Futurist of the Year Award Nominations Now Open

Since 1975, the World Future Society has honored individuals for a lifetime of distinguished service. Recipients have included media critic Marshall McLuhan (1980), Futuribles International founder Bertrand de Jouvenel (1980), inventor Buckminster Fuller (1982), author Isaac Asimov (1986), and more than a dozen others.

Now, the Society has created a special award--named for its founding president, Edward Cornish--to recognize outstanding achievement in ongoing futures work or the effective promotion of foresight in any endeavor. The award may be given to acknowledge a specific project, publication, consulting activity, or other work that advances futures methodologies or increases the broader understanding and application of foresight techniques.

The Society’s first Edward Cornish Award: Futurist of the Year was presented during WorldFuture 2010 to Theodore J. Gordon, senior fellow of the Millennium Project.

The Society announces that nominations are now open for the next annual award. There is no fee for nominators or nominees to enter this award program. Nominations are open to any individual or organization involved in futures work anywhere in the world. The nominations will be presented to the WFS Board of Directors, who will select the recipient.

The winner will be announced at WorldFuture 2011: Moving from Vision to Action, the Society’s annual meeting to be held in Vancouver, BC, Canada, July 8-10, 2011. There will be no monetary award for the winner.

Nomination Guidelines and Selection Criteria

The winner will be selected on the basis of work completed within the past 12 months, demonstrating an effective application of foresight (including classroom or consulting work) or innovation in foresight methodology with wide potential applications. Nominations may be here.

Restrictions:

The nomination essay and application must be submitted in English; however, documents submitted in support of the nomination may be in other languages, if accompanied by an executive summary in English. Membership in the World Future Society is not a requirement for either nominators or nominees; however, only Professional Members of the World Future Society may vote on the nominations selected.

Nominations and all supporting materials must be received at World Future Society headquarters by Monday, January 3, 2011.

Submit using the online form here or by e-mail to cwagner@wfs.org. Interested participants can also write to Edward Cornish Award: Futurist of the Year, World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD 20814.