We are witness to enormous changes underway across the globe during the last few decades. Potentially dramatic transformations ahead of us in the near-term are likely and we may well be at the threshold of emerging worlds. It is to explore and reflect upon these emerging worlds and the processes of transition, and with the hope of advancing thinking in the field of Future Studies (FS) as a whole, that this conference invites FS practitioners from all strands, as well as interested newcomers to the field, to consider the intricate topic: “Transitions: Encouraging Emerging Worlds”.

 

Futures Studies (FS) is about the different ways that human beings anticipate and shape the future. This multi-disciplinary field aims to identify trends and drivers of change, understand the main lines of evolution and explore ways to transform the world. The authors of this Call for Participation want to underscore certain underlying assumptions that, although not meant to exclude alternative viewpoints, aim to provide a coherent foundation for potential contributors and the conference as a whole.

 

 Appropriate for an FS conference, the authors of this Call for Participation are aware that they are drafting it at a specific moment in historical time. Events in the closing months of 2007, like many times in the past, appear to confront both individuals and societies, indeed the planet as a whole, with significant new insights, opportunities and threats. While historians might be better placed to assess the extent to which today’s events are “really” significant or new relative to those already lived, the specific vantage of FS and this conference is to consider the nature and scale of events in the present through the lens of what we anticipate about the future.

 

Conference Workshops

The conference offers at present the following four rubrics or strands for organizing contributions from participants. Workshops on each of these rubrics will be convened and coordinated by conveners or co-conveners and will be chaired by various experts. However, this list of workshops is not intended to close any other creative possibilities. Proposals for other workshops within the overall conference theme are welcome and if considered appropriate will be accommodated in the conference. The detailed program of the conference will be drawn up from the results of this call for participation.

 

Acknowledging the changing nature of global social reality, for instance the increasingly important role of women in the present and the emerging worlds, the conference would specifically like to encourage the participation of women and people from developing countries and diverse backgrounds, and the presentation of alternative perspectives on transitions to emerging worlds. 

 

The following workshops are proposed at present.

The Great Transition: The criticality of the present moment in the creation of the future. What global futures could emerge from the turbulent changes shaping our world? What are the main scenarios we can anticipate, what are the driving forces, the agents of change and the nature of transition in these scenarios? What are the strategies, methods, policies and technologies that are helping us, or have the potential, to move towards an environmentally sustainable global society? [Co-conveners: Richard Slaughter and Chris Riedy].

Global Mindset Change and Pioneers of Change: The cultural and ideological changes, values, ideas, knowledge and new ways of thinking that are emerging and have the potential to influence and shape the transition to emergent worlds. The institutions, initiatives, communities and pioneers that are leading the efforts for transition, the strategies and means being adopted and inspiring examples of radical change [Co-convener: Rakesh Kapoor. A volunteer required to co-convene this workshop].

Seeds of Emerging Worlds: Recognizing the nascent signs of emerging worlds - spotting and sharing the seeds (weak signals, visions) from which new/different worlds would emerge [Co-conveners: Fabienne Goux-Baudiment and others].

Anticipation in Everyday Life: Towards a New Theory and Practice of Futures Literacy: This workshop will analyze emerging ontological and epistemological directions in anticipatory thinking with the aim of assessing the importance of these developments for the way people, individually and collectively, integrate the future into their lives [Co-conveners: Riel Miller, Roberto Poli, Pierre Rossel].

 

Organization and Presentation Styles

This conference is open to different ways of organizing the workshops convened under each strand. The workshops do not necessarily have to be organized along conventional lines such as the presentation of a written texts intended for publication. Other formats that are more like structured strategic conversations or following the practices of spiral dynamics or scenario brainstorming are welcome as well. The workshops will be held over a period of two days, while other days will be taken up by opening and closing plenary sessions and other activities. At the concluding plenary session workshop conveners will offer summaries of their discussions on the nature of ongoing transitions to emerging worlds. After which the floor will be open for discussion to all conference participants.

 

The conference encourages creative modes of presentation and drawing audience participation. We are, therefore, inviting people interested in exhibiting or creating their visualization of emergent worlds through art, comics, dance, theater, movies, etc. It is planned that a team of young “visualizers” (students) will be invited to various workshops and draw “futures visualizations” from the discussions.

 

Call for Participation

The Conference, which will take a multi-disciplinary view of emergent futures with a specific focus on alternatives, will be of interest to those involved in policy making, research, academics, NGOs and in initiatives and processes for change. Proposals from participants for papers, workshops and other presentations are welcome.

 

Please send a short abstract of your paper or other presentation (see guidelines below) to: Marianne Rugård Järvstråt secretariat@wfsf.org or gittemarianne@tele2.se, by January 31, 2007 at the latest.

 

Guidelines for Submission of Abstracts

The abstract submission must include all of the following:

1.    Paper title.

2.    Authors (principal author first) - authors’ names, affiliations and email address of the corresponding author.

3.    Mode of presentation – in case this is other than conventional paper presentation please indicate briefly here and mention details under serial no. 5 – Abstract Text.

4.    Author/s’ biography approximately 100 words.

5.    Abstract text 250 to 400 words. Abstracts should contain enough detail to clearly convey the approach and the results of the work.

 

Conditions of Acceptance

Authors are expected to secure funding for travel and accommodation before submitting abstracts. This will not be covered by the WFSF. A small number of need-based scholarships may be offered to students or participants from developing countries subject to availability of funds.

 

By submitting your abstract you agree that all permissions have been approved, and authorize the WFSF to circulate your abstract to conference International Scientific Committee members for review and selection purposes and if it is accepted, to publish the abstract in conference documentation and post-event proceedings. Authors are normally required to attend at the conference to present their work.

 

On acceptance of short abstracts, authors will be notified latest by mid-March 2008. Full papers for the conference will have to be submitted by 15 May, 2008.