BORGARBÓKASAFNIÐ
Welcome to our interview series by J.J. Mancho: Chronicles from the Future! J.J. Mancho is a Reykjavik based artist who worked on documenting the Future Festival held in the Reykjavik City Library in March 2026. He conducted interviews with workshop hosts and project managers and is currently working on visuals too.
A FUTURE WITHOUT AGEISM. DÖGG SIGMARSDÓTTIR
Dögg Sigmarsdóttir is one of the hosts of the workshop “A future society without ageism” in collaboration with Framtíðarsetur Íslands (Icelandic Future Centre) and Farsæl öldrun. Interested in social spaces, she mentions swimming-pools and libraries as the key-spaces for the collective exchanges, where “you can really sense the state of society: whether people are frustrated, scared, or hopeful.”
JJ: Your workshop is centered on an age group we rarely think about. In the past, elders were seen as sources of wisdom. Today people in their 60s are in better physical shape than before, but our mentality toward them remains stuck. Due to a highly productive capitalist society, it seems that once you stop producing, you become expendable. We are missing all that wisdom and knowledge.
Dögg: I completely agree. That capitalist and extremely individualistic idea makes us believe that “work” consists solely of producing goods faster and more efficiently. We live in a constant “sprint.” However, we shouldn’t all be running all the time; our bodies change, and we move at different rhythms.
Ageism doesn’t just dictate how society sees you; it creates a limiting internal voice. People start thinking it’s “too late” to change careers or try something new. We are still dragging along institutions and ideas about retirement from the 60s or 70s. We must reevaluate our position in society because how we identify directly affects our decisions and even how we vote.
J: You mention that we need to change to not being limited by this social pressure and our individual fears. As I listened to you, I thought that the more fear we feel, the more susceptible we are to manipulation.
D: Exactly; that’s where populism is born. That’s why public spaces are so important: they are meeting places. If you have the chance to know someone else’s reality, it’s much harder for them to manipulate you with discourses of fear toward others. Fear grows in the unknown and in disconnection. We need to step out of our comfort zones and learn to interact with different people.
J: Besides pools and libraries, do you think there are other physical spaces in Iceland with the potential to mingle?
D: It’s a challenge, largely because of the climate. But I think “mobile spaces” work very well: running groups, hiking groups, or urban gardens. Doing a common activity, being in motion, and having no barriers fosters interaction. However, technology is isolating us more and more.
J: All the examples you give are basically linked to nature.
D: Yes, they are connected. Nature relaxes you. When you walk beside someone in the forest, it’s much easier to start a conversation. Also, it’s not a closed environment, which reduces anxiety; you can always move closer or further away freely. It allows for very different types of conversations.
J: How would you describe the importance of future studies?
D: In developing future scenarios, we focus on “drivers of change and trends” and list key uncertainties: identify the factors that could significantly change the outcome but are highly unpredictable. What I think is important is that we need to be able to “digest” the knowledge in a creative way to have alternative narratives. When we look at scientific reports or technological development it is easy to fall into pessimism and let fear control us. This is where future literacy is so important, that we get the tools to develop narratives for futures and how we can walk towards preferable future scenarios together.
J: I suppose preparing for the worst-case scenario is a survival mechanism. But I notice that our current fiction—especially Hollywood movies—is full of dystopias. If you propose an optimistic vision of the future, it often sounds naive.
D: Exactly. I’m surprised by how trapped we are in ideas from the 70s: cold futures full of metal, glass, and flying cars. In our workshops, people reject that; they prefer futures that are green, social, and connected. The problem is that we continue to imagine the future in a very individualistic way, isolated by technology. We need new visual languages.
More information:
Martyna Karolina Daniel
Project Manager of Equity and Community Engagement
martyna.karolina.daniel@reykjavik.is