BUILDING BETTER EMBASSIES
The image of formally
attired diplomats sipping tea and posing for photographers while the world
crashes down around them will soon be a thing of the past. Tomorrow's
embassies will be more secure, their missions more focused, and their
ambassadors better trained, according to the Center for Strategic &
International Studies.
"U.S. diplomats are doing
business in new ways," says the Institute's Embassy for the Future
Commission co-chair Marc Grossman, "for example, bringing development to
mountain villages, traveling to remote villages to support drug eradication,
and deploying with our military forces in Afghanistan."
In its study for the U.S.
State Department, the Commission made several recommendations, including:
* Place new technologies,
especially communications, more effectively in the service of diplomatic
practice, facilitating information sharing.
* Support policies and
communication tools allowing diplomats to be more mobile.
* Improve the safety and
security of buildings housing diplomatic missions, including work in the
field.
Diplomats "still need to
influence foreign governments, but increasingly they will work directly with
diverse parts of other nations' societies," says Grossman. "As we prepare
for the future, diplomats need the right tools to be successful in these
environments."
SOURCE: Center for Strategic
& International Studies,
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/press/pr_2007_1015.pdf
PROGRESS AGAINST GLOBAL HUNGER
Ten countries most on
track to meet Millennium Development Goals to reduce hunger are Cuba,
Kuwait, Fiji, Peru, Uruguay, Egypt, Tunisia, Djibouti, Syria, and Iran.
Regionally, prospects
are particularly bright in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in
East Asia and the Pacific, according to the latest Global Hunger Index,
produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute.
The Index tracks
progress through three key hunger indicators: child malnutrition, child
mortality, and the proportion of people who are calorie deficient.
The greatest setbacks in
meeting Millennium Development Goals were experienced by Burundi and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by Swaziland, Liberia, and North
Korea, according to the latest Index.
SOURCE: International
Food Policy Research Institute,
http://www.ifpri.org/pressrel/2007/20071012.asp
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SEE YOUR FUTURE THROUGH NEW EYES
Seeing the Future
Through New Eyes is the theme of WorldFuture 2008, the Society's next annual
conference, to be held July 26-28 in Washington, D.C., with many pre- and
post-conference events planned.
Among the speakers
already confirmed are NASA chief scientist Dennis Bushnell, business
futurists Edie Weiner and Arnold Brown, noted bioethicist Arthur Caplan,
sociologist Amitai Etzioni, and technology policy expert Kelly H. Carnes.
LEARN MORE:
http://www.wfs.org/2008main.htm
REGISTER BY DECEMBER 31
and save $200 off the on-site registration fee:
https://www.wfs.org/2008regform.htm
SUBMIT SESSION PROPOSAL
BY OCTOBER 31:
http://www.wfs.org/2008propguidelines.htm |
TRACKING STRATEGIC MINERALS
Nonfuel minerals such as
copper, silicon, and gallium are critical to the technologies keeping
nations secure and smoothly functioning, but in the United States, data on
the defense stockpile of these critical minerals is insufficient, according
to a report from the National Research Council.
Minerals necessary for a
range of products--from mobile phones to computers to pacemakers--have
limited global availability, but neither the government nor industry leaders
keep adequate track of how secure these stockpiles are. Industries dependent
on these minerals can be severely affected by disruptions to the supply, the
report warns and recommends a more-systematic approach to building robust
supply chains to mitigate sudden shortfalls or surges in demand.
SOURCE: The National
Academies,
http://national-academies.org The reports "Minerals, Critical Minerals,
and the U.S. Economy" and "Managing Materials for a 21st Century Military"
are available from the National Academies Press,
http://www.nap.edu
|
WFS
CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS ON YOUTUBE
Highlights from the
World Future Society's 2007 conference are being added to the WFS YouTube
Channel! Now showing are opening plenary session speakers Helen Fisher
("Drugs or Love?") and Gregory Stock ("Personalized Medicine").
The Society is also
providing links to other video channels of interest to members, such as
vlogging futurists "egarland74" (consultant Eric Garland) and "sabrnig" (a
"mother and dental assistant turned futurist"). Check out our subscriptions,
which we will be reviewing and updating regularly.
VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/WorldFutureSociety |
CLICK OF THE MONTH:
SciVee TV
http://www.scivee.tv
Videophiles seeking more
substance to their media diet may want to check out the science-oriented
public offerings at SciVee. However, the site is geared primarily for
scientists and for peer-reviewed publications offering supplemental
open-access multimedia.
Now playing at SciVee
are videos on "microblogology" and transgenic mice, as well as podcasts on
multiscale modeling and "Ten Simple Rules for Making Good Oral
Presentations."
"We expect to
disseminate science to the widest possible audience, thereby bringing the
YouTube generation--who are the next generation of leading scientists--the
best science using a medium they have adopted and use on a daily basis,"
says University of California, San Diego, pharmacy professor Phillip E.
Bourne, one of the directors of the SciVee project.
SciVee is a collaboration
between UCSD's Supercomputer Center and the National Science Foundation.
NSF's Public Library of Science will make its online peer-reviewed content
freely accessible, allowing authors to upload videos and podcasts synched to
their published papers.
NEWS FROM THE
FUTURIST COMMUNITY
* UTNE
INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARDS: THE FUTURIST magazine is
among
the nominees for a 2007 Utne Independent Press Award, receiving a nod for
science and technology coverage. Distinguished fellow nominees in this
category are the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Discover, New Scientist,
OnEarth, Science & Spirit, Science News, and Technology Review. The awards
will be announced in the January-February 2008 issue of UTNE READER,
http://www.utne.com.
* IMPROVE YOUR
FORESIGHT APPROACH: The European Futurist Conference to be held November
19-21 at the Culture and Conference Centere in Lucerne, Switzerland, aims to
help practitioners develop their skill in putting foresight work into
practical use for decision makers in business, politics, and society. The
conference offers cutting-edge methodologies, best-practices, and networking
opportunities.
DETAILS:
http://www.european-futurists.org/
* WFS BOARD WELCOMES
NEW CHAIRMAN: Clarity Group President John J. Gottsman has been named
the new chairman of the World Future Society board of directors, receiving
the baton from fellow director Arnold Brown of Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc.
Society Secretary Kenneth W. Harris also joins the board, while William E.
Halal and Barbara Marx Hubbard leave the board to join the Global Advisory
Council.
*********************************************
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Attention futurist authors:
The following WFS publications are constantly on the lookout for new essays
and articles presenting trends, forecasts, and ideas about the future.
THE FUTURIST magazine:
http://www.wfs.org/writguid.htm
FUTURES RESEARCH QUARTERLY:
http://www.wfs.org/frq.htm#invite
FUTURE TIMES (online):
http://www.wfs.org/futuretimesmay07.htm
WFS Web Forums (online):
http://www.wfs.org/inter.htm
The World Future Society's 2008 conference volume is also
seeking submissions.
See
http://www.wfs.org/2008volguidelines.htm
FUTURIST UPDATE: News &
Previews from the World Future Society is an e-mail newsletter published
monthly as a supplement to THE FUTURIST magazine. Copyright © 2007,
World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD
20814, USA. Telephone 1-301-656-8274; e-mail
mailto: info@wfs.org ; Web site
http://www.wfs.org .
Editor: Cindy Wagner,
mailto:cwagner@wfs.org
Associate Editor: Patrick
Tucker, mailto:ptucker@wfs.org
Network Administrator: Jeff
Cornish, mailto:jcornish@wfs.org
Vice President,
Membership/Conference Operations: Susan Echard, mailto: sechard@wfs.org
To subscribe, enter your
e-mail at
http://www.wfs.org
To unsubscribe or change
your e-mail address, reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" or "change
address" in the subject line.
Submit feedback:
The WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan scientific and educational association with a
global membership. Regular membership in the Society, including a
subscription to THE FUTURIST, is $49 per year, or $20 for full-time students
under age 25. Professional and Institutional membership programs are also
offered; contact Society headquarters for details:
http://www.wfs.org.
