Topangan Ishan Shapiro has created a revolutionary summer program to prepare young people from 13-18 for their futures offering 21st Century Survival Skills For 21st Century Humans.
Most of us have no idea of the kind of future our children will face but Topanga born and raised Ishan Shapiro spends his life thinking about the future.
In a series of uber-creative laboratories, Future Scouts takes richly diverse groups to futurist corners all over Los Angeles, preparing young participants with survival skills for the 21st century. The scouts develop their abilities to problem-solve, to model complex systems, to evaluate knowledge and to create their own narratives.
Future Scouts does this in two two-week summer sessions, providing knowledge, experiences and tools that help young moderns become authors of their own future. Simply put, they go to cool places and do cool projects. Participants become part of an expanding community that keeps connected. This is not your grandmother’s summer camp.
I met Ishan Shapiro when he was five minutes old. He is my brother’s son. I claim him as my soul mate. His explorative nature was nurtured by the creative, imaginative, playful, natural culture of our unique Topanga mountain home.
He is all grown up now and we meet regularly in the mixed-age learning environment of Futurists, where the experience of age and the creative visions of youth are complementary and valuable friends. Ishan is the founder of Metamaps.cc, an online, real-time, sense-making platform, where stakeholders collaborate and clarify complex systems, including today’s thorniest topics. He lectures, teaches and conducts seminars all over the world.
Future Scouts combines Ishan’s passions for technology, experiential learning, storytelling and the future.
In 2015, he was inspired by friends who run Agile Learning Centers (http://agilelearningcenters.org), an expanding network of micro schools supporting “self-directed” education. Ishan felt kids in L.A. needed a place to explore their tectonically shifting existence. He wanted to establish a peer learning community where youth can talk about their future, learn from one another and have mentoring from instructors in a mixed-age learning environment. By providing knowledge, tools and creative experiences, Future Scouts helps youth develop visions for their preferred futures.
Sponsors include the USC World Building Institute, Two Bit Circus and Oblong Industries. Support also came from Ishan’s network of futurists, artists and educators. The initial program was co-developed with Watson Hartsoe, a self-described story forager and cultural anthropologist; Matthew Stoltz, a design consultant and woodworker; and media artist Megan Daalder, as well as contributions from scores of other modern thinkers across Los Angeles.
Kids from 13-18 have found their way to this amazing program via social networks and word of mouth. Participants in Future Scouts come from all over Los Angeles: Hollywood, South Central, San Fernando Valley, Echo Park and, of course, Topanga.
“Part urban exploration, mobile classroom and creative workshop, Future Scouts encourages creativity, the value of collaboration and intentional and conscious use of technology. Each day we visit community art spaces, next-generation technology companies, co-working spaces, and spend time with invited guests who share their knowledge and experience. We explore and utilize museums and public spaces. Future Scouts creates an opportunity to confront the unknown and expand our future horizons.”
In Future Scouts, participants are encouraged to imagine the world as it can be and are given the tools to learn how to do the strategic planning to bring that world to life.
There are two sessions running in L.A. for Summer 2017: June 19-30 and July 10-21.
The first session’s theme is Future Sounds of 2037, where youth will engage in experimental music production and create their own instruments from the future.
The second session’s theme is Future World’s Fair 2037, focused on defining and designing youths’ preferred future through an urban laboratory for world-building.
Meetup is at their location sponsor in Culver City, The Cliffs of Id. From there, the city is the classroom, Hex Lab Maker Space to USC World Building Lab.
And…it’s by donation for youth of LA.
Future Scouts passionately supports what it believes is the core skill of the 21st century: Self -Directed Learning. An eclectic, joyful and devoted staff helps young participants develop best practices of adaptability, flexibility and resilience—qualities people need to thrive in a quickly changing world.
And…guess what? Adult sessions are in the future! If you are planning a summer experience for your kids, check it out at futurescouts.com.
Vamos a ver!
Paula LaBrot is a 30-year resident of Topanga, a futurist with a special interest in the uncharted waters of cyber space.
