Los Angeles, CA, April 17, 2024 – Syllble Studios, in partnership with Inner Astronauts and Dot Connector Studio, is thrilled to announce the launch of The Regenerative Worldbuilding Collective. This new initiative is designed to unite leaders in the regeneration movement with gifted storytellers to forge emotionally resonant and speculative visions of the future.
The Regenerative Worldbuilding Collective draws inspiration from innovative programs such as the Futurist Writer’s Room from the Guild of Future Architects, the Emergent Expression(s) Writing Program and the collaborative worldbuilding pioneered at Syllble — which resulted in shared-worlds including Sauúti, One Humanity and The Caribbean Sky Islands.
In this safe space for creative exploration, the collective will confront transformative questions that reshape our understanding of what is possible.
We begin with a thought-provoking scenario: “What if our favorite leaders and ideas from the regeneration movement were suddenly given unlimited financial, governmental, and military support? What actions would they take first? What would unfold over the next 20 to 100 years?”
The project then delves into the social and emotional dimensions, utilizing the Inner Development Goals as a guiding framework. We will explore the personal and communal transformations necessary to realize this future. What qualities must our leaders and citizens embody? How can the top five values of the Inner Development Goals — being, thinking, relating, collaborating, and acting — be achieved by 2030?
This initiative is designed not just to support participants to imagine or predict a future but to actively shape it through a holistic curriculum that addresses both internal and external transformations.
Creating New Worlds with a Vision
The initiative will focus on creating a “Storybible,” a comprehensive guide that describes the rich details of a branded fictional world akin to the Marvel Universe. This document will outline key characters, settings, and themes that embody regenerative solutions to current and future challenges. Additionally, the collective will offer a Worldbuilding Toolkit to aid others in hosting similar transformative worldbuilding events in the Shared-World.
“I got burned out trying to fight the existing reality,” says Bristol Baughan, Emmy-winning storyteller and founder of Inner Astronauts. “In order to build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete, as Buckminster Fuller recommended, we have to imagine it. We also have to practice new ways of being that allow it to unfold.”
A Two-Phase Approach to Storytelling and Engagement
Phase 1 of the initiative, World Creation, focuses on assembling a world-class collective to collaboratively develop intellectual property and foundational narratives. Phase 2, Open Source World Building, will extend the project’s reach through workshops and training at universities and conferences, targeting interdisciplinary strategy with students and faculty interested in bioregional and global restoration efforts.
“Collaborative worldbuilding is a powerful tool that helps us overcome our resistance to change and gain the agency to enact it. I am eager to witness a future world shaped by principles of regeneration. These science fiction stories will not only specify the context of people and place but will also illuminate the pathways to a sustainable and inclusive vision our world desperately needs” says Syllble Studios Founder, Fabrice Guerrier.
Key Collaborators and Visionaries
The collective features an impressive roster of founding members:
- Bristol Baughan, a board member of the Guild of Future Architects and an Emmy-winning and Oscar-Nominated film producer, who has spent over a decade in the film industry with projects for HBO, Paramount, and Showtime.
- Jessica Clark, a media futurist and journalist whose firm, Dot Connector Studio, has worked with prominent organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation. Her pioneering work has spanned various roles, including serving as the Futurist in Residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Fabrice Guerrier, a Haitian-American science fiction and fantasy writer and artist, founder of production and publishing house, Syllble, and a visionary in collaborative worldbuilding and speculative fiction. He has been named to The Root Magazine‘s 100 Most Influential African-Americans and the Forbes 30 Under 30 List.
The Regenerative Worldbuilding Collective is fiscally sponsored by Creative Visions, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports creative activists using arts and media to ignite social change. The Collective has secured a partnership with the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at University of California San Diego.
They are currently looking for a sponsor to support their attendance at the Anticipation Conference hosted by the Center for Social Futures at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom this September 2024, which they have been invited to lead a workshop.
Looking Forward
By bridging the gap between regeneration leaders and storytellers, The Regenerative Worldbuilding Collective aims to craft narratives that inspire, challenge, and imagine new possibilities for our world.
Media futurist Jessica Clark, says “We know our systems are broken, but analysis and critique is not enough. Instead, we need to learn how to work with others from different backgrounds and disciplines to dream up new solutions together and craft vivid stories of the world we want those who come after us to inherit.”
Through its unique approach to collaborative storytelling, the collective seeks to redefine the future of narrative creation and impact.
For more information on The Regenerative Worldbuilding Collective: https://syllble.com/regenerative/