Join us at UTOPIA

06.01.2026News

A book reception on young people’s imagination and hopes for the future

How do we keep the future open – in a time marked by crises, uncertainty, and a loss of hope?

Join us for the book launch of Utopia – a new publication that brings together our three-year creative and knowledge-based exploration of young people’s imagination, hope, and capacity for action.

The publication is based on the period 2023–2025, during which Utopia has been a recurring thematic focus at Roskilde Festival. Through art, communities, observations, and analysis, we have followed young participants closely to understand how a generation growing up in the shadow of global crises relates to utopias and visions of a different, more sustainable future.

The book is grounded in a growing realization: that our challenges are not only about resources, but also about imagination. Many young people find it difficult to imagine the world as anything other than it is today – even though their imagination and engagement are crucial to creating change.

The book brings together knowledge and experiences relevant to anyone working with young people and social change – from NGOs, researchers, and educational institutions to cultural actors and decision-makers.

At the book launch, we will share insights, stories, and perspectives from the publication. Insights that can be applied across everything from strategic development and education to policy work, artistic practices, and new forms of engagement.

We will gather key stakeholders and contributors and invite the young voices who have been part of the journey to a shared celebration and reflection on how, together, we can strengthen imagination and keep the future open.

We look forward to seeing you.

Practical Information

Date: January 29
Time: 3:00–6:00 PM
Venue: Nordhus, Nordhavn

Program:

3:00 PM: Arrival

3:15 PM: Welcome

3:20 PM: Conversation with contributors to the book about the book’s core analyses and key findings: on the loss of the great utopias, but also on the cracks within utopias and the hope that the book’s analyses point toward.

3:40 PM: Reading with Dagbogsskolen

3:45 PM: Conversation about utopias in everyday life at the festival. We meet some of the young voices who have contributed to the book.

4:05 PM: Meet Jessica Petersen, who elaborates on her contribution to the book about who has access to formulating utopias.

4:15 PM: Talk on the new possibilities of utopia – and how we can use the insights from the book – with Kara Djurhuus, Head of Philanthropy at Roskilde Festival Group.

4:20 PM: Performance by the artist duo Baum & Leahy – about their performance they write:

Nurturing Pantopias
To wrap up the event and unfold possible “pantopian” futures, Baum & Leahy invite everyone in the room into a moment of connection and reflection. Illuminated textile tendrils – part of their RF art x activism project Pantopia (2022–25) for Flokkr Stage – will connect participants, inviting a meditative moment of nurturing the collective imagination of what could be.

4:35 PM: Refreshments and celebration of the book’s publication and the three years of work with Utopia and bringing dreams to life. Nordhus’ young cultural creators have prepared snacks inspired by festival participants’ utopian everyday lives.

6:00 PM: The event ends. There is an option to purchase a ticket for Nordhus’ communal dinner for DKK 150. Buy tickets here.

The event is part of our GRASP Pop Ups, where throughout the year we bring people together around knowledge, art, and conversations that challenge habitual thinking and open up new perspectives on sustainable change.