Article on Imagination Activism in Politiken, Danish National Newspaper: "Our Imaginations Have Poor Conditions"
British entrepreneur and imagination activist Phoebe Tickell believes that we need to become much better at imagining far into the future if we want to solve the climate crisis.
In March 2025, our founder and director Phoebe visited Copenhagen for a series of talks and workshops, and to speak at the opening of the new building and centre for social transformation, Thoravej 29. During this time, she was interviewed by the Danish national newspaper, Politiken. You can find the full article by the journalist Sara Vorre Rothstein here.
The essence of the article was that climate activism has seen a decline in recent years in Denmark, and needs to find an alternative. It presents imagination activism as an alternative to fighting the status quo, focusing on envisioning the new and opening up new possibilities.
As usual, Phoebe started her interview by transporting the listener to the year 2050, to demonstrate the power of helping people envision, hear, smell and feel the possibility of a world where our systems were in service of life, and communities and nature all around the world thrived:
“In the future I come from, the Thames runs clean enough to drink by 2035. Bird song fills England's streets as biodiversity returns. And by 2040, creativity becomes a human right, filling the streets with joyful children.”
She goes on to talk about how we have all the resources, technology, and intelligence needed to solve the crises we face. What holds us back isn't capability—it's our ability to imagine what's possible.
The article shares our work with the UK government's interspecies councils, where citizens represented river species rather than humans 🐟🌳. 92% said their relationship with nature changed afterward. 75% changed their behaviour.
This is the power of moral imagination: when we expand our perspective beyond ourselves, to future generations and other species, transformation follows.
Imagination is a muscle. And right now, the world needs us all to exercise it.
What future are you imagining into being?
Read on for the full article below!
Thank you to Sara Vorre Rothstein for the thoughtful journalism and Cecilie Enghardt Rolvung for the beautiful photography. 📸 The full article is below.
Our Imaginations Have Poor Conditions
Interview by Sara Vorre Rothstein and photography by Cecilie Enghardt Rolvung
Phoebe Tickell comes from the future.
Therefore, she knows how the water in the Thames tastes, because the river that winds through London became clean enough to drink from in 2035. When she goes to work, she can hear roaring bird song because biodiversity in the England has been restored to full force. And in 2040, she tells us, creativity became a human right, filling the streets with joyful children eagerly anticipating their school days.
At least that's how Phoebe Tickell presents herself when she holds workshops or participates in debates.
She is an 'imagination activist' and founder of the organisation Moral Imaginations. She has advised English city councils, large corporations, universities, and local communities on thinking long-term and imagining a better future that can lead to concrete solutions in the present.
"Traditional activism focuses on fighting the status quo, and asking how we stop the damage happening today. Imagination activism focuses on envisioning the new, and opens new possibilities," she says.
When the climate engagement has faded a bit, it is because we find it difficult to visualise what a truly regenerative world would look like, according to Phoebe Tickell. If we want to solve the climate crisis, we therefore need to think much further into the future than we are used to.
How far into the future do you think, Phoebe?
"Our society is based on very short-term cycles. In business, there are often five-year strategies, and in politics, there are four-year cycles. We are not trained to think long-term or dwell on the consequences of our actions today. I think at least 100 years into the future because I believe the heart of civilisation is taking responsibility for ensuring there is a civilisation in the future. There is an indigenous sovereign nation in North America called the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, who for thousands of years have exercised something called the Haudenosaunee principle: they always think seven generations ahead in their decisions. I find that inspiring. Imagine if we considered the needs of future generations in our decision making in Western societies too?"
Has our imagination become rusty?
"Yes and no. Actually, there is a lot of imagination at play when you see what government leaders and powerful technology giants are doing globally to democracy, social cohesion and the environment. They are changing the world order, putting profit above everything else, and being hugely imaginative – but for the interest of a small group of powerful people. It is certainly imaginative, but it is not morally imaginative. My definition of moral imagination is to envision the welfare of the entire society, including future generations," says Phoebe Tickell and adds:
"Our imagination has poor conditions. There is very little room to imagine another world in a busy everyday life where we are bombarded with negative news and threatening future scenarios. It can be paralysing, and therefore there is a need to awaken the belief that there is an alternative future so we can find the motivation and courage to act. Imagination is a muscle that needs to be built and trained from schools to organisations to activist movements."
Isn't there a danger of getting caught up in imagination without acting?
"When you change the way you see the world and your relationship with nature and other people, it changes your behaviour. You might start flying less or planting more trees in your local area, once you’ve envisioned the kind of regenerative future you would like to be living in. It can also be about imaginatively putting yourself in the place of other people or species," says Phoebe Tickell and gives a concrete example of an exercise she has done in collaboration with the British government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
"We held a citizen assembly with the government, which was about protecting the River Roding. An ecologist identified the key species that live by the river, and instead of the citizens representing humans, each of them had to represent one of these species. It could be for example a tree, a bird, a fish, or insect. They were then given two weeks to research their species and understand the challenges it faces, so they could subsequently bring the species' perspective into the debate. After the event, which is called an Interspecies Council, we asked people about the changes in their perception and their behaviour. And what we heard back was that 92% of those who participated said afterward that their relationship with nature had changed, and 75% changed their behaviour patterns. The power of imagination, visualisation and perspective shifts is that they go on to influence behaviour. And this is crucial, because action is what really matters."
It sounds like an imagination activist is a climate activist?
“The climate movement stopped making sense to me. I think there is a tendency to separate problems that are interconnected. Feminists fight for women's rights, climate activists fight for the climate, but we are in a crisis that spans broader than that. There is a crisis in the way we imagine ourselves, our relationship with nature, and the future. I fundamentally believe that we have all the resources, technology, and intelligence needed to solve the crises we face. It is a lack of action and belief in what is possible that holds us back."
How do you think people living 100 years from now will look back on us?
"They will question how it was possible to know so much about the impact of climate change and do so little. And they will probably think: Wow, that was the era when you lived with microplastics in your brain, ate meat filled with antibiotics, were addicted to your phones, and worked 10-12 hours a day in totally polluted cities - how did you survive?
Maybe they’ll be shocked at those things. I think they will look back at the epidemic of loneliness and question why we didn’t come together more, and build community. Hopefully they will be in a better situation than we are, rather than worse – and it is crucial to imagine their perspective because it highlights our responsibility to the future today."
You can read the full article on the Politiken website here.