Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

Alternative trends: What else could happen by 2050?Mass ImmigrationIn 2050 the world is suffering from the consequences of climate change.Draughts and extreme weather conditions have caused famine and loss ofhuman life in many poor regions. Immigration has increased within theEU from southern Europe, which suffers from draught and a lack of drinkingwater, to northern Europe. Also, immigration from Africa to Europehas intensified. Finland has received two waves of immigrants, first fromnorthern Africa in the 2030's and recently in the 2040's from southernEurope. Some 20% of the population of Finland are now foreigners. Englishhas become the second official language in the EU and it is commonly spokenin most workplaces in Finland. Most immigrants, therefore, manageto find their place in job market. Catholic and Muslim influences on theFinnish culture increase.Food ScarcityMegatrends such as climate change, biodiversity, environmental degradationand population growth compile a situation where food securitybecomes an even more critical issue over the developing world. Bioenergyproduction, especially in the western world, adds to the problem by overtakinga share of the fields used for food production. By 2020, surplus foodproduction in industrialised countries has diminished to close to zero.Between the 2020's and 2050's, severe droughts, floods and storms attributableto climate change also cause disruptions to the food security of citizensin the western world. Finland struggles with the same problem but hasan advantage of relatively rich water resources for irrigation (if needed)and space for farming expansions. Nevertheless, food security is a seriousissue and the share of food expenses rises notably in private households.Professional farming becomes an attractive profession. Also, small scalesupplementary farming gains popularity among lot owners. Respect forclose-to-nature professions and know-how such as farming, fishing andhunting rises.Extreme PrivatisationThere is severe economic hardship in funding state and municipaloperations. The Finnish welfare state model demonstrating strong andhigh-quality public services leading to equal opportunities in education,healthcare and social structures continues to deteriorate. To a certain extent,more efficient processes are able to maintain the service level; gradually,however, private options in healthcare and education, for example, attractfamilies that are better-off. Public authorities are not able to ensure the qualityof public services due to budget limitations resulting from a politicalunwillingness to raise taxes. By 2050, there are more or less separate privateand public lines of public services such as education and healthcare. This313