The World Future Society is the world’s premier community of future-minded citizens. Our mission is to harness the spirit of discovery, the power of imagination and the energy of collective action to create a brighter future. 
 
We are an inclusive community of individuals and organizations connected across the globe around areas of shared interests and our deep dedication to using a futurist mindset to tackle the world’s toughest challenges. Our membership is made up of professionals with a wide diversity of backgrounds, including industry, government, academia and science. Our community is built upon the strength of collective action to help you generate actionable results around your ideas to shape future. The Society was founded in 1966 and is a 501c3 not for profit.

The World Future Society

Join the&nbsp;world's premier community of future-minded citizens as we celebrate the&nbsp;50th Anniversary&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://wfs.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=0acdfa1c625689241fbdceb5a&amp;id=042b828a1e&amp;e=b9f45280a4" target="_blank">World Future Society</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;Inspiring Keynotes,Interactive Break-out Sessions, and an&nbsp;Energizing UnConference&nbsp;exploring the most exciting and relevant issues that are shaping our collective future.&nbsp;At a time when people are fearful, and many dystopian futures lurk ahead, it is up to us to collectively imagine and build the future we want. Humans are the only species on the planet that need not just accept or adapt to changing circumstances -- we have the capacity to consciously evolve and engineer our surroundings. We have ability to imagine, the drive to discover, and the power to come together to turn our greatest challenges into opportunities. A Brighter Future&nbsp;IS&nbsp; Possible.&nbsp;Why are people coming?<ul>	<li>"Networking with visionaries"</li>	<li>"To get an update on what's on the horizon"</li>	<li>"Adapting to accelerating change"</li>	<li>"Deep insights on critical issues"</li>	<li>"Connecting with other people who contemplate the future"</li>	<li>"Giving my brain a jolt"</li></ul>

Join the&nbsp;world's premier community of future-minded citizens as we celebrate the&nbsp;50th Anniversary&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<a href="http://wfs.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=0acdfa1c625689241fbdceb5a&amp;id=042b828a1e&amp;e=b9f45280a4" target="_blank">World Future Society</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;Inspiring Keynotes,Interactive Break-out Sessions, and an&nbsp;Energizing UnConference&nbsp;exploring the most exciting and relevant issues that are shaping our collective future.&nbsp;

At a time when people are fearful, and many dystopian futures lurk ahead, it is up to us to collectively imagine and build the future we want. Humans are the only species on the planet that need not just accept or adapt to changing circumstances -- we have the capacity to consciously evolve and engineer our surroundings. We have ability to imagine, the drive to discover, and the power to come together to turn our greatest challenges into opportunities. A Brighter Future&nbsp;IS&nbsp; Possible.&nbsp;

Why are people coming?

<ul>
	<li>"Networking with visionaries"</li>
	<li>"To get an update on what's on the horizon"</li>
	<li>"Adapting to accelerating change"</li>
	<li>"Deep insights on critical issues"</li>
	<li>"Connecting with other people who contemplate the future"</li>
	<li>"Giving my brain a jolt"</li>
</ul>

Co-Founder

Co-Founder and CEO

CEO & President

Creator

WorldFuture 2016: A Brighter Future IS Possible!

Class&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;The Futures School Spotlight is an interactive and project-based program that empowers participants with the critical skills of Strategic Foresight and Futures Thinking for a new era of complexity and change.&nbsp;The vision for this brand new approach to Strategic Foresight has been years in the making and emerged from a realization that a gap exists between our increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world and the antiquated leadership and business development approaches we have depended on for too long.&nbsp;TFS Spotlight is designed to help leaders and entrepreneurs learn the basics of futures-empowered strategy, innovation and organizational development.

The Futures School Spotlight 

Class Description:&nbsp;Brighter futures aim to affect positive change. At the Institute for the Future we frequently talk about this as the Foresight to Insight to Action cycle. However, futures as visions, as ideas, do not motivate action. Emotions motivate action. This session will explore the futurist as a sculptor in the mediums of hope and fear, and the foresight practitioner as an agent of emotional intelligence and empowerment. At IFTF we draw on a phrase coined by Jane McGonigal, &ldquo;urgent optimism,&rdquo; to describe the state we&rsquo;re trying to steer people towards. Clear-eyed analysis of present reality and future possibility feeds both urgency and optimism, but analysis must always meet an audience where they are emotionally as well as intellectually. Practitioners: please bring your stories of triumph and defeat. Newbies: come and be prepared to &quot;tune your instrument,&quot; as mindfulness researcher Jon Kabat-Zinn puts it.

Research Director

Embodied Futures 

Class Description:&nbsp;Are you prepared for the changes coming from the 4th Industrial Revolution - led by the advances in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Brain simulation and research? This session will explore the recent developments in these fields and project the potential impact on government, business, education, jobs, the home and society. During the session, we&rsquo;ll explore the myths and past future perspectives of these technologies and discover the amazing realities of today. You&rsquo;ll also get to experience and see some of these technologies in action, and finally define your own visions of the future of the revolution.

Principal Technology Research Analyst

Robots, AI And The Brain – Leaders Of The 4th Industrial Revolution

Class Description:&nbsp;The core cultural and communication narrative models of &quot;Tell, Sell and Yell&quot; will not give us the possible futures we seek. An emerging and dynamic model of &quot;Be, See and We&quot; is changing the game forever. This program and conversational setting will offer an intellectual and experiential foundation for understanding how collaborative narrative designs can be applied in-group and organizational settings. Leigh Wright will facilitate the class with co-presenters familiar with inquiry-based learning. It will include interactive exercises, videos snippets, visualization tools and peer-learning opportunities. All are welcomed no special knowledge is required.

Senior Consultant

Collaborative Narrative Designs

Class Description:&nbsp;Every living organism has an optimal duration of existence - the maximum amount of years that they can live under the most favorable conditions. This multiple-award-winning interactive workshop uses Body Consciousness Techniques of meditation, pressure points, ring muscles, and touch triggers to help participants understand their individual optimal duration, and provides Self-management Skills of breathing, good nutrition, sufficient rest, and active lifestyle that would enable them to realize this potential. Attendees will leave with: stress-management tools to relieve daily tension, simple rules of good nutrition sustainable for a lifetime, and clarity, stability, and confidence by knowing that their well-being is in their hands.

President, Lifespan SeminarVP

COO, Lifespan Seminar

Know How Long You Can Live

Class Description:&nbsp;Many futurists have brilliant ideas yet do a poor job of communicating their vision to others. This drastically limits their influence and ability to create meaningful change. What if futurists could speak and write in simple, elegant language? This short&nbsp;Master&nbsp;Class will give attendees clear guidelines and practical exercises for communicating their ideas and articulating their vision. Each participant will work on their own vision during the session, with individual feedback and coaching.&nbsp;Corresponding skills for effective communication are listening, being able to interpret non verbal communication and engaging in generative dialog.&nbsp;Master&nbsp;Capacities in communication are essential for communities, organizations and&nbsp;leaders&nbsp;to thrive in a world that is increasingly complex, interconnected, interdependent, and complex. Each participant will work on their own vision during the session,with individual feedback and coaching.

Author

Co-Author

Communicating Your Vision For The Future

Instructors:&nbsp;Clem Bezold, Chairman &amp; Senior Futurist, Institute for Alternative Futures along with Willis Goldbeck, Developer, Foresight EducationClass&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;This popular&nbsp;Master&nbsp;Class&nbsp;introduces the Institute for Alternative Futures&rsquo; unique aspirational futures approach that enhances understanding of plausible futures and enables better creation of preferred futures. Participants will explore specific futures tools; get practical advice on using those futures tools to enhance learning and effective decision making within their organizations and communities as well as in education. This is a highly interactive workshop where participants experience and reflect on the tools we describe. Every participant receives a source book of tools and examples that illustrate successful futures work. This is a highly rated workshop. Participants will leave this course with an understanding of trends, forecasts, scenarios, and vision - the basic techniques that the Institute for Alternative Futures considers essential to transformative futures work and effective strategic planning.

Instructors:&nbsp;Clem Bezold, Chairman &amp; Senior Futurist, Institute for Alternative Futures along with Willis Goldbeck, Developer, Foresight Education

 
Class&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;This popular&nbsp;Master&nbsp;Class&nbsp;introduces the Institute for Alternative Futures&rsquo; unique aspirational futures approach that enhances understanding of plausible futures and enables better creation of preferred futures. Participants will explore specific futures tools; get practical advice on using those futures tools to enhance learning and effective decision making within their organizations and communities as well as in education. This is a highly interactive workshop where participants experience and reflect on the tools we describe. Every participant receives a source book of tools and examples that illustrate successful futures work. This is a highly rated workshop. Participants will leave this course with an understanding of trends, forecasts, scenarios, and vision - the basic techniques that the Institute for Alternative Futures considers essential to transformative futures work and effective strategic planning.

Chairman & Senior Futurist

Developer

Wiser Futures 

Instructor:&nbsp;Andy Hines, Assistant Professor &amp; Program Coordinator, Program in Foresight, University of HoustonClass&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;The future is a source of fascination and anxiety in society. Most people have little idea about how systematically think about and deal with the future. This pre-conference course fills that gap by sharing frameworks, methods, and tools that futurists use to understand, map, and influence the future. The course uses a mix of lecture, exercises, discussion, and a sample project in order to provide participants with a hands-on experience that will generate practical and useful take-aways. &nbsp;

Instructor:&nbsp;Andy Hines, Assistant Professor &amp; Program Coordinator, Program in Foresight, University of Houston

 
Class&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;The future is a source of fascination and anxiety in society. Most people have little idea about how systematically think about and deal with the future. This pre-conference course fills that gap by sharing frameworks, methods, and tools that futurists use to understand, map, and influence the future. The course uses a mix of lecture, exercises, discussion, and a sample project in order to provide participants with a hands-on experience that will generate practical and useful take-aways. 
&nbsp;

Assistant Professor & Program Coordinator

Introduction To Foresight 

Class&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;&quot;Rigorous Futures&quot; is designed both for people new to futures and for professionals looking to expand their foresight toolkits. Participants will gain a firm understanding of the basic components of foresight and learn how to combine multiple futures research tools. This will include hands-on practice with seven key methods: emerging issues scanning; timelines and the Three Horizons Framework; theories of change and stability; systems mapping; impact mapping; story narratives and archetypes; and visioning using the Verge Framework. Digital take-aways will include background readings, explanations of each method, and worksheets for the seven foresight methods covered. This fast-moving workshop will emphasize learning by collaborating and creating.