Marta feels a sense of lightness today despite wading through ankle-deep water. She stops to admire the old shipyard that for two centuries has been the centre of work in Malmö—where the first ships that sailed the world were built, then where computer programs were conceived and knowledge digitalised. Today it is the heart of Malmö bringing food, materials and wealth to all the inhabitants of the city in the form of growing algae. The old shipyard is the headquarters and biggest site of the Malmö Algae Co-op, which produces algae for food, energy and materials for clothes, buildings and electronics. Like most companies today, it is a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) collectively owned by all inhabitants of Malmö, including Marta herself.
Marta sits down on a bench to enjoy the surroundings, breathing in the fresh air and the smell of algae. It is still early. She is in no rush; she doesn’t need to be at work until the sun makes it unbearable to walk around without a shade. Algae grows vertically on the walls of the red-brick buildings of the old Kockums shipyard. With water all around, it reminds Marta of the pictures of Mangrove forests. She watches the people who, like herself, are on their way towards the main building of Malmö Algae. In afternoons and evenings, the place turns into the collective living room of the city. It is here where artists and creators gather to share their work, and families and friends meet for parties into the late hours. When Marta feels the sun heat up the fabric of the back of her shirt, she gets up and stomps on to join others on their way towards the main building. It’s her second day in this gig, so most faces are new to her.
Inside she finds Per, the lead on this operation. Two days ago, the city of Rotterdam was hit by a severe flood that damaged the infrastructure. Thousands had to flee their homes. Malmö Algae is coordinating a regional effort to send help and supplies and the shipment leaves tonight. Per updates Marta on the incoming materials from the region and points to a pile of boxes containing algae-based energy bars and drinks. Per tells her the food production team has spent all night preparing additional supplies to be sent today. Marta finds a computer and connects with the community representative in Rotterdam to inform them help is on its way.
In thinking about a future of work in an era of climate disruptions we are inspired by a future scenario created by Vinnova (the Swedish Innovation Agency), which they articulated in a call for future prototype ideas to ‘understand and visualise objects from a possible future’. The scenario ‘we adapt and live in community’, speaks about a future where society has become decentralised and innovation happens organically in the context of increased climate disruptions. In our investigation, we aimed to shed light on the intersection of work and climate change to inspire reflection, conversation and action towards a world in which time and effort contribute towards a better future for all.
Futures prototype
This book uses a narrative told by a person called Marta as a possible future. It’s a letter from three or so generations into the future. It’s taken from the audio piece central to the futures prototype We work, we share, we care created by the visual artist Mariella Ottosson in collaboration with Media Evolution at Stora varvsgatan 6 in Malmö, Sweden.
The reason for creating an art installation in the shape of a futures prototype is to inspire collective reflection over the future of Malmö and the role that work played, plays and will play in defining the identity of the city—and other places. This is one reason why the neighbourhood of Varvsstaden in general and Stora Varvsgatan 6 in particular is central to the story. The site, built 100 years ago as part of Kockums shipyard, now at the heart of creative, knowledge-based and digital industries in Malmö. By looking 100 years into the future, we can host conversations around how work is changing, what changes cities might undergo, and what opportunities for value creation, collective action and collaboration might open up.
Central to the futures prototype are an audio piece, the objects from Varvsstaden's archive, the living sea oak algae and three video pieces on the installation themes, as well as this book. The videos take a past (blue), present (neutral) and near future (red) perspective, in which the past is 2022 and the near future represents Marta's imaginary view of the world.
Work
Paid labour is the core of our economies—not only how the workforce spends its time but also how we organise value distribution, provide for our families and fellow citizens, and fuel consumption. This book and the futures protype it springs from, wish to inspire rethinking of dominant structures and bring new imaginations by exploring questions such as, ‘how will mega-trends, like climate change, and the emergence of new technologies, such as blockchain, enable greater value creation, and distribution and organisation beyond our current fossil-fuel dependant economic system?’, ‘what constitutes meaningful work in the era of climate disruptions?’, ‘what will the meaning be of a career, purpose and work identity in a world where collaboration and cooperation are dominant values?’, ‘what if work only contributes to the wellbeing of other human beings and nature?’.
To imagine a world where work needs to have a purpose and take care of our ecosystems, we have been inspired by signals. These include how most millennials would take a pay cut to work at a environmentally responsible company; president Biden’s proposal for a Civilian Climate Corps that would employ thousands of young people to address climate change, strengthen natural defences and maintain public lands; and the call for a planetary consciousness to create solidarity and rights beyond nation states.
In terms of the changing nature of work and value creation, a central signal that has informed the prototype and this book is the rise of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs). The fact that value, with the use of blockchain technology can be pre-distributed through smart contracts and that DAOs are extends what is valuable from single handed “work-to-earn” model to potentially include concepts “play-to-earn”, “learn to earn” or “create to earn”.
Responses to climate change
The project combines effects of climate change leading to sea level rise, floods and warming temperatures and the increasing need for humanitarian response due to natural disasters around the world. Climate disruptions and global crises place increasing pressure on our global food, energy and production systems. To ensure resilience, we need to shorten value chains and transition towards local and bioregional production—also in order to regenerate our depleted ecosystems. We build on signals on the potential for algae for food, flue, energy and materials.
We seek to inspire new imaginations beyond the dystopian-utopian binary when it comes to climate change. We are already seeing and feeling the effects of a changing climate, and according to some scenarios, even if we drastically reduce emissions today, the sea level will rise in Malmö by 30cm by the end of this century. This does not mean that there is no room for action—quite the opposite as scenarios where little or no change in emissions are achieved are extremely disturbing. However, what it does mean is that we need to start to come to terms with a changing climate and its implications for us and future generations. This at a time when we need to transform our societies to live within planetary boundaries and regenerate natural ecosystems.
This narrative is based on a scenario collectively conceived and developed by core group participants in a Collaborative Foresight cycle. The group's voice was captured and creatively expanded by the writer.
