A panel discussion at the Dubai Future Forum 2025 — the world’s largest gathering of futurists, thinkers, and policymakers — titled “Relearning Imagination: Are We Actively Shaping Our Future?” In this session, Julian Bleecker PhD explores why imagination is not a luxury or a side activity, but a strategic capability we urgently need to develop. Drawing from his work with Near Future Laboratory, he shares how he helps organizations and communities build their own imagination practices — using Design Fiction, storytelling, and tangible prototypes to make possibility feel real and actionable. This conversation brings together leaders from government, design, and culture to consider how we can reclaim agency, expand our sense of what’s possible, and shape futures worth wanting.