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WHAT REMAINS? is an independent cultural project initiated by Mohsen Saraji, an experience designer and cultural strategist, within SARAAJ’s cultural practice. It invites people working across different disciplines and parts of the world to offer a personal reflection on one shared question. The aim is to develop a book and a long-term archive of the voices, values and concerns of our time.
The question at the heart of the project is:
In a world changing faster than ever, what is still worth building, preserving, or believing in?
Much of our conversation about the future concerns change: which technologies are emerging, which skills we will need, and which structures should be redesigned. Alongside these necessary questions, another deserves attention: what do we want to carry forward through those changes?
An answer might concern a way of thinking, a human relationship, a skill, a language, an institution or part of the natural world. It might also concern something we have yet to build adequately, such as a fairer opportunity to learn or a place where people can better understand one another.
WHAT REMAINS? begins with these choices. Something enduring need not mean something unchanged. The project asks what deserves continuity, and what responsibility we take on when we choose to build or preserve it.
People are invited because their work and experience have a meaningful connection to the central question. Art, literature, science, design, education, technology and public life each offer different ways of approaching it.
The value of bringing these perspectives together lies in their differences. One person might consider trust in our capacity to understand the world worth preserving; another might focus on the memory of a place or our ability to care for others. These are illustrations of the question’s scope, not contributions received or prescribed subjects for participants.
The principal question remains the same for everyone. The reason for inviting each person may differ, while their response remains free to emerge from their own experience and in their own voice.
A contribution to WHAT REMAINS? can begin with a short reflection: a particular experience, a conviction tested over time, or an uncertainty that remains unresolved.
Around 150–250 words is a useful length, but a shorter response is equally welcome. Participants may also contribute a short audio recording. In that case, a transcription will be returned to them for approval.
The aim is to gather and edit these reflections into a book and a long-term archive. Readers will be able to follow different lines of thought, make connections between contributions and develop questions relevant to their own lives and work.
The collection is not intended as a statistically representative account of global opinion. It is a curated cultural conversation across different experiences. Its value will come from attending closely to each contribution and to the relationships between them.
Each response belongs to the person who writes or speaks it. Preserving its attribution, meaning and voice is part of the project’s editorial responsibility. Editing and translation should improve clarity and convey meaning faithfully, keeping personal reflections within their context.
Attribution and the intended use of a response will be discussed with the contributor before publication. Receiving an email or beginning a conversation does not, by itself, constitute permission to publish an entire correspondence. People will be publicly identified as contributors only once their participation and attribution have been confirmed.
Project invitations are sent by Mohsen Saraji, Founder and Curator of WHAT REMAINS? SARAAJ provides a home for introducing and following this cultural initiative. This page explains the project’s purpose, central question and approach to participation.
To begin, simply reply to the invitation you received. You may first indicate your interest or send a brief reflection directly, in writing or as an audio file. If you have questions about timing, translation or how your response may be used, the same email conversation is the appropriate place to discuss them.
You may also contact Mohsen Saraji by email with questions about the project.
WHAT REMAINS? is currently inviting and gathering reflections. The book and archive are the intended outcomes of this process; they should not be understood as completed or published works at this stage. Further information about editing and publication will be shared through SARAAJ.
For SARAAJ, the project extends an interest in the relationship between people, storytelling and the future. Designing a space, creating an artwork or developing an institution ultimately introduces something into other people’s lives. Asking what remains offers a moment to consider the value of what we intend to add to the world.
The future takes shape through the choices we make today. This project seeks to preserve some of the reasons behind those choices.