Quest for Better Futures

Funding the Future

In Episode 11 of Quest for Better Futures, Gautam John and Namrata Agarwal discuss how we can move beyond seeing young people as passive recipients of change and instead recognize them as active co-creators of solutions.How can we build a culture of active citizenship in India? How should institutions, leadership, and philanthropy change, given that uncertainty is the new normal? What if the future isn’t driven by states or markets, but by relationships, diversity, and a shared imagination? Credits: Host(s) - Namrata Agarwal Guest(s) - Gautam John Production Crew - Chandan CM, Dilip P, Hiranya Singh, Mohammed Sajjad, Zaheera Vaz Produced By Quest Alliance Editor(s) - Shashank KS Concept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi Content - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HM Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM Location courtesy - Quest Learning Observatory, Bangalore (India)

Government’s Role in Building Thriving Futures

For many of us, education, skilling, and employment are seen as three distinct stages, and not as a holistic continuum. Time and again, it has proven that skilling succeeds only when education and industry are seamlessly connected.In Episode 10 of Quest for Better Futures, Nikita Bengani and Atul Kumar Tiwari, IAS - Former Secretary, Ministry Of Skill development and Entrepreneurship discuss the role of AI in classrooms, insights on female workforce participation, and what it takes to design skilling initiatives for Indian youth. Credits Host(s) - Nikita Bengani Guest(s)- Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari Production Crew - Chandan CM, Hiranya Singh, Mohammed Sajjad, Navya D'Souza, Pritika Das, Revathi R, Syed Umer, Winnie Pande Produced By Quest Alliance Editor(s) - Chandan CM, Shashank KSConcept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi Content - Bhawna Parmar, Nikita Bengani, Risha Ramachandran Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM Location courtesy - Quest Learning Observatory, Bangalore (India)

Future Skills for Thriving Careers

A Google search for “top workplace skills” reveals lists full of ‘time management’, ‘leadership’, ‘creativity’, and ‘teamwork’. However, as Arnab and Arpita note, the idea of skills often hides deeper hierarchies of class, gender, and power. Think about it – how does society define and value skills? What do you classify as skills worthy of picking up?

Integrating Imagination in Learning: Futures Thinking as a Pedagogy

People often say that if something can’t be measured, it can’t be managed, but what if that exact mindset holds us back from making meaningful change? In Episode 8 of Quest for Better Futures, Bhawna Parmar speaks with Punya Mishra about what happens when numbers define social change, and how education,in particular, has faced the consequences of this thinking.The full episode is now live on our YouTube channel. Also streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Host(s) - Bhawna ParmarGuest(s) - Punya MishraProduction Crew -Chandan CMProduced By Quest AllianceEditor(s) - Shashank KSConcept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi NegiContent - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HMMusic - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSICVFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM#FuturesThinking #AI #QuestAlliance #FuturesLiteracy #Podcast #YouthFutures

Imagining Life-centric Futures

What do you see, when you picture the future? If it’s AI, rockets and a highly engineered, precise world, you’re not alone. However, these visions are rooted in old, harmful ideas that dismiss nature and indigenous knowledge as “primitive,” carrying forward ideas with troubling origins. In episode 7 of Quest for Better Futures, Monika Bielskyte and Aakash Sethi explore how our ideas of the future continue to be shaped by outdated sci-fi and why that’s a problem. Host - Aakash Sethi Guest - Monika Bielskyte Production Crew - Shivam Pandey Produced By Quest Alliance Editor(s)- Chandan CM, Shashank KS Concept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi Content - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HM Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM #QuestforBetterFutures #QuestAlliance #EdTech #podcast #futuresliteracy #futuresthinking #NGO