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NEWS RELEASE |
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450
• Bethesda, Maryland 20814 • U.S.A. |
Publisher of THE FUTURIST, Futures Research Quarterly, and
Future Survey
Contact: Clifton
Coles FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WINDOW ON THE FUTURE BETHESDA, MD — The future is at your fingertips in Washington, D.C., where the World Future Society launches its annual conference at the Grand Hyatt on Saturday, July 31, 2004, with a short press briefing. Designed to introduce the press to the issues and opportunities offered by this event, this briefing will highlight a number of its most important elements. At 5:30 p.m. in the Bulfinch Room, author Edward Cornish, past president of the Society, will introduce his new volume Futuring: The Exploration of the Future, a cutting-edge guide to emerging future trends and the art of forecasting. Futuring has already attracted significant critical acclaim for its accessible assessment of the complex issues facing our modern and often confusing world. It focuses on not only understanding the future, but shaping it for the better as well. Marvin Cetron, founder and president of Forecasting International, will also attend to discuss his forecasting work on terrorism. Cetron, a White House consultant from 1961 to 1998 and head of a study of the future of terrorism for the Pentagon, will conduct a survey at the conference on potential terrorist targets and attacks. He will survey conference-goers about the probability of attacks on famous landmarks, political figures, and critical infrastructures, and other potential terrorist activities. Finally, newly elected Society President Tim Mack will outline exciting new programs at the Society, including the Future Generations Fund, developing innovative education programs for youth across the globe, and a wide range of strategic alliances designed to bring foresight capabilities to such wide-ranging sectors as city government and association management. The briefing will be followed by the conference’s opening plenary session at 7 p.m. Economist-author Jeremy Rifkin will talk about hydrogen’s growing importance and inventor and high-tech entrepreneur Ray Kurzweil will speak about the potential merger of human and machine. The World Future Society is the largest and oldest organization in the world devoted to studying the future, with more than 25,000 members in 80 countries. More than 800 forward-thinkers are expected to attend the conference, including more than 150 presenters and speakers. Conference updates, schedules, and a complete list of presenters and topics are
available at www.wfs.org. |
