Association of Professional Futurists - APF

👀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 ✨ The Association of Professional Futurists (APF) is proud to contribute to and host three new resources to support foresight practitioner evaluation practice and to build a culture of evaluation.  Developed by members of the APF Foresight Evaluation Task Force (2021-2023) and Foresight Evaluation Initiative (2024-), these resources include: 🌠 A themed page on the BetterEvaluation website, a go-to for beginners and experts,  🌠 A themed issue of the journal, New Directions for Evaluation, a rich repository of cases, and 🌠 The practical guide, Applying Evaluation Thinking and Practice to Foresight.   Together they provide foresight practitioners and evaluators new to foresight with the tools they need to get oriented and design an evaluation that supports program quality, learning, and effectiveness. Stay tuned for additional resources and activities in 2025. More information can be found in the APF Foresight Evaluation Initiative landing page: https://lnkd.in/eJ2urpAr Annette L Gardner, PhD, Laurent Bontoux, Eric Barela, Zan Chandler, Rose Thompson Coon, Tanja Hichert, Steven Lichty, Jean Paul Pinto, Bruce Tonn

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐏𝐅’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ❤️🔥 The Association of Professional Futurists (APF) are pleased to introduce a new membership tier — the General Membership. This addition aligns with our commitment of fostering inclusivity and expanding our foresight community with diverse perspectives and strengthening the foresight field as a whole, central goals highlighted in our Strategic Plan 2024–2026. The Board believes that the General Membership tier will benefit the APF and field of foresight with diverse perspectives and new voices while financially supporting APF initiatives and mitigating the need to raise membership fees in the short term which have remained at the same level for many years. Moreover, it will complement the standing of Professional Members by recognizing their distinct expertise and achievements while at the same time providing a welcoming pathway for emerging practitioners, enthusiasts, and all those interested in futures and foresight, connecting individuals who are eager to learn, grow, and engage with our global network. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/emhNf8cr Contact membercare@apf.org if you have any questions. 😊

📢 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ✨ We invite you to participate in shaping the future by providing your insights on key drivers and challenges for 2025. Your input will help us create a comprehensive report on factors influencing development in the coming years. Please submit your insights by completing the information below before December 20th, 2024. This will give the volunteer group ample time to synthesize the results. The final report will be shared with all members in February 2025. Link to the contribution form: https://lnkd.in/e3DGr-MB

Next in the series on Summit of the Future side events features an unofficial event addressing the sexual health of future generations. "Securing Digital Futures for Young People's Sexual Health and Rights," a panel discussion sponsored by USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health and Reckitt, brought together diverse voices including youth ambassadors, a popular social media influencer, and public health professional, along with representatives from UNDP and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to discuss how digital platforms can better serve youth seeking sexual health information. The panel featured Ayman Abdelmohsen, Nadya O., Patricia O'Hayer, H. Rodrigo Moheno M., and youth ambassadors Zacari T. and Rahinatou Sawadogo among others. Discussion began by stating disappointment with a general lack of urgency to promote health, specifically sexual health, in the Pact for the Future, then went on to expose a critical shift in how young people access sexual health information, with social media and digital platforms becoming primary sources. This trend presents both opportunities and challenges. While social media platforms are being utilized for health education, there's big concern about young people primarily relying on pornography for sexual information. A key challenge identified was the gap between traditional health organizations and modern digital communication exemplified by the UN's own difficulty in effectively using platforms like TikTok and complicated by increasing censorship of sexual health content and widespread misinformation. The panel emphasized solutions focused on meeting youth where they exist digitally, advocating for engaging content that balances entertainment with education. Success stories, such as FEMESS, Mexico's network of 3,000 centers, demonstrate how digital platforms can effectively bridge information gaps while providing anonymity for sensitive topics. The event concluded that strategic investment in digital platforms is essential for ensuring equitable access to accurate sexual health information, particularly for marginalized youth. Interesting Points Discussed: *The use of health tracking apps and targeted health campaigns. *Investing in digital platforms can significantly contribute to equity of correct information. *Go where people are and make content entertaining to them. *Social media content can’t be focused on what the organization finds interesting, but what the viewers find interesting. *There is a lot of work being done around the topic of ethical pornography. *Gen Z has an attention span of 8 seconds - “less than a gold fish.” *Content must be sex positive and pleasure oriented or youth won’t pay attention. *Content can be sometimes funny, sometimes informative, sometimes engaging. *Indigenous digital literacy (many cultures do not have a word for some aspects of health that weren’t known about until recently.) *Gamified sexual health. - Seth Harrell, APF Treasurer

🤔 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐬, 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐀𝐏𝐅 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫 recap by James Balzer, Oceania Fireside Chat series co-organizer. How can futurists best develop scenarios in uncertain and complex contexts? How can participatory processes be effectively conducted to design different scenarios? What implications does the design method of scenarios have for long-term strategic thinking? The APF were recently blessed with the presence of Betty Sue Flowers - a globally respected scenarios expert with a rich history of informing strategy across numerous organisations. In particular, Betty Sue shared insights on how myth and metaphor can revolutionise the way we create and communicate scenarios in strategic foresight. This included an exploration of how storytelling can reshape the futures we imagine and also the way managers and policymakers interrogate complexity, uncertainty and long-term transformation. 💡 𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒃𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓: 1️⃣ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘺𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 2️⃣ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 3️⃣ 𝘚𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 4️⃣ 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘰 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦? 👏 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 Betty Sue Flowers 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫! Read the whole blog here: https://lnkd.in/eh5f86ep

🤔 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒏-𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕? We’re thrilled to announce that the APF Board members will be present at this year’s Dubai Future Forum, ready to engage with you in an in-depth conversation about the future of foresight practices. On Learning Day, November 21st, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with APF Board Members in both morning and afternoon sessions. In today’s rapidly evolving world, traditional foresight approaches may not be enough to address the growing complexities and uncertainties we face or to effectively connect with diverse audiences and stakeholders. That’s why the APF Board invites you to an immersive, hands-on workshop designed for futurists and foresight practitioners to explore unconventional, non-formal methodologies that enhance our innate human capacity for futures thinking. 💬 Join 𝐀𝐏𝐅 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐱 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 - 𝐃𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 2024  WhatsApp group to connect with fellow futurists before and during the event: https://lnkd.in/dysUQKEm

Summit of the Future Report Side Event: Contesting Futures Location: The New School Host: The Observatory on Latin America On the eve of the Summit, I found myself intrigued by a critical discussion about whether the Pact for the Future was ambitious enough. One of the more direct statements was delivered by Sheela Patel and continues to resonate: “We can't build a future for future generations on top of infrastructure built for the past." This declaration serves as both a warning and a call to action, challenging many varieties of infrastructure including our conventional approaches to future-making. Juan Manuel Gonzalez Scobie delivered an insightful critique that the United Nations only seems to be able to vision the future through FIVE LENSES: 1. The Catch-Up Future: This perspective views progress as a linear race where developing nations must sprint to reach the standards set by developed countries. It's a narrative that implicitly accepts current power structures and development models as ideal. 2. The Adaptive Future: This lens focuses on responding and adjusting to changes already in motion, particularly climate change and technological disruption. While practical, it's inherently reactive rather than proactive. 3. The Remedial Future: This vision centers on fixing past harms, whether environmental damage, social inequities, or economic imbalances. While important, it keeps us tethered to historical problems rather than imagining new possibilities. 4. The Corrective Future: Similar to but distinct from the remedial lens, this approach focuses on addressing systematic mistakes and failed policies. It assumes that our current systems are fundamentally sound but need adjustment. 5. The Maturation Future: This perspective suggests we simply need to wait for existing initiatives and technologies to reach their full potential. It's a passive approach that might miss opportunities for transformative change. Scobie then asked: How do ordinary citizens envision the future? Do they naturally fall into these same institutional patterns of thinking, or do they possess different, perhaps more innovative ways of imagining what is possible? The UN might be missing the rich diversity of futures imagined by the very people its policies will affect. The path forward requires developing a common language of foresight that can serve both governments AND citizens. For #professionalfuturists, this presents an exciting frontier. Our role isn't just to help organizations navigate change, but to facilitate a more inclusive process through building capacity for #futures thinking at community levels and helping institutions expand beyond their traditional frameworks. Only then can we truly begin building a future that isn't constrained by the infrastructure of the past. https://lnkd.in/g3c_CScu #foresight #criticalfutures #ObservatoryonLatinAmerica #SummitoftheFuture Travis K. Jeremy Wilken Seth Harrell

🤔 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞? Five times a year, the Association of Professional Futurists publishes its online magazine, Compass. Every issue is jam-packed with thoughtful and thought-provoking articles from professional futurists around the world. Previous issues of Compass are now available for purchase for anyone interested in learning more about the future at the APF’s store for just $10 each. Previous issues have explored the future of AI, Food, Water, Climate Change, Space, Work, and much more. Check out the APF store: https://www.apf.org/store *𝘈𝘗𝘍 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘗𝘋𝘍𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢. Or, become a member today. Compass comes part of your APF membership. Learn how to join: https://lnkd.in/e_9c3i_E

𝑱𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 🌏 𝑨𝑷𝑭 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒌 𝑺𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒖𝒎, ⁉ 𝑸&𝑨 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝒓. 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝑺𝒖𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔, 🥇 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅-𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 📚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑪𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒑! We're excited to announce that APF Board Member and Director for Asia, Luke Tay, will be attending the Seapunk Symposium, where he'll lead discussions on Seapunk x Food Futures and engage in wider conversations on Futures x Design x Systems Thinking. This event is a unique opportunity to explore a Seapunk Theory of Change and foster new collaborations from the Seapunk harvest.   We also have a special Q&A session with Dr. Betty Sue Flowers! Attendees will have the chance to dive deep into her wealth of knowledge. Make sure to submit your questions during registration to ensure Betty can craft insightful responses.   Excitement is building for our first APF Book Club meetup! We’re thrilled to see RSVPs coming in as we prepare to explore History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric. His message of hope, rooted in the past, inspires us to reflect on the future. Krznaric writes, “The time for gradualism is long over. The case for rapid and transformative change is all too clear.” Whether you've finished the book or just started, we’ll dive into the ideas together. Join us for APF First Friday, featuring Kimberly Camrass, 1st place winner of the Student Award 2024 (PhD category). She'll present her winning thesis, which explores eight principles for regenerative futures thinking and practice. Unlike traditional sustainability, regenerative approaches aim for net positive impacts on natural and social systems. Kimberly’s research draws on methods like Causal Layered Analysis, case studies, and interviews to create a framework for transformation, emphasizing the unique, place-specific nature of regenerative futures. Don’t miss this insightful presentation on the future of regeneration and foresight! RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/g7cGG96c Luke Tay, Dr Kimberly Camrass, Betty Sue Flowers, Steve Tighe, James Balzer, MSusDev MPP, Seth Harrell, Bülent Duagi 🇷🇴, Sonia Fèvre, Matthew Mullan, KAMİL KAZIM SARI, Nicci Obert, Shahnaaz Hendricks

𝐀𝐏𝐅 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 2024 - 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 & 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞! 🎊 Do you think we’ll be working side-by-side with androids some day? Do you think millions of jobs will be eliminated because of AI? Or, millions of jobs created? Do you think a four-day work week will ever become reality? In the latest issue of Compass magazine, published by the Association of Professional Futurists (APF), professional futurists explore the future of work and workplaces. This issue is now available at APF.org: https://lnkd.in/gRpKStHd Thank you to all of our contributors to this issue, including: Joshua Barthel, Meredith Bowden, Ashley Chiarelli, 𝐉𝐢𝐦 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫, Martin Davis, Rich Erwin, Dr Elissa Farrow, Devin Fidler, Sara Fogarty, Dan Fukushima, Marina Gorbis, April Gorelik, Seth Harrell, James Holcombe, Samista Jugwanth, Johannes Kleske, Chris Mayer, Jacob Morgan, Langdon Morris, JT Mudge, Fernando Gutiérrez Olaizola, Claus Sneppen, Jessica Streit, Vinny Tafuro, Jay Vietas, PhD, Jeremy Wilken, Richard Yonck, and Khalil Zafar. Thank you to Stephen Dupont, APR, Fellow PRSA for editing this issue, Harmanjot Kaur, for magazine design, and Jocelyn Cheung, for website and marketing support.