Possible Media Futures

Rudolf Kabutz, Lausanne Catalyst for Media Engagement, talks about how to think about alternative media futures.

Filmed at European Leadership Forum, 2017

Transcript

Would you like to impact the lives of people using media?

As we move into the future it is so easy to get discouraged by so many changes happening and large uncertainty that we don’t really know how the media is moving and how things are developing. There are many tools we can use to explore that future intentionally.

A really helpful guideline is to begin by exploring the trends that are moving us into the future – particularly the driving forces that are standing behind, that are shaping these trends. As we navigate through these trends, we can see what the expected future looks like. And the expected future is that which is beginning to shape, but which we know with high certainty could be happening.

Then we have a lot of alternatives that we see could be happening. As we navigate through various scenarios, asking, ‘Are people using cell phones intentionally a lot in future, or could they be moving away from using mobile phones?’ Through these alternative scenarios, we can explore ways that we can use media more intentionally.

As we look at various scenarios of the future we can define, what would be the preferred future that we are looking for? What is a key aspect of the future that you feel God is leading you towards – that you believe could be very beneficial to see in society? With having such a vision in place, you can define a clear strategy: What would be the path that helps you navigate into this future?

Now as we use media tools as we communicate with people, we can use these channels to help shape ideas, get new concepts into place that help people navigate through changes and crystallize out a compelling future that is lying up ahead. Now as we move ahead with a strategy, we really want to see impact happening in people’s lives – see communities being transformed. How great to be able to use media tools that can help you navigate through your future but then eventually come to a point where people gain hope, where they can be encouraged, and where they can be inspired to make a difference in the communities in which they live.

I encourage you to be intentional in understanding the world around you – learning how the forces, the trends shape the futures that are happening – be intentional about exploring different alternative futures, different scenarios ]that could be happening, and then walking a clear path – a clear strategy into the future in which you begin using media tools to impact and shape the lives of people who then multiply such positive changes in their communities and thereby people experience what the love of God looks like in a practical way in this world.