Jennifer Hotsko, Moema Freire & Zainab Kakal | Participatory Foresight: lessons from UNDP
We will explore how UNDP has integrated participatory foresight into its work, empowering communities, policymakers, and stakeholders to co-create more inclusive and resilient futures. Drawing from real-world experiences, this piece highlights key insights, challenges, and strategies for using foresight in policy innovation, collective intelligence, and systemic change. Whether you're a practitioner, researcher, or policymaker, these lessons provide valuable guidance on embedding participatory foresight in diverse contexts.
Jennifer Hotsko is Head of Exploration at the UNDP Accelerator Lab in Panama. With extensive experience in strategic innovation, futures thinking, and digitalization, Jennifer focuses on leveraging these approaches to enhance development impact. She has worked on initiatives promoting citizen participation, social entrepreneurship, and modernizing public instititions, driving innovative solutions for governance and social impact. Passionate about helping Panama accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda, she has led efforts to foster collective intelligence and circular economy approaches. Jennifer holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Florida and a Master of Philosophy in African Studies from the University of Cape Town.
Moema Freire is Policy Specialist at UNDP Latin America & the Caribbean. With 20+ years of experience driving innovation in governance, Moema works on futures & foresight, collaborative governance, transparency, and citizen participation. She’s led cutting-edge initiatives on digital transformation, modernizing public institutions, and promoting open & inclusive public spaces. Moema holds a Masters on Political Science and a PhD in Sociology and has published several works on governance and human development.
Zainab Kakal has 15 years of experience in starting, designing, and managing innovative initiatives in sustainability. As Regional Innovation Specialist at UNDP Pacific, she supports 16 countries in design, learning and experimentation with a focus on foresight, sensemaking, and systems thinking. Previously, at Xynteo, she worked on circular economy pilots with Unilever and energy transition with Shell. She also led urban innovation projects at World Resources Institute, focusing on incubation, acceleration, and regulatory sandboxes with governments and private sector partners. A trained facilitator and coach, Zainab is passionate about writing, reading, yoga, and long walks.