Can imagination be an organisational practice?
ENTER THE OPEN CALL
BY OCTOBER 10, 2025
Fine Acts is launching the Brave New Futures: MENA Strategic Imagination Labs – a 24-month experiment in bold thinking, radical creativity, and collective transformation. We are looking for a small cohort of just 12 visionary civic organizations from across the MENA region to take part.
Unlike a typical capacity-building program, this is a space to breathe, question the status quo, and rethink what’s possible.
Over two years, we’ll explore how imagination, art, hope, and creative play can unlock new approaches to civic work and systems change.
In challenging times, imagination can feel indulgent. But it’s not – it’s survival. It’s resilience. It's a strategy.
To build the tomorrow we want, we must first imagine it today. And while individual dreams can shape lives, it is the collective dreams that shape reality.
So let this be an invitation – to imagine together, to dream beyond limits, and to begin designing the futures we deserve.
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The MENA Strategic Imagination Labs is a place to step outside the grind, reconnect with purpose, and dream together – about what could be, and how we get there.
Over 24 months, the selected organizations will join a multi-phase program designed to strengthen imaginative capacity and spark new futures for civic space in the region.
A dynamic mix of online and in-person gatherings across MENA – offering respite and insight through peer learning, shared discovery, and co-creation.
Prototyping creative solutions as a foundation for future strategies.
Pilot “future/s-building” grants (10,000 USD) to experiment with creative actions or activations in your context.
Creative collaborations with artists and thinkers from the region and beyond.
Ongoing coaching, reflection, and peer support.
A co-created, open-licensed toolkit on applied imagination.
A global platform for your work and ideas.
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Civic organizations – including those working in arts and culture, human rights, climate, peacebuilding, social protections, justice, youth, or other cross-cutting fields – based in and primarily serving the MENA region, with a strong focus on Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. Organizations active elsewhere in the region are also welcome to apply, as long as one or more of these five countries is a key area of engagement.
We are specifically looking for mid- to senior staff within these organizations – individuals positioned to influence how their organization tells stories, engages the public, and drives change.
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Language: The application and contracting will be in English. Program activities will be held in Arabic and English, with translation provided across the two.
Cost: Fully funded (all travel, lodging, and materials covered)
Timeframe: January 2026 – December 2027
Deadline to Apply: October 31, 2025
Apply online: [LINK to form below]
Got questions? We’d love to hear from you — write to us at hello@fineacts.org.
APPLICATION FORM
Brave New Futures: MENA Strategic Imagination Labs
Welcome to the application for Brave New Futures: MENA Strategic Imagination Labs.
Think of this as an invitation – to pause, reflect, and imagine. We encourage you to approach this application not as an individual task, but as a collective opportunity: a chance for your team to think together, stretch your imagination, and reflect on your vision, values, and future.
Each prompt is designed to provoke curiosity, challenge assumptions, and spark new possibilities. Whether you’re drawing from past experiences or dreaming forward, we hope this process brings a moment of creativity and connection into your everyday work.
To support your imaginative journey, here are a few resources you can explore anytime. They may also inspire your application:
- 7 Differences between complex and complicated
- Using Strategic Foresight to Create the Future We Want
- On Play, Memory and Imagination
- Beyond Foresight; Imagining Distant Futures
- Methods to Imagine Transformative Futures // for nerds
And even if you decide not to apply for the program, we hope it sparked your interest in practicing imagination – as an individual, within your organization, and collectively with others.
