MANIFESTO FOR THE FUTURE
Ideas, Dialogue and Collage: Young People Create a “Manifesto for the Future”
As part of the Maggio Libri Europa programme, the Europe Direct Vesuvian Area centre promoted and organised “Manifesto for the Future”, an initiative within our Active Citizenship Workshops. These workshops place active participation and creativity at their heart and are designed to give younger generations space and a voice to express their visions for the future.
Through two engaging and thought-provoking sessions, participants took the time to reflect on the major challenges of the present and the future, transforming their doubts, fears and hopes into ideas and collages.
The first session took place on 5 May, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and was entirely devoted to open discussion and debate. The conversation focused on highly topical issues that directly affect young people's everyday lives and future careers: from the growing impact of artificial intelligence and its implications for the relationship between humans and technology, to the profound transformations currently taking place in the world of work.
Special attention was given to sustainability and climate change, exploring the dual role of technology as both a potential resource and a challenge for the planet. The dialogue gave participants the opportunity to share their views and concerns, as well as positive perspectives on how to navigate the digital and ecological transitions in their personal lives.
During the second session, held on 12 May, theoretical reflection gave way to practical work and a hands-on workshop. Building on the ideas that emerged during the first discussion, the group translated concepts and visions into visual works using the collage technique. By cutting, combining and rearranging different materials, the young participants created their own personal “manifestos for the future”: graphic and symbolic representations expressing the fears and hopes of young people in relation to society and European institutions.
This two-stage journey — from open discussion of key issues to their visual synthesis through collage — highlighted once again the importance and need to create informal spaces for dialogue among younger generations. These are spaces where active citizenship can be built step by step, through reflection, exchange and participatory activities.
