An Event to Remember

This will happen again, so remember this name “APF Virtual Gathering.”
APF (Association of Professional Futurists) started talking about an event of this type several years ago, but the technology just wasn’t up to the task. Now it is. The software was Adobe Contact, and there were a few glitches —I was (electronically) kicked off the call about four minutes before my presentation, but got back online in time. Jim Dator wasn’t as lucky, he was never able to connect. But the event worked. Much better than most of the webinars I’ve been involved with. All in all, it was a great event.
But I guess I haven’t really told you much about it so here goes, because you will want to remember this.

The Virtual Gathering was an online conference or meeting of APF members and anyone who was interested, from around the world. Anyone could register at www.profuturists.org. You might check out that web site, and if you are a professional futurist (educator, writer, consultant, speaker, researcher, etc.) think about joining. Then you’ll get the announcement next time.
The Virtual Gathering started in Europe at 6 AM EDT, moved on to the US at Noon EDT, then on to Australia at 8PM EDT, where the event closed at Midnight EDT. According to my count, we had eight speakers in Europe and the UK, fourteen from the US, and five from Australia.
People around the world listened and watched on computers, pads and phones. I was connected from 7 AM until 11 PM Central time. I wish I had awakened earlier to catch the opening hours! People stepped away from their computers at the office or home for quick, necessary breaks, then came right back. People typed into the chat line, apologizing because they had to drive home from the office, pick up kids, eat meals, etc. Then they were back.
This Gathering was organized by APF, but was open to anyone with an interest in Foresight and Futures Studies. Admission was very reasonable for non-members, $45. No airfares, no hotels, no restaurants, no jet lag. Very professional presentations. Everything was recorded, so you will probably get a chance to see them fairly soon, either on the APF web site or on YouTube.
Stay tuned for the next Gathering, as you won’t want to miss it. I’m sometimes blown away by the power of some of these APF members and their presentation content and skills. Here’s a list of speakers and moderators in their order of appearance, starting at eleven AM, British standard time:
Wendy Schultz
Noah Radford
Vahakn Matossian
Sohail Inayatullah
Andrew Curry
Victoria Ward
Emil Hooge
Justin Pickard
Cindy Frewen
Emily Empel
Sara Robinson
Heather Schlegel
Verne Wheelwright
Peter Bishop
Andy Hines
Maria Anderson
Jim Dator
Jay Gary
Peter Hayward
Heather Frey
Scott Yim
Frank Spencer
Maree Conway
Marcus Barber
Elizabeth Rudd
Richard Slaughter

Wendy Schultz opened the program, and was still with us till the very end, 5 AM her time!
A great day.
Details about the program and about each speaker are posted at www.profuturists.org/events.

Email me: verne@personalfutures.net.
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