World Future Society

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the World Future Society?
The World Future Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan scientific and educational association of people interested in how social and technological developments are shaping the future. The Society was founded in 1966 and is chartered as a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Why Study the Future?
The world changes so quickly it's hard to keep up. New inventions and innovations alter the way we live. People's values, attitudes, and beliefs are changing. And the pace of change keeps accelerating, making it difficult to prepare for tomorrow. By studying the future, people can better anticipate what lies ahead. More importantly, they can actively decide how they will live in the future, by making choices today and realizing the consequences of their decisions.

The future doesn't just happen: People create it through their action -- or inaction -- today.

What Can We Know about the Future?
No one knows exactly what will happen in the future. But by considering what might happen, people can more rationally decide on the sort of future that would be most desirable and then work to achieve it.
Opportunity as well as danger lies ahead, so people need to make farsighted decisions. The process of change is inevitable; it's up to everyone to make sure that the change is constructive.

What Does the Society Do?
The Society strives to serve as a neutral clearinghouse for ideas about the future. Ideas about the future include forecasts, recommendations, and alternative scenarios. These ideas help people to anticipate what may happen in the next 5, 10, or more years ahead. When people can visualize a better future, then they can begin to create it.

Who belongs to the Society?
Membership is open to anyone who would like to know more about what the future will hold. The Society includes 25,000 people in more than 80 countries--from Argentina to Zimbabwe. Members come from all walks of life. They include sociologists, scientists, corporate planners, educators, students, and retirees. They are thinking people who seek a better future for themselves and society.

Does the Society Have Local Chapters?
The Society's program of local activities includes local groups of people in more than 100 cities who share the same interest in the future. These local chapters give members a chance to meet other forward-looking people and to discuss various topics of the future.

How Much Does It Cost to Join the Society?
Dues for membership in the World Future Society are $49 per year (in U.S. currency or its equivalent in other currency). Dues are the same throughout the world. Full-time students under age 25 may also join at a discounted rate of $20 per year

What Do Members Receive?
All World Future Society members receive:

• The Futurist, our main bimonthly publication.
• FutureTimes, an online resource for Society members
• Futurist Update, a monthly e-mail newsletter filled with late-breaking stories on important trends and ideas, plus news and announcements from the Society.
• Discounts on conference registration fees and on books published by the Society.
• Outlook. An annual report offering members selected forecasts that can help them anticipate events of the future.
• Invitations to our Conferences.
• Special New-Member Benefits. In addition to regular member benefits, new World Future Society members will receive the a set of the latest special reports, such as "Future Careers" and "53 Trend's Now Shaping the Future." New members also receive "The Art of Forecasting," a four-page guide on how to study the future. For more information.

Professional Members of the Society receive:

• All of the above, plus:
• Futures Research Quarterly, a scholarly, refereed journal published four times per year
• Invitations to Professional Members' Forums, held each year just following the annual conference

Comprehensive Professional Members of the Society receive:

• All of the above, plus:
• A subscription to Future Survey. Each month, Future Survey alerts you to the most important futures-relevant literature. Concise, readable, and nontechnical abstracts of recent books, articles, and reports are arranged in topical clusters that enable you to see connections, subtle differences, and clashing opinions.
• All books published by the Society, including a copy of The Futures Research Directory: Organizations and Periodicals. These will be sent free of additional charge immediately upon publication.

For more information on membership and to join now.

DIRECTORS
Arnold Brown, Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc.
Marvin J. Cetron, president, Forecasting International Ltd.
Edward Cornish, founder and former president of the World Future Society
Hugues de Jouvenel, executive director, Association Internationale Futuribles, Paris, France
John Gottsman, (chairman) president, The Clarity Group
Kenneth W. Harris, chairman, The Consilience Group, LLC
Donna Heivilin, former director, Applied Research and Methods, U.S. General Accounting Office
Kenneth W. Hunter, director of professional programs, Institute for Global Chinese Affairs, University of Maryland
Nat Irvin II, president and CEO. FutureFocus 2020, Bacock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University
Jay McIntosh, Americas director of consumer products, Ernst & Young
Robert S. McNamara, former president, World Bank; former U.S. Secretary of Defense
John Naisbitt, trend analyst and author
Mylena Pierremont, vice president, Royal Philips, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Maurice F. Strong, secretary general, U.N. Conference on Environment and Development

GLOBAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Raja Ikram Azam, director, Pakistan Futuristics Foundation
Raj Bawa, president, Bawa Biotechnology Consulting, and adjunct associate professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Adolfo Castilla, Spanish economist and communications professor
Harlan Cleveland, president, World Academy of Art and Science
Yehezkel Dror, professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
William E. Halal, professor of management science, The George Washington University
Peter Hayward, program director, Strategic Foresight Program, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Barbara Marx Hubbard, president, The Foundation for Conscious Evolution
Sohail Inayatullah, professor, Tamkang University, Taiwan
Eleonora Barbieri Masini, chair, executive council, World Futures Studies Federation, Rome, Italy
Graham May, senior lecturer, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, United Kingdom
Michael Michaelis, president, Partners In Enterprise, Inc.
Julio Millán, president, Banco de Tecnologias S.A. de C.V. in Mexico City
Joergen Oerstroem Moeller, visiting senior research fellow, ISEAS, Singapore
Burt Nanus, author and professor emeritus of management, University of Southern California
John L. Petersen, president, The Arlington Institute
Sandra L. Postel, director, Global Water Policy Project
Robert Salmon, vice president, L'Oreal Corporation, Paris
Alvin Toffler, author
Heidi Toffler, author