The Future of Water Awareness Game

Amber Desprets joins us to unveil her groundbreaking creation: the Future of Water Awareness Game. This isn't your typical board game - it's a powerful tool designed to shift how we think about our water future using speculative design principles.

Through a deck of 112 insight cards and a five-step process, Amber's game takes participants on a journey from questioning our present water reality to creating tangible "artifacts from the future" that might solve emerging challenges. The game surfaces fascinating signals of change that extend far beyond familiar concerns like rising sea levels. According to Amber: Did you know companies are already freezing coral reefs for preservation? Or that fish are losing nutritional value due to climate change? That icebergs are being harvested to address water shortages? These lesser-known developments form the foundation for imaginative scenario-building that ultimately leads to creative problem-solving.

What makes this approach particularly valuable is its accessibility. While suitable for professional workshops, the game is equally designed for dinnertime conversations with family, democratizing futures thinking about our most precious resource. Recognizing that less than 20% of the global population speaks English yet over 90% of climate change documents are English-only, Amber is having the game translated into seven additional languages to extend water literacy to billions previously excluded from these critical conversations. Looking ahead, she envisions creating a version specifically focused on preparing for a potential "waterless world" – challenging us to confront how our colonial mindsets continue to shape water commodification and exploitation rather than preservation.

Ready to play your way to better water futures? Download the game at futureawarenessgame.wordpress.com or connect with Amber Desprets on LinkedIn to join the growing community of forward-thinkers using games to reimagine our relationship with water.

#water #WaterForesight #strategicforesight #foresight #futures @Aqualaurus

Transcript

Meeting Amber Despretz

Speaker 1 0:06

This is the Water Foresight Podcast, powered by the Aqualaris Group, where we anticipate, frame and shape the future of water through strategic foresight. Welcome to the Water Foresight Podcast. Today's guest is Amber Despretz, the creator of the Future of Water Awareness Game. Amber, welcome to the Water Foresight Podcast. It is a privilege to have you with us today.

Speaker 2 0:29

Thank you, matt, it's a pleasure to be here.

Speaker 1 0:31

Well, you are coming to us today from Ireland, is that correct?

Speaker 2 0:36

That's indeed. I'm based in Dublin.

Understanding the Future of Water Game

Speaker 1 0:38

Well, great, I'm excited to have you as a guest today because you have created a game called the future of water awareness game. What is this game?

Speaker 2 0:50

well, um, the first thing that I should mention is that it's not a game like any other. It's. It's not like monopoly or oh, no, it's um, it's a very unusual game, so it's not supposed to be finished. It's a game that's focused on raising awareness, so it's a game that can be used in workshops, but it's also a game that can be used or played by families during, during dinner or at the family dinner table, and so it uses. It focuses on futures studies. So the game has gamified the principles of speculative design, which is a method of future studies. So it uses a five-step process. So it gamified the principles of speculative design. So it takes the users through a five-step process and at the end of the game, they end with an artifact of the future. So it allows them to think critically about the present and to create what-if questions and scenarios, to speculate about the future and to really think of what future consequences might occur in those scenarios. And then the artifacts.

Speaker 1 2:14

It's all centered on water right.

Speaker 2 2:16

It's all around water. Yeah, so it's not water as in tap water or drinking water. It's mainly the ocean that it's focused on, so it consists of a deck of insight cards. Isn't tap water or drinking water. It's mainly the ocean that is focused on, so it it has. It consists of a deck of insight cards, so there's 112 insight cards in the game, and they provide a holistic overview on emerging issues, signals of change which is a popular term in future studies and on current events that are happening the water zeitgeist and so on, emerging technologies and how they can be used in the ocean. Wow, so it provides a really holistic overview that gives the participants a better look on what is truly happening, because we think that it's only just rising sea levels that's currently happening in the world of the ocean, but it's much more than that.

Speaker 1 3:06

Well, before we get into how the game is played, because I'm interested to learn that my first question is what really caused you to develop this game? What inspired you?

Speaker 2 3:18

It actually started a couple of years ago when my dad told me about this article that he had seen and it was an article on Australian companies that has started storing water in big lakes that they plan on selling in the future, and my futurist mind just immediately went well, what if this is? What if this is actually a real industry in the future? So I immediately projected this into the future and this actually got me thinking. This was the whole trigger for this game, and I started noticing afterwards and I started researching things as well.

Speaker 2 3:59

There's so much more happening to the ocean, to water, than what most people think.

Speaker 2 4:04

It's not just rising sea levels, it's not just um flooding that's happening more and more. It's also like there's plants being set in motion to float icebergs, for example, or the fish are being um affected as well their nutrition levels and are being affected as well. So that's what I wanted to focus on with this game, and and water it so it's so essential to life as well, and I just thought well, engaging with people is so important, and but engaging with your own mind is important as well, and so that's kind of the goal that I wanted to have with this game. I wanted to help people to stop for a moment and to think and to really question the present and really question why are things the way they are right now? So that's the whole reason why I decided to develop this game, and it has been played before during workshops here in dublin and the response was just very positive. So I thought I think this is a resource that the world should have it's great.

Speaker 1 5:18

That's great. Now, a few minutes ago, you were starting to unpack the game for us a little bit. Let me ask you this question. I think there are five steps in the game.

Speaker 2 5:28

There's five steps, indeed, yeah.

Speaker 1 5:30

Okay, and let's give us an example from your insight cards. Walk us through the game and maybe give us a sense of how each step would work, make sense.

Speaker 2 5:44

Yeah, makes sense. So the first step is questioning the present. So this step is all about looking at the inside cards and just really thinking okay, why are things the way they are right now and do we need certain technologies or innovations or initiatives? Certain technologies or innovations or initiatives? And and if these signals or events would happen on a global um basis, like, how would the world change if? An example that I usually use during my workshops and in the toolkit as well is one of the emerging issues that I think is really interesting is fish that are losing their nutrition right now due to climate change. So they can start with this example and then take it to the next steps. But then, on the other hand, or other examples that are really interesting, is coral reefs. They're currently dying and some Australian companies have started freezing them. There is a decrease in freshwater availability in coastal areas. There is overfishing. Singapore is planning on building a 20 million euro plant that sucks carbon out of the ocean, and icebergs are being harvested to solve water shortages in the world.

Speaker 2 7:25

So that's the first step okay and then the second step is that they create what-if questions based on these insight cards so I could.

Speaker 1 7:36

I could pick an insight card on, say, moving an iceberg right, and then I can go to the second step and that you're describing. Is that fair?

Speaker 2 7:45

That's fair, yeah, so yeah. Let's take the iceberg example. So what if this becomes like a regular business and icebergs are really being moved and it's really an industry? But, like with the fish example, what if fish lost all their nutritional value and could no longer support human diets? What if we started freezing coral reefs on a regular basis? What if we created fish from extinct animals, because that's an emerging science that's currently happening. They recently created meat from an extinct animal. So what if we create fish meat from the megalodon, for example? How would that change our, our food industry? What if we created sponge cities? That's also an experiment that china is currently doing. And then, yeah, the icebergs. What if it's an actual industry? So that's the second steps step, and people can be as crazy as possible, because in future studies, most people think that or they agree that the most crazy futures or scenarios are often the most useful ones. So I just try to encourage people to be as crazy as possible.

Speaker 1 9:07

Right. It's always the person that says well, that'll never happen, usually in 10 years. That's exactly what happened, right.

Speaker 2 9:15

That's exactly what would happen.

Speaker 1 9:17

Yeah, yeah, so okay, all right. So that's step two, right.

Speaker 2 9:21

That's step two. And then the third step is that they turn these what if? Questions into actual scenarios, so they try to make it a bit more detailed. So, for example, all the fish or a certain type of fish and in a certain region, in a certain ocean, have lost their nutritional value. So that could be a scenario. Or a tourism is collapsing in a certain part of the world, or there's a mass migration happening because the fish have lost their nutritional value, or vegetables are being grown underwater, and that's also an experiment that they're currently doing.

Speaker 2 10:03

So the third step is all about choosing a select, a few what-if questions, and turning it into a scenario and making it more detailed. And then step number four is looking at these scenarios and thinking of okay, what kind of challenges or consequences could arise in these scenarios. So, with the fish example, a mass malnutrition could occur, or there could be increased food insecurity and health issues in the areas that are really fish reliant or really rely on fish. There could be an economic collapse, there could be a rise in waterborne diseases, and so that's that's the goal of step number four thinking about the consequences and and when we if you go beyond the fish scenario for one of the signals of change that I think is also really interesting is they recently turned plastic into vanilla ice cream.

Speaker 2 11:18

So, how could that affect our health, for example? And so that's step number four. Do you want me to go to step number five?

Speaker 1 11:30

Yeah, let's do step number five.

Speaker 2 11:32

So in step number five, that's the final step, they create an artifact of the future that could solve these challenges. So a potential solution for our fish problem would be an artificial or 3d printed fish that, um, that contains all the necessary nutritions and, um, you know, all the good stuff, and that could be deployed in all these these areas that are most affected. And this is actually inspired by an innovation or prototype that actually is already being experimented with, and it's it's inspired by neo fruit. So there's this designer, and I think she's from the netherlands, she created neo fruit, wow. And that that also contains all the necessary nutritions. So I just thought well, you could do the same with fish. You can just 3d print a fish.

Speaker 2 12:31

But then other artifacts could be like algae-based protein supplements, or 3d printed coral reefs, or sponge houses, which is inspired on the sponge cities, you know, so that houses don't get destroyed by floods or rain, but but that they actually soak up the water, or maybe they could help aid the fresh water availability. There's also the science that can extract water from thin air, so that could be an artifact. And then, finally, there's also this artifact that I saw a few years ago. That I think is really interesting and thought-provoking as well.

Expanding Reach and Impact

Speaker 2 13:14

And there's this Japanese designer who created the I want to deliver a shark concept, and so it's basically an alternative technology that would allow women to become pregnant with an endangered species, and I just think that's really interesting and up for debate as well, because you've got to think. I mean, humans are, in a way, responsible to speak for those that cannot speak for themselves, in a way responsible to speak for those that cannot speak for themselves, and but it's really our job to help aid, um, endangered species, or can, can human bodies be a medium to help solve this issue? And if it would really be possible, would we not be in some way commodifying the endangered species? So that's just the whole game in this process. So it's questioning the present, creating a what-if, thinking of consequences. Oh sorry, questioning the present. Creating a what-if question, creating scenarios, thinking of consequences and then creating an artifact that could solve those problems.

Speaker 1 14:36

Yeah, so those are the five steps. It may or may not represent a preferred future or preferred present, but there are signals of change that can be observed and they could be positive signals. They could be bad signals, such as overfishing or maybe alternative ways of maybe fish farms. Some positive outcomes, 3d printing of coral reefs, and these could be strong signals. They could be weak signals and during the game the participants are able to identify and put these things together and come up with possible, probable, even as we joked earlier, maybe preposterous futures that would address the particular issue into the future, futures that would address the particular issue into the future, and it puts people in a situation of thinking creatively about solutions that might be out there to address a current challenge. Is that a fair over?

Speaker 2 15:39

Yeah, exactly, it's just all about speculating and navigating and just thinking what's possible and just also reviewing every innovation or signal that's out there and seeing does this align with the future that I either see for myself or my organization? So it's just a moment to pause and analyze all of it.

Speaker 1 16:03

do you envision expanding the reach of your game to you know? Influence broader social attitudes toward you know?

Future Water Challenges and Solutions

Speaker 2 16:13

water conservation, uh, water quality or even ocean health and so the game is currently being translated by an international organization, which I thought was the logical next step after creating it, because less than 20% and I think this is something that maybe most people don't know, but less than 20% of the world population speaks English, and over 90% of climate change related documents are only available in English. So I thought translating it into seven extra languages and global languages and UN languages will certainly help extend its reach, because there's just billions of people that are being left without the tools to truly understand the changes that are currently happening, and if they don't understand those changes, then they cannot lead any any solutions, and I think um translating it will also allow children to to play the game and um ocean literacy just at um. You cannot start too early or too soon, and yeah, that's a good answer.

Speaker 1 17:37

I think my next question is how, how do you use this game and the idea of speculative design, uh to prepare cities or even rural areas for specific water challenges like drought or water quality or ocean health?

Speaker 2 18:01

How do you go about that? Cities and governments and organizations to improve their anticipatory governance, which is, again, a term that's very common or popular in the foresight world. So there's a lot of decisions these days that are made from the top down, and this game speculative design would help governments, cities, organizations to to make those decisions from the bottom up and to include citizens way more in in decision making processes, and it would allow them to view risks um from from their point of view and to extend their perceptions. So speculative design is a method that, in short, helps people to problem-solve by design. So including more people to the table will only be more beneficial for governments and cities. So, yeah, top down and bottom up. That's. That's the whole reason. Sorry, I forgot what I was going to say there, but yeah, it would allow people to make decisions from the bottom up.

Speaker 1 19:30

Do you feel that mayors or rural government officials are receptive to conversations about this game and what it offers?

Speaker 2 19:41

In Dublin maybe not so much game and what it, what it offers and in dublin. Maybe not so much, but it's a work. It's a work in progress. You're, you're making efforts.

Speaker 1 19:49

Okay, I understand and.

Speaker 2 19:51

But I do think that foresight is gaining momentum on a global level. So I think that more people do become more open-minded governments as well, especially, I mean on the continent in Europe France, belgium they all have a dedicated foresight unit within their governments. So I do think that this tool that would have people within those organizations would be more open to using this tool.

Speaker 1 20:23

So what you know as we round the corner here. What sorts of water issues would you want to add to this game in the future? What do you see coming around the corner that might be part of this game going forward?

Speaker 2 20:40

Oh, that's a good question To add to the game. Like to add to the insight cards.

Speaker 1 20:48

Yeah. Are there any new insights? Maybe there's new signals of change that are occurring this year that you'd like, boy, if I could add another card or two. What are some things that you're seeing out there if you were to do version 2.0? What are some of your thoughts seeing out there if you were to do version 2.0? What are some of your thoughts?

Closing Thoughts and Contact Information

Speaker 2 21:03

I think I would create a game that focuses on a world without water, because that's one of the signals of change that I'm noticing. I think people are preparing themselves for a world where water does not exist or where it's being managed by governments that you know, like those Australian companies that are storing water in big lakes and they're trying to commodify water. And if we would ever arrive in such a scenario, it would not be available for everyone and we might not know well how would it be taken advantage of, who will have who will who will it be available to Water? So I've seen innovations like a compost toilet. It looks more fancy than it sounds.

Speaker 2 21:55

I've seen a campaign in the Netherlands that forces people to think of okay, how would the world or daily products change if, if water wasn't, wasn't in the picture? So they created this. This campaign called the, uh the the I actually have to look it up the the dot shop, uh, the drop shop it's. They did this campaign called the drop shop and, um, people can just buy stuff like like salmon or cheese, but water wasn't used in the process, so the prices just go up. And it really forces people to think like okay, what would the world look like without water.

Speaker 2 22:42

Non-polluting solutions are being made as well, so we're trying to think of okay, we're very humans are really good in bringing damage to their environments, unfortunately. So non-polluting solutions help help people to think as well. Like how can we, if we're going to do damage to our environments, what can we do to improve it on on the other hand as well? I'm not not sure if that is making sense, but, um, yeah, they created the soap that actually cleans water. Um, if it's being disposed of, so that can help. So I think that we should be preparing ourselves for a waterless world. So if I could make the game again, I think that's what I would focus on.

Speaker 1 23:33

actually, yeah, Well, and you focus predominantly on ocean-related matters, but you could spend a lot of time on groundwater or surface water lakes. You know a lot of inland water issues, uh, uh. You know all kinds of opportunities to expand this game to other other issues, um that that the world is really thinking about and trying to address in the world of water. You know my. My final question to you is how do you see the water zeitgeist evolving into the future? What are your thoughts?

Speaker 2 24:10

Yeah. So I think a world without water would definitely be one of the big changes that are coming up in our attitude towards water, and I also think that indigenous knowledge will be will be much more in the picture in our relationship with water let me ask a final question um, where do you see, uh, the future of water in the next 10 to 20 years?

Speaker 1 24:45

If I were to ask you that, what sorts of? Are you an optimist, a pessimist? What are some of the things that you will see changing in our attitudes and activities related to the things that you've highlighted in your, in your future of water awareness game? Will we see transformation or business as usual, maybe a a collapse scenario? Where? Where do you think, uh, where do you think we'll be?

Speaker 2 25:11

um, I would think it's more of a continued growth scenario, and I think one of the main or most popular discourses that people have towards water these days is actually rooted in colonialism. To be fair, I think we're so used in commodifying nature and the ocean as well that I think, if we do not change that colonized mind and perspective on the world, we're just gonna keep on commodifying nature. So I think for the next 10 years, we'll be focused. Yeah, I think we'll still be looking at water and the ocean through a colonized mind, and but that leaders, hopefully, will try to become more aware of, of their biases and the inequalities that they're creating through this. And so, yeah, I think colonialism will, in my opinion and maybe this, this answer, comes a bit out of the blue, but I think colonialism will will play a huge role in the next 10 to 20 years and and and how we will relate to water, and I think that our global leaders have, um, the biggest, biggest input there, the biggest input there. So not sure if that answers your question.

Speaker 1 26:51

I think that's a fine answer and one that people need to think about when it comes to the future of water and where we will be as a society over the next 10 to 20 years, and I think taking advantage of your game, the Future of Water Awareness game will help people think more critically about these issues and what some of the solutions are, so that they can shape their preferred futures when it comes to water. Amber, I want to thank you for being a guest today on the Water Foresight Podcast. This is a great conversation. I applaud you for your innovation in this future of water awareness game. I encourage people to look it up and take advantage of what it offers. And, amber, if people want to get a hold of you, maybe take a look at this game. Where can they reach you?

Speaker 2 27:39

So there is a website it's called futureawarenessgamewordpresscom where they can download the game, and it's also available on my LinkedIn, so if people look me up, amber Desprez, then they can find it there as well.

Speaker 1 27:55

Wonderful.

Speaker 2 27:55

But I'd say the website is the biggest source.

Speaker 1 28:00

Wonderful, wonderful. Amber, I want to thank you again for being a guest today on the Water Force Site podcast. It's a privilege to talk to you about this and we thank you, the listeners, for joining us today, and we will see you again on the next episode of the Water Force Site podcast. Have a great day. Thank you for listening to the Water Force Site podcast powered by the Aqualaris Group. For more information, please visit us at Aqualariscom or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.