ask for permission or waiting for the right project. We are happy to share that, today, we are launching something that does just that, and we have the ambition to push it even further in the coming months.
What is Transformative Times?
A permanent project exploring how interconnected systems are shaping and changing our ways of living. In the coming years, we will be exploring a wide range of topics like food, work, housing, ageing, climate change, and democracy.
Let’s unpack this a little. First, a permanent project, this means that we aren’t drawing a finish line for Transformative Times. From our perspective, it could exist as long as With Company does. Secondly, if there is one thing we are certain of, it’s that no matter the challenge, we always start with what looks like a simple problem but inevitably end up exploring interconnected systems — no matter if we are working on projects about antibiotic resistance, abandoned rural land, or an ageing society. Third, ways of living, as Carlota Perez put it, the “aspirational ideal of the good life”, is constantly changing and, most of the time, we aren’t conscious of it.
While we face what everyone hopes is a once-in-a-lifetime event, we aim to shed some light not only on how things are changing but how we might direct this change towards a better society.
The topics we are going to explore are wide-reaching and, often, govern our daily lives. We will be looking at them one at a time, and have several ways to help you understand them, what’s influencing their change and how we might intervene.
How are we starting?
Collectively. As of today, our first With Company initiative inside Transformative Times is live and waiting for your participation: a digital study where we invite you to suggest the world we will inhabit in 2021 and beyond.
Together with this study, we are launching a series of interviews with people who inspire our work and that we believe can help us understand where we are now and where we could go next. We will start with an interview with Nicolas Colin on unbundling the Safety Net, Europe, China, plus the USA; with Philippe Kern on the role of the cultural and artistic industry in building solidarity, and Andrea Bauer on trust in a digitised world.
More will follow.
To make sure you don’t miss anything, and find out more about what we are doing next, subscribe to the Transformative Times newsletter here.
One last question, how are you feeling?
