Altered Islands: Young Faroe Islanders’ Future Landscapes

Authors

• Firouz Gaini University of the Faroe Islands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0432-7057

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30676/jfas.v43i4.73270

Abstract

This paper explores scenarios created by young Faroe Islanders reflecting on the future of their local community and islands. The main objective is to outline and analyse the dynamic relationship between young people’s future images and present-day realities. Based on data from an ethnographic study from 2014, the paper discusses young people’s future-oriented essays in relation to their islands’ history, culture, and values. The essays, as methodological schemes, encourage the youth to draw a ‘future landscape’ without necessarily linking it directly to their personal (intimate) perspectives. They offer an opportunity to discuss the relation between micro- and macro-level events and between material and cultural shifts. In these narratives, we notice a strong commitment to connect the future to the past in a collective Faroese project. The future is often drawn as altered islands—a mesmerizing breakaway from present-day realities. The opportunity to dream and to imagine tomorrow is an important part of young people’s everyday life practices and identities.