The Geneva Public Portal to Anticipation, an immersive installation, was at the heart of the Swiss Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. It was born from a vision of the GESDA Foundation and conceived and developed by EPFL’s Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+), with the aim of translating the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar® into a public experience.

In the first six months, the Geneva Public Portal to Anticipation had around 500,0000 visitors, who collectively crafted visions of possible futures across 5-, 10- and 25-year horizons. Since many visions emerged from group co-creation, total participants are estimated at around 1 million. Backed by millions of data points from visitor selections on interactive touch screens and nearly 2000 qualitative surveys, the portal gives us unique, actionable insight into how people relate to the science shaping their tomorrow.

Here’s what they’ve told us:

Positive Feelings Towards the Future of Science

A majority of users reported loving the experience (91 per cent*), as it fostered a sense of agency and invited them to explore the future in an experimental way. Japanese-speaking participants (85 per cent of total users) most frequently associated “joy” and “interest” with the future of science. English speakers echoed this, choosing “joy” and “trust”. Even more compelling: 94% believe scientific breakthroughs will positively influence their own life paths. This suggests a public that is not only optimistic but emotionally invested in science’s trajectories.

Human Futures Have Health at the Forefront

When it comes to scientific curiosity, the public’s gaze turns inward. Human Augmentation emerged as the most selected Radar theme, with Lifespan Extension at the top. In other words, the future people want to know about is one where science touches their own biology — prolonging, enhancing and perhaps transforming life itself.

But curiosity doesn’t stop at the self. Qualitative responses reveal strong interest in health, medicine, Future Food Systems and planetary regeneration (Earth repair). There is growing awareness that human futures are entangled with the planet’s future. As one visitor reflected: “I gained a deeper understanding of how the environment and economy might change in the future.”

From Passive Spectators to Active Agents

Perhaps most encouraging of all, 90 per cent of respondents reported feeling empowered to take part in shaping the future as a result of engaging with the Portal. It indicates a public ready to move from anticipation to action. The question that should concern us now is how we can enable collective action.

At its core, the Geneva Public Portal to Anticipation is not just an interactive exhibit. It is an invitation to imagine. By blending science anticipation with speculative thinking, the Portal empowers the public to co-create future narratives grounded in the insights of more than 2000 scientists on the breakthroughs likely to shape our world. These visions often stretch beyond linear progress to encompass poetic, surprising or radically hopeful alternatives. In doing so, the portal reveals not only what people expect from science but what they hope for: futures shaped by values, imagination and a striving for the collective good. This aligns with the portal’s underlying philosophy of using speculative futures to stimulate imagination, invite cultural dialogue and ultimately inspire action. It is science communication reimagined — not as one-way instruction but as a platform for shared anticipation and action.

True to GESDA’s vision, the experience is not only a situated encounter at the World Expo but has been an ongoing online engagement as well.

Next: A Global Dialogue with Society on Emerging Science

As GESDA and eM+ prepare to deploy smaller satellite versions of the portal around the world, the vision expands. The aim will be to seed a global conversation on emerging science grounded in cultural nuance and citizen insight. These satellites will not only deepen cross-cultural insights but help to build a "Pulse of Society", a dynamic barometer of public sentiment, anticipation and hopes.

• Preliminary estimate based on data as of mid-July 2025; final figures may vary.