Deadline: 31-Oct-2025
The “Brave New Futures: MENA Strategic Imagination Labs” program offers an inspiring opportunity for civic organizations across the MENA region to reimagine the future of civic life through creativity, collaboration, and collective visioning.
Over a two-year period, twelve organizations will embark on a transformative journey to explore how art, imagination, and hope can become catalysts for systemic change and stronger civic engagement.
This unique initiative provides space for reflection and renewal — a chance to step outside daily pressures, reconnect with purpose, and envision what a better future could look like. The Lab serves as a creative sanctuary where civic actors can experiment, share ideas, and co-create new pathways for social transformation. It is not a traditional training program but rather an imaginative process built on collaboration and creative play.
Over the course of twenty-four months, selected organizations will participate in a multi-phase program designed to build imaginative capacity and inspire innovative approaches to strengthening civic space in the region. The Lab combines online and in-person gatherings across MENA, offering participants the opportunity to rest, learn from peers, and engage in shared discovery. Through this immersive experience, organizations will co-create, test, and prototype creative strategies that can shape more hopeful and inclusive futures.
Participants will also receive pilot “future/s-building” grants of USD 10,000 to experiment with creative actions or local activations that reframe challenges and open new possibilities. The program encourages artistic collaborations and partnerships with leading thinkers, creators, and change-makers from across the region and beyond. These interactions are designed to fuel inspiration and push the boundaries of what civic organizations can imagine and achieve.
Throughout the journey, participating teams will receive continuous support through coaching, reflection, and peer-to-peer learning. The Lab will also co-create an open-licensed toolkit on applied imagination, equipping organizations with practical tools to continue their innovation work beyond the program. In addition, the initiative offers a global platform for participants to share their work, stories, and ideas, amplifying their impact across borders.
The Brave New Futures Lab calls on organizations from across the MENA region—particularly from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon—to join this collective effort to dream, design, and act boldly. By embracing imagination as a strategy for transformation, the Lab seeks to nurture a new generation of civic leaders ready to build more just, creative, and resilient societies.
For more information, visit Fine Acts.
