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Stories for the future of Europe

Join us in exploring the possibilities of the future! Share your future perspectives, discover other people’s visions, and engage in a dialogue on what Europe and the world may look like in the future. We collect, share and distribute your visions in our stories database.

Share your visions of the future!

Your ideas matter – shape the future you want! Share your visions of tomorrow and join us in creating a narrative that inspires citizens, policymakers, and foresight experts. Together, we can co-create the future.

Write your future story and answer a few questions

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Take a look at the #ourfutures dashboard for some numbers

Your story, and those of others, are presented to EU policymakers

Stories - find your inspiration!

Stories do shape futures. Dive into the video tutorials to explore how future narratives are born. Further below, browse trough a series of inspiring, thought-provoking stories around challenges and opportunities of our futures.

Share your visions of the future!

Share your visions of the future!

Get inspiration from the Storiesfrom2050 project
Inside the first self-sustainable city on Mars - by ABIBOO studio
Inside the first self-sustainable city on Mars - by ABIBOO studio
Construction of the city of Nüwa could start in 2054 and will see 250,000 people live inside the rock of a steep cliff. Freeze my body, melt me in 80 years, and send me to Mars. Architecture studio ABIBOO has revealed its plans to create the first self-sustainable city on the Red Planet, which is set to be ready for residents in 2100. The city will be called Nüwa and will be located at Tempe Mensa on one of the Martian cliffs. Its position inside a rock on the steep cliff will protect its residents from radiation and meteorites (cool!) while still giving them
Play the videos to learn how future narratives are born and how they can be rewritten
Play the videos to learn how to use the OurFutures dashboard for analysis or workshops

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#OurFutures stories by EU citizens
Enfin libre
Enfin libre
It is 7:30 a.m. the awakening of the AI comes to give me the weather, and also the state of traffic in the aerobuses. I will prepare and reach the station where I will find the regulars who live in the same community island. This weekend if the weather permits, I will be able to spend two days away from the city in the protected nature.I am an average manager in a company specializing in agronomy, we manage breeders and growers who work in very well equipped farms. The world lives in peace and personal spirituality has replaced false religions. Politics too is curtailed and everything is run by assemblies of sages aided by AI. There is no longer a dictatorial Europe and everything is decided at the local level by the sages who change every three years. All the lies of the old elites were exposed and the protagonists were heavily punished. The drug has been almost completely eradicated and specialized recreation centers offer even stronger but safe and addiction-free sensations. The education of children is the subject of great attention and many harmful subjects are no longer taught. The death penalty has been reinstated for serious crimes, many judgments are rendered by AI and confirmed by sages.
International world
International world
Ideally, I like to think of a future in 2040 for example, that is even more international that the world we live in today. In fact, I consider that nowadays, when compared to the previous years and the generation of my parents and grandparents, our reality is way more international and I've lived it myself. But I like to believe that in the future it will be even more easy to travel and explore other countries and share international experiences worldwide. However, I'm afraid that these expectations I have in mind for the future might be stopped by wars and international conflicts related to politics.
The European Dream
The European Dream
After the severe economic shock of 2026–2030, triggered by rising US geopolitical instability, a stock market crash, and the first major wave of AI-driven job displacement, hope felt in short supply. Across Europe, people shared the same anxious question: How did we let this happen again? Memories of the 2008 financial crisis returned, along with the unsettling sense that the world was moving backwards. The years that followed were marked by chaos, anger and growing polarisation. But from that instability came a realisation: Europe’s future could not be built on division. It could only be built on deeper cooperation. As the world became more fragmented, Europeans began to understand a simple truth more clearly than ever before: divided, we are weak; united, we are strong. By the early 2030s, politics began to change. Citizens stopped rewarding outrage, blame and division, and started demanding compromise, seriousness and shared purpose. Political leaders responded. What followed was something few had thought possible: the European Union federalised, and a new kind of superpower emerged. Europe did not rise through conquest, aggression or domination. It rose through cohesion, partnership and collaboration. We cut through the bureaucracy that had long slowed progress, not to pursue growth at any cost, but to build growth that was sustainable, fair and widely shared. Europe became more agile, more innovative and more confident in shaping its own destiny. As tensions between China and the United States deepened, Europe became the world’s common ground: a reliable partner, a trusted trading bloc, and a defender of liberal democracy, human rights and international order. In an increasingly unstable world, it became one of the few places where peace, predictability and freedom still felt secure. Now, in 2040, the European experiment is thriving. Europe has become a global centre of innovation, economic dynamism and social stability. The European Dream is no longer an aspiration, but a reality: a society where people have the freedom to build a business, raise a family and live with dignity and peace of mind. We have reversed population decline. In 2039, the EU recorded its highest birth rate in decades. Cross-European relationships and identities have flourished, helped by expanded Erasmus programmes and greater mobility across the Union. More and more people now see themselves not as French, Portuguese or Dutch first, but as European first, and proudly rooted in their region second. Europe also chose a different path on technology. While other powers used AI to intensify competition, control and division, the EU focused on using it to improve lives, strengthen public services and support strategic resilience. As a united bloc, we achieved far greater independence in energy, production and food security. Rather than causing mass long-term unemployment, this technological transition helped unlock a new era of job creation, renewal and opportunity. And Europe did not turn inward. It remained open to the world and became its safest and most trusted economic partner. The euro became the world’s leading reserve currency. Investment flowed toward stability, credibility and the rule of law. The Union continued to grow, with the UK rejoining in 2032 and Ukraine becoming part of the European project as well. Looking back from 2040, it is clear that the crises of the late 2020s did not destroy the European idea. They forced it to evolve. At the moment when everything seemed to be falling apart, Europe discovered that the only way forward was together. The European Dream became not just a vision of survival, but a model of renewal for the world.
Einigkeit macht stark
Einigkeit macht stark
Ukraine's war and Trump's government have awakened the Europeans. Ukraine was forced to make peace, NATO was prevented by the US, and it was admitted to the EC. The EC has set up a joint army, some of which is based in Ukraine. The bureaucracy has been radically simplified, applications must be completed after 6 months at the latest. Britain is back in the EC. Council of Europe decisions need 60 percent approval. The blockade of individual states no longer exists.
Annika.r.hansson@gmail.com
Annika.r.hansson@gmail.com
It's hard to think so far because I'm 75 now. Above all, I want my children and grandchildren to live in a safe world with democratic values, have the opportunity to work and education based on their conditions , have access to a nature that is not private and also a culture that is not expensive
lubicaantalikova@gmail.com
lubicaantalikova@gmail.com
The future would be colorful and colorful, the main topics in society would be respect, empathy and communication. The environment would not be filled with competition, beauty and perfection, but by emphasizing the individuality of the individual. From materialism to minimalism, people would be accepted as they are. The company would like to address the ecological crisis in a targeted manner.
denis.dogan@outlook.de
denis.dogan@outlook.de
It would be nice if in 2040 viruses such as HIV and annoying pestilences such as cancer were to be considered eradicated. It would be nice if you could already determine at birth whether the child has serious diseases to expect, which you can then immediately eradicate. It would be nice if inflation could be reduced to a minimum. It would be nice if religions no longer matter. Because there is religion. Wars that can be prevented.
Älter werden im Dorf
Älter werden im Dorf
Ich bin älter geworden. Ich habe mir mit meinem Partner den Traum erfüllt, nochmal ein Haus zu bauen - im Garten des alten Hauses war ja schließlich noch Platz! Kleiner als das alte Haus ist es nicht geworden, dafür besser aufgeteilt. Wir haben uns in die obere Wohnung zurückgezogen - das Büro im Untergeschoss wird nicht mehr gebraucht, seit wir uns aus dem Arbeitsleben zurückgezogen haben. Jetzt dient es als Appartement, wenn Kinder und Enkel zu Besuch kommen. Unsere Nachbarschaft verändert sich ständig. Trennungen und Todesfälle sorgen für Wechsel. Die Häuser stehen nicht lange leer. Es ist sehr beliebt, im Dorf zu wohnen. Hier achtet man immer noch aufeinander und das Zusammenleben funktioniert. Es gibt viele Angebote für Jung und Alt, dem meisten Leuten ist es wichtig, sich ehrenamtlich zu engagieren. Insgesamt eine gute Umgebung, älter zu werden.
Mon rêve pour les nations
Mon rêve pour les nations
I hope that nations will have understood that borders are indispensable for the survival of peoples, and must be re-established. I also hope that the European Commission will no longer be corrupt (we can dream...) or phagocytized by a corrupt woman and her minions. I hope that the national peoples will understand that it is up to them, and only them, to decide their future. Europe is just a continent, it is the countries that matter and must be sovereign at home. I would like, when I travel, to be able to do it safely, and discover the particularities of each country, without being in a standardized universe, otherwise, what interest is there in traveling? I would like countries to protect themselves and their nationals, and we should no longer be seen as the trash can of the world, where we can send all waste, whatever it may be. Let nature, animals, be respected and no longer exploited for the benefit of a minority that sees itself as an elite.
soloicewind@yahoo.com
soloicewind@yahoo.com
The Eu will dissilve. USA, Russia and China come to maybe not ideal, but still mutuallí acceteble agreement where Euope will have no choice at all except to adjust to the new World order. They will have to nomalise their reletionship with everyone. All those who won't comply, will be exiles, as simple as that. No Brussels dictate any more. National goverments will prevail. No LGBT, only conservative approach.
kerjaan.dea@gmail.com
kerjaan.dea@gmail.com
I would like 2040 to be antidiscriminate for people above 26 years old to get job. I mean here 26 years old is unmet to apply jobs. I mean its limited only from 18 to 25 years old. And the rest people are jobless even 40s and 50s years old. The issues are a lot. But i can't believe it its difficult here also to do business or self employee. Because everyone also have no job, and less moneys, to buy our products very challenging. I wanna see this will improved and people are secure financialy, can pay taxes, more integrity, prosper. I can't describe the future would be. Clearly, the future i wish is full of blessings and prosperity.
mfkali1953@orange.fr
mfkali1953@orange.fr
I think that European life and people in 2040 will be completely different from what they are today. I will in principle be 86 years old, and I believe that if I go out again I will no longer recognise the places I know as they are today. With the immigration of people from communities and religions different from ours, which is growing at a very high rate, it will be necessary to share work and wealth so that everyone lives decently and intelligently. But can I still say that the future of the generations of my children, grandchildren and others anguish me a lot, and that I am not the only one who thinks so?
Stories

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