Bio Stories

In 2020 the World Economic Forum formed a new Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology – a multidisciplinary network of stakeholders and thought leaders that our founder, Natsai Audrey Chieza, is a member of. The Council aims to bring together diverse stakeholders from across the globe, across sectors and across perspectives to envision ideal future states of synthetic biology and strategies to ensure more peaceful, prosperous, sustainable and equitable societies. Its work builds on previous efforts and focuses on inherently global challenges that concern how we synthesise our shared biological futures and contend with our own biological nature. Synthetic biology is developing approaches to design and repurpose the building blocks of the living world, and the Council’s mission is to explore which futures are made possible and which may be desirable. As part of this work, the Council has partnered with Faber Futures on a project called Bio Stories.

We designed Bio Stories as a multi-stage engagement strategy to solicit compelling narratives about our changing relationships with the living world. The project assembles stakeholders to share experiences and viewpoints that have been underrepresented in previous global discussions. These dialogues examine the opportunity and tensions that exist when shaping an approach to synthetic biology’s future that centres the Council’s values of equity, sustainability, solidarity and humility – and build a world in which we all want to live. The dialogues explore present practices, shared values, and future visions that clarify what is at stake in the ways we advance synthetic biology, and will contribute to the strategic work that the Global Futures Council on Synthetic Biology is engaged with.

Project Credits

Project Lead: Faber Futures
Production Support: Core Design Team of the Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology, with special thanks to: Elissa Prichep, Megan J. Palmer and Cameron Fox
Advisory Support: Melissa Salm
Motion Graphics & Graphic Design: Roxy Zeiher
Writing: Anthony Leyton