Tareq Emtairah, Helen Avery & Khaldoon Mourad
Post Conflict Futures is an ongoing project, where displaced Syrian academics meet in Visioning Labs and a global scenario group to jointly reflect on possible future developments and to look for actionable leverage points to work proactively for sustainable transitions. The collective visioning aims to identify aspects that may be critical in strategies for sustainable post conflict reconstruction, notably in the socio-technical implications of different infrastructure options. A crisis such as that in Syria creates shocks to infrastructure and people. These shocks generate emergencies and responses. But the collapse of existing structures can also open opportunities for a paradigm shift. In several cases, infrastructure shocks have opened opportunities that enable higher order learning with the potential to catalyse a transition towards sustainable and resilient structures (Broto et al., 2014). This has implications to the design of processes and practices to rebuild communities.Importantly, and considering the complexity of the challenges, holistic reflection is supported by the compression that results from fitting highly complex issues into an ongoing conversation in a small group of people, with diverse backgrounds. The format makes it possible to draw on tacit and cultural knowledge, as well as the differing professional experiences of participants.
