Newsletter 3.0

1.    New State of the Future 19.1 with infographics
2.    Pakistan State of the Future Index (PK-SOFI)
3.    Annual Planning Committee met in Mexico
4.    World Future Day
5.    Future Work/Tech 2050 national workshops
6.    UN Global Environmental Facility Priorities Two-round Real-Time Delphi
7.    Grappling with the Futures Symposium
8.    Next Annual Planning Committee Meeting in Bolivia
9.    MP CEO to lead the Legacy Council for new World Future Society
10.  Anticipatory Governance for Transition from Artificial Narrow to Artificial General Intelligence
11.  Foresight Europe Network (FEN) and Red Ibero-Americana de Prospectiva (RIBER) 
12.  New executive team for transition of MP leadership

 

3. Annual Millennium Project Planning Committee Meeting

The Millennium Project Node Chairs, and Board Members met in Mexico 9-10 October 2017 to review the past year and plan the next based on the results from MP-PC Real-Time Delphi. The top five priorities are to: develop the MP’s communications strategy; rate 100+ work/tech suggestions/strategies; explore the future of anticipatory governance (possible application on AI); re-assess the 15 Global Challenges; create a Millennium Project online course(s) on Futures Concepts, Methods,and Global Challenges.

Right after the MP meeting, Concepción Olavarrieta, Chair of the Mexican Node along with the meeting host Technological de Monterrey organized an all day conference on Mexico in the Global Future.

4.  Future Day – March 1st

To celebrate and make it an International or World Future Day, The Millennium Project conducted a 24-hour Round-the-World conversation in cooperation with the Word Futures Studies Federation, Association of Professional Futures, Humanity+, and the Club of Amsterdam. This no-agenda open global conversation on the future began in New Zealand at 12 noon moving across the world with people entering and leaving the conversation whenever they wanted. People were invited to join the video conference at 12 noon in their time zone. Discussions ranged from changing mind-sets, ocean currents, AI and other future technologies, security, cryogenic research, to improving brain functioning, role of the arts in cultural change, corporate responsibility. and public participation in decisionmaking.

5. Future Work/Tech Workshops

18 Countries have conducted workshops to suggest national actions to address issues raised in the three Future Work/Tech 2050 Global Scenarios.  If you would like to help create a workshop please contact the Node chair in your country or region listed at: https://millennium-project.org/nodes/ and copy Jerome.Glenn@Millennium-Project.org on your email request. A 7.5 minute video on the Future Work/Technology 2050 Global Scenarios can be distributed to develop interest in creating workshops.  These actions will be assessed in a Real-Time Delhi and published in the global report. 

6. UN Environmental Facility Priorities Two-round Real-Time Delphi 

The Environmental Law Institute and the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the UN Global Environmental Facility (STAP-GEF) worked with The Millennium Project to collect novel environmental entities to address over the next five years and fifteen years. In the first RTDelphi round, over 50 items were suggested ranging from new man-made viruses or pathogens (created possibly through mistake from biological hobbyist/DIYer, or intentionally as bio-weapon) to nanobots that can break down plastics or other pollutants and increased bioaccumulation of nanoparticles in consumer goods and industrial products that pose health problems. The second round rated their priority for GEF.

The graphic above is a preliminary representation of the RTDelphi results produced by Dave Rejeski (MP Planning Committee member) and his team at the Environmental Law Institute.

7.  Grappling with the Futures: Insights from Philosophy, History, and Science, Technology and Society

Yashar Saghai, The Millennium Project’s new Senior Scholar is organizing this symposium to be held at Harvard University (Department of the History of Science) the first day and Boston University (Department of Philosophy) to second day.  It is co-sponsored by The Millennium Project, The Mellon Foundation, The BU Center for Philosophy & History of Science, and the Institute for Contemporary History Munchen-Berlin. Although this April 29-30 symposium is already fully booked, plans are underway with the MP Cyber Node to have it live streamed in 360 virtual reality and recorded for later viewing and editing.

8. The 2018 Millennium Project Planning Committee Meeting is Planned for Bolivia

11. Foresight Europe Network (FEN) and Red Iberoamericana de Prospectiva (RIBER) 

Feedback welcome at info@Millennium-Project.org

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The Millennium Project is a global participatory think tank connecting 63 Nodes around the world that identify long-range challenges and strategies, and initiate and conduct foresight studies, workshops, symposiums, and advanced training. Its mission is to improve thinking about the future and make it available through a variety of media for feedback to accumulate wisdom about the future for better decisions today. It produces the State of the Future reports, the Futures Research Methodology series, the Global Futures Intelligence System (GFIS), and special studies. Over 4,500 futurists, scholars, business planners, and policy makers who work for international organizations, governments, corporations, NGOs, and universities have participated in The Millennium Project’s research, since its inception, in 1992. The Millennium Project was selected among the top think tanks in the world for new ideas and paradigms by the 2013-2017 University of Pennsylvania’s GoTo Think Tank Index, and 2012 Computerworld Honors Laureate for its contributions to collective intelligence systems.