By Eeva Hellström “The megatrends look like a runaway train posing daunting challenges, and collapsologists are talking of a dying world”. We have already learned from experience that this doom and gloom approach does not trigger sufficient changes towards sustainability. The question is, if this is not the way to activate paradigm changes, what is? Foresight can have a role in changing governance paradigms The challenges go deeper than improving policymakers’ knowledge of sustainability challenges and awareness of potential futures – they encompass the very core of our governance systems. Many of our governance systems worked well for the times…
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by Dr. Phillip Daffara I have created this short video based on a recent PechaKucha talk I gave in Noosa. From my personal and professional experience, I share the thinking tools and design strategies I use to help me look past the cultural cage I grew up in. The cultural cage of modernity with the image of the ënlightened” Vitruvian man at its centre. These tools were gathered like shells from various shores – philosophy, futures studies, cultural studies and design. Thanks to my some of my mentors such as Sohail Inayatullah (watch out for him on the yellow research…
World Game Seminar at New York Studio School (1969, New York). Courtesy of Stanford University Libraries Special Collections By Rok Kranjc »Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone« – Buckminster Fuller[1] »Imagine a future where cities are modeled, tested, designed, and reshaped through interactive, collaborative games« – Ekim Tan[2] In recent years there has been a major upsurge in theories around and prefigurative experimentation with various alternative institutional models (e.g. commons-based urban co-governance, platform cooperativism, alternative currencies,[3] universal basic assets,[4] circular economy)…
On 4th January, 2018, a 6-year old girl was raped and murdered in Qasur, Pakistan. This instance of child abuse served as a wake up call for a society which has been lax in its response to abuse and has shaken the collective conscience of the Pakistani nation. While the issue is in the spotlight, it is important to look at it from various angles, instead of just skimming the issue at a superficial level. Child abuse relates to neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse of children. In this regards I believe there is a need to explore…
By Dr. Colin Russo Emerging issues may make huge changes to food futures, but people really aren’t aware of their presence. The consequence of the issue may seem a long way off in the future yet may be building in the background with no statistics pervasive in the popular media. Statistics about demand for food are always being monitored, by authorities interested in the consumer price index i.e. when the price of food changes it has a small impact on inflation, but this is only news for some people. Statistics are also monitored closely by food suppliers (growers, sellers, packaging…
Dr. Sohail Inayatullah and Dr. Levi Obijiofor Beyond the Nation as Sovereign In the Olympics of the 20th and 21st century, only winning matters. Winning boosts a nation’s image, turns winners into instant millionaires, and unifies internal enemies. More than that, it re-inscribes the nation as the natural and only form of government. Can we imagine an Olympics with different sorts of ‘territoriality’, perhaps a line-up of ethnicities, individuals, geographical and virtual communities, transnational corporations, and even civilisations? Can we imagine a postmodern Olympics focused on difference? Can we imagine a situation where there is excellence and challenge but not…
by Erica Bol Schools and universities’ mission statements talk about preparing students for the future. But are we preparing students for the future if our curricula are only focused on the past? In this rapid changing world, not even distant past is very informative of the future. In order to prepare our students, we should teach them how to anticipate, embrace and shape the future; we should teach them futures thinking. Futures thinking is an essential skill that is critical to deal with a world full of changes. It will help students realize that they are capable of proactively creating…
Dr. Sohail Inayatullah and Dr. Levi Obijiofor We love watching the Olympics, and are inspired by athletic and organizational excellence. However, the Olympics are not a neutral venue. Every medal is based on a stream of money, power, genes and deep culture. In this 2-part essay [1] we unpack the political-economy of the Olympics. Becoming an Olympic superstar So, you want to be an Olympic Superstar. How should you plan your career, to best ensure success? Three factors stand out in deciding which teams get Olympic medals. First is the size of the population. The more people, the larger pool…
one step at a time like this are a collective of performance artists who specialize in transforming the “audience” into the performer, through a unique approach to contemporary arts practice. Bridgette Engler and I were approach by one step about a year ago, to ostensibly “help them” with a futures project. Bridgette and I designed a creative and interactive process of two half-day workshops that would run them through a foresight process to envision the futures of contemporary arts practice – 50-100 years from now. However in what might be described as “inversion” or “entrapment”, we the futurists soon found…
On 8 May 2018 in Washington D.C. Trump announced that the US withdraws from the JCPOA. It is also known as the Iran nuclear deal that was negotiated during Obama administration. The alternative futures that might emerge can be developed in four key scenarios and we can follow the direct and indirect paths of impacts using a tool known as the Future Wheel. The nuclear deal with Iran cancels altogether. When every other partner of the deal declares its withdrawal, the immediate consequences are the highest level of sanctions against Iran and in particular the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).…