The Long Time Project is focused on finding new ways to help us care about the long-term future, so that we take responsibility for it in the short-term.
It aims to galvanise public imagination and collective action to help us all be good ancestors.
Why do we need to get long-term?
Short-termism is rapidly becoming an existential threat to humanity. Short-term mindsets and structures across business, government and society are threatening our collective future.
The next few decades will be pivotal for the billions who have yet to be born. If we act wisely, humanity will survive; the Earth may remain habitable for at least a billion years; what has occurred so far could be a tiny fraction of possible human history and achievement. But, there is a darker alternative too. One where we don’t make the necessary changes in time and where we wipe ourselves out as a species, taking many others with us.
The tunnel vision of short-term thinking is leading to decisions that might mean we are only left with a short term as a species.
We’ve started The Long Time Project as we believe three things:
Our capacity to care about the future is crucial to our ability to preserve it. We need to feel an emotional connection to future generations.
Developing longer perspectives on our existence will change the way we behave in the short term.
Art and culture will be crucial to cultivating long-term attitudes and behaviours. They are foundational in shaping our collective direction of travel, from the kinds of laws we make, to the technology we develop, to the way we think about our role in shaping the future.
About us
The Long Time Project has been co-founded by Ella Saltmarshe and Beatrice Pembroke. It is a multidisciplinary inquiry into cultivating cultures of stewardship at scale, involving policymakers, cultural institutions, scientists, humanities, the creative industries, media and business.
Over the last 18 months, we’ve:
Worked with over 125 policymakers to co-design the Long Time Toolkit and support them to introduce long timism into their institutions across the world.
Partnered with the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and the Serpentine Gallery to engage new audiences with long timism.
Worked with 45 artists and cultural leaders from 10 countries
Founded the Long Time Community to support anyone who wants to integrate long-timism into their daily lives.
Some of our collaborators
“Many of the dangers we face indeed arise from science and technology – but, more fundamentally, because we have become powerful without becoming commensurately wise. The world-altering powers that technology has delivered into our hands now require a degree of consideration and foresight that has never before been asked of us.”
— Carl Sagan
Artwork from Treehugger: Wawona, courtesy of Marshmallow Laser Feast.
Our work
The Long Time Academy
The Long Time Academy is a new podcast we've created in collaboration with Headspace that is produced by Scenery Studios. Over six episodes, we take you on a journey to discover how to become a better ancestor.
The Long Time Sessions
We teamed up with the RSA & the Serpentine to host a series of public conversations on the practice and promise of long-timism.
The Long Time Tools
We’ve worked with policymakers from across the world to co-design these tools to cultivate long-termism in institutions. We’d love you to dive in, test the tools and let us know how they work for you.
BBC Ideas Video
We’re featured in this video alongside brilliant women pioneering long-termism in indiginous, political and artistic contexts.
BBC Futures Article
Here’s a piece we wrote about the role of art and culture in cultivating long-termism.
(Margaret Atwood and Katie Paterson for the Future Library project, credit: Giorgia Polizzi)
Our founding article
Check out our founding article, where we outline five pathways to getting long-term.
(Treehugger, courtesy of Marshmallow Laser Feast)
Long Time Events
We’ve hosted a number of Long Time events, including a residential retreat and a series of meals with scientists, philosophers, producers, artists, ecologists, curators and creative agencies.
Get in touch.
hello@thelongtimeproject.org
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Great to see long term legislation spreading. Congratulations to @sophiehowe for the work she’s done to inspire thi… https://t.co/i4jOy5REkH -
RT @saltsea: Looking forward to getting long-time with the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales next week 🙌… https://t.co/IsS2EbfER2
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We’re excited to partner with @CatalyseCh to run this event for female activists under 25. We’ll be exploring time… https://t.co/wvWTUxT6Lp