ISSUE AREAS INCLUDE:

Futures Methodologies	Technology/Science	Business/Careers
Resources/Environment	Learning/Education	Health/Wellness Futures
Governance/Communities	Social/Cultural Trends	Values/Spirituality

Download a PDF file of the preliminary program
WorldFuture 2008:Seeing the Future Through New Eyes

 

Dear Colleagues:      I will never forget attending my first World Future Society annual conference. It was the summer of 1996 in Washington, D.C. The opening keynote speaker was former Colorado governor Dick Lamm, who was rumored to be considering a run for the presidency of the United States. Lamm was as prescient as ever, having nailed the aging and health crisis that was already on the horizon and would soon be the challenge of public policy wonks for years to come.      It was heady times, and what I remember most was the sheer excitement of seeing hundreds of people from all over the world engaged in serious debates about the future. The Hilton bustled with scientists, economists, historians, philosophers, business people, academics, teachers, ordinary people debating and presenting new ideas about the social, political, economic, and technological trends and events for the next hundred years.       I was like a child in a candy store. I attended sessions from morning until late at night before catching the last train out of D.C. to carry me back to the home of a friend who lived in Maryland. By the time I left D.C.—having been a guest of the Professional Members' Forum—I knew my life had been changed and that there was no way I would ever miss another meeting of the World Future Society.       I had seen the future through a new set of lenses.       So why am I writing this letter? Because as chair of the 2008 meeting, I encourage you to join hundreds of others who will gather in D.C. to explore the future through new eyes.        Futurists are loath to make predictions but I am going to go out on a limb to make one exception. If you attend WorldFuture 2008: Seeing the Future Through New Eyes, July 26-28, 2008, in Washington, D.C., you will not regret it!       Looking forward to seeing you this summer. Nat Irvin, II Nat Irvin, II Conference Chair

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Nat Irvin, II (chair), Strickler Executive In Residence,  professor of management, College of Business, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky; founder and president, Future Focus 2020.

Willis Bright, director of youth programs, Lilly Endowment, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.

James Calvin, associate professor of management, Department of Management, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Dwight M. Ellis,  president/CEO, Dwight Ellis & Associates Ltd., former vice president of Department of Human Resource Development, National Association of Broadcasters, Washington, D.C.

Esther  Franklin, executive vice president, director of cultural identities, Starcom MediaVest Group’s (SMG) multicultural unit, SMG Multicultural, Chicago, Illinois. 

Gerald Harris, founder, Harris Planning and Strategy Consulting, former senior consultant, Global Business Network, former director of planning-engineering, & construction business unit, Pacific Gas & Electric, Oakland, California.