Values, emotions and views of the future: democratic deliberation as pathway to inner transformation

Abstract Visons of the future are fundamental for achieving transformational socio-environmental change. Whilst a host of methods have been developed for creating future visions and reflecting on underlying values of nature, we examine under-researched aspects of future creation and value reflection. We explore how deliberative democratic processes, illustrated by a case study of citizen panels deliberating on treescapes in three United Kingdom cities, can serve to influence people’s subjective views of the future, with particular attention to the role of values and emotions. The deliberation on values and visions was guided by the IPBES Life Framework. Our findings suggest that these workshops influence the richness and degree of optimism and concern in participants’ views of the future through several mechanisms, including the reinforcement of relevant values and emotions. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of future making, its motivational consequences, and the importance of citizen workshops as a pathway to inner transformation.