Greg Hearn

In urban futuring, images are not neutral aids to communication. They organise attention, direct plausibility, and stabilise some futures as desirable and legitimate while positioning others as marginal. This visual politics intensifies under mega-event urbanism as imagery and narrative are central to the justification, contestation, and stabilisation of futures. The research examines how Image-Generative Artificial Intelligence (IGAI) reshapes participatory visual futuring through Brisbane’s preparation for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The analysis draws on 16 activities in which IGAI was used to explore post-Games legacy through four scenarios and four personas. Scenarios structured comparison across divergent futures, holding key conditions constant while varying environmental and social trajectories. Personas shifted evaluation from layout to lived experience, surfacing accessibility, legibility, cultural matters, and everyday usability, while exposing how inclusion can slip into cliché when representation becomes a shortcut. IGAI reshapes participatory visual futuring by enabling near-instant iteration of high-fidelity scenes. This supports a conversational practice of comparing alternatives, specifying constraints, resisting model defaults, and refining propositions. Yet the same speed and fidelity can make futures close prematurely and more difficult to manage if images circulate beyond their original context. A key governance implication emerges at the point where outputs detach from the conditions of their creation and legitimacy risks intensify. The challenge is to keep status, provenance, and limitations visible.

Prior studies have established the importance of social capital in fostering disaster resilience especially among diverse and marginalised populations. Yet, most have focused on its structural dimension, treating social capital as a pre-existing attribute. Limited attention has been given to its communicative underpinning—how shared meaning-making, particularly through storytelling networks as open and participatory spaces, actively constitutes social capital. Addressing this gap, this study draws on storytelling networks theory and the notion of narrative agency to examine how community self-organised storytelling networks, comprising agents, stories, and practices, shape collective sensemaking as the foundation of social capital. Based on 36 in-depth interviews with community members, emergency practitioners, and service providers, the study reconceptualises social capital through a participatory storytelling lens and advances a critical understanding of narrative agency amid power asymmetries. It also offers practical insights into how diverse storytelling agents co-make social capital and outlines directions for future research.

This two-year participatory action research directly engaged with CALD communities in Far North Queensland, primarily in Cairns. Conducted across four phases, the study involved multiple methods of data collection, including individual storytelling, resources mapping, co-design/co-production workshops, and validation surveys. In collaboration with local councils, social service agencies, and multicultural organisations, researchers worked closely with seven cultural groups: Bhutanese, Chinese, Colombian, Congolese, Indonesian, Filipino, and Japanese. Community leaders played a pivotal role in fostering connections, building trust, and driving engagement with their communities. The study results highlight four cross-cutting themes, offering a deep understanding of how Australian CALD communities navigate disaster emergencies from a communication perspective. These findings provide implications for policy development and resource investment in DRR and resilience-building.

This toolkit provides a set of practical, storytelling-driven, and culturally responsive tools designed to facilitate dynamic dialogue between emergency management sectors and CALD communities, fostering collaborative disaster resilience. Structured into four key components, the toolkit guides the strategic use of disaster storytelling for: (1) Communication – Delivering key messages effectively. (2) Education – Designing culturally engaging programs. (3) Listening – Amplifying diverse voices and lived experiences. (4) Advocacy – Building collective power for meaningful changes. Each function of the toolkit focuses on the most pressing challenges identified through the research project (see the Project Report), pairing them with creative storytelling solutions that progress engagement from awareness-raising and knowledge-building to community participation and policy influence. Serving as a comprehensive guide, it supports the shared responsibilities of disaster risk reduction (DRR) among (a) Emergency management authorities – including governments at all levels, public sector agencies, and local councils; and (b) Community support services – including non-government organisations, humanitarian agencies, multicultural associations/societies, and grassroot CALD groups. While cultural differences are crucial for inclusive communication, it is equally important to acknowledge shared humanity—the fundamental yet evolving human needs, rights, and well-being that unite individuals in emergencies, regardless of backgrounds. Therefore, many of the strategies, tools, and plans presented here are also applicable to broader non-CALD communities.

In today’s unpredictable world, more diverse people contributing and testing more diverse ideas more often, can help solve more problems sooner, and create better opportunities for people and the planet. Unfortunately, regional towns struggle to unlock the abundant ideas and creative energy available in their communities. Excluded from standard innovation, arts, and culture programs are everyday people who might not be considered creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial, and who may not want to start a business or change the world, yet possess untapped potential for creativity and innovation. Government and industry tend to overlook this resource, too. Therefore, this research initiative, co-led by the QUT Design Lab, the Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC), and in partnership with Townsville-based business DakTech, attempted to understand and activate the untapped cohort in the regional City of Townsville, North Queensland. his innovative research project prototyped mixed socioeconomic advantaged and disadvantaged participants and connected members from Townsville’s ‘creative underground’ to industry resources, producing pathways and relationships required for socioeconomic development in the regional community. In addition, the initiative was designed to combat social isolation and loneliness in low-income families and households. Supported by the Queensland Government’s Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts Communities Innovation Fund, the initiative created a safe accessible space to help people who experience social isolation and loneliness develop a sense of purpose, social connections, digital skills, and personal confidence.