A journey to 2226 to persuade people to change the present. In Marina di Bibbona, in the province of Livorno, a group of tourists is symbolically transported to the year 2226 to meet the inhabitants of the future and see the environmental consequences of today’s choices. This is at the heart of Dear Future, the research project promoted for the second consecutive year by the Department of Psychology at the University of Milano-Bicocca.
Through virtual reality and other immersive narrative formats, the campsite is transformed into a field laboratory dedicated to the relationship between climate change, emotions and intergenerational responsibility. The campaign, launched at the beginning of the summer and scheduled to continue until the first days of September, is still under way. It has already involved around 600 people in the studies and recorded more than 1,000 attendances at science communication activities, with over 500 children taking part in scientific and educational activities.
«We asked ourselves,» explains Alessandro Gabbiadini, project coordinator and lecturer in Cyberpsychology, «whether representing future generations in a more concrete way could strengthen people’s sense of responsibility and willingness to adopt more sustainable behaviours. The research focuses in particular on the role of emotions such as fear, hope, helplessness and efficacy: an alarming message may increase the perception of urgency, but it may also generate rejection or paralysis; a positive scenario may instead encourage engagement, while also risking a reduction in the perceived seriousness of the situation.»
In the first phase, participants symbolically meet people from the future through short stories accompanied by images. In one scenario, the inhabitants of the future describe a more sustainable world and thank people in the present for the decisions that helped make it possible. In another, they describe a future marked by rising temperatures and the social consequences of inaction on climate change.
A second part of the project uses immersive virtual reality to transform the future from an abstract concept into an experiential practice. After putting on a headset, participants symbolically travel through time and arrive in a city in the year 2226. There, they meet two people who describe the world in which they live and, depending on the scenario, the account may highlight the environmental and social consequences of climate change or focus on other aspects.
During the activities, the researchers analyse the positive and negative emotions associated with the scenarios, the level of identification with future generations and participants’ intentions to adopt pro-environmental behaviours, such as reducing the use of single-use plastics or making more sustainable purchasing choices.
«Reconstructing these psychological processes,» observes Professor Gabbiadini, «may help us understand how to communicate policies relating to mobility, energy consumption or land protection effectively. Schools and museums could develop educational programmes on the concept of intergenerational legacy. Tourist facilities would have the opportunity to link campaigns on biodiversity and waste management to the cumulative consequences of everyday choices. Actions in the present acquire meaning when they become part of a collective transformation.»
The decision to conduct the research at Camping Village Le Esperidi forms part of an ongoing collaboration with Milano-Bicocca’s Department of Psychology on environmental sustainability and takes place in a real tourist setting. The encounter between the tourist experience and scientific research was perceived as something unusual, capable of temporarily interrupting the routine of a holiday and creating a space for reflection.