Origin
DIA-built
About This Tool
This workbook was built as part of DIA’s Invitations to Better Worlds initiative. It emerged from the belief that imagination is not an escape — it is resistance, refusal, and radical possibility. It was designed to be used in practice spaces where people gather to do this work together, not just read about it.
How We Use It
We use this workbook to structure practice spaces where participants move through reflection prompts, frameworks, and somatic activities before, during, or after a gathering. Each section pairs a concept, from Sankofa to the Panic Paradox to the 7 Types of Rest, with a solo practice, a co-reflective conversation, and a closing. It’s designed to be held lightly — participants take what they need and leave the rest.
How You Can Use It
This workbook is for anyone doing the work of imagining equitable futures, individually or in community. It works well as a pre-gathering practice, a self-paced personal reflection tool, or a facilitation companion. You don’t need to move through it linearly. Start where you are.
Why We’re Sharing It
We built this because we kept facilitating spaces where people wanted to go deeper but didn’t have something to return to on their own. The workbook holds the scaffolding so the practice can continue beyond the room. What we’ve seen it do is create trust faster — when people arrive already having sat with these questions, the conversations get real much more quickly.
Credit & Attribution Created by the Department of Imaginary Affairs, 2025. Frameworks and resources within the workbook are credited to their original authors throughout. If you benefit from this toolkit and/or share it with others, please make sure to credit and amplify the lineage of this work and, where the resources are available to you, support our work financially.
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