FOSTERING HOPE AND VISION AMID CRISIS AND TRAGEDY
On July 29-31, the World Future Society convened its annual conference in
Minneapolis: WorldFuture 2007: Fostering Hope and Vision for the 21st
Century. Needless to say, we were shocked and saddened by the news of the
August 1 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge between Minneapolis and St.
Paul, just as two special postconference events were adjourning--the
Professional Members' Forum and Minnesota Futures Day.
Fortunately, all WFS members and staff attending the conference were safe.
We offer our sincere condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of
the victims of the bridge collapse. And we also wish to express our profound
admiration of the first-responders and emergency crews for their
professionalism and competence under such pressure.
The Society has had a long relationship with the Twin Cities, where our
first chapter was founded in 1967. We are fortunate to have an active and
passionate member base in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. Computer design
engineer Earl Joseph, who founded the Minnesota Futurists, led the chapter
for many years until his recent death. And world renowned futurist Joel
Barker of St. Paul ably chaired this year's annual meeting, aided by many
outstanding members of the Minnesota Futurists.
Minneapolis Chief of Police Tim Dolan and Kris Eide, director of Minnesota's
Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security and Emergency Management,
were among those attending the conference, along with other public-safety
professionals at all levels, from local to global. In many ways, the bridge
collapse serves as a reminder of the importance of foresight, effective
strategic thinking, scenario planning, and all of the other tools and
methods that futurists use to effectively plan for the unforeseeable.
More conference coverage will appear in the November-December 2007 issue of
THE FUTURIST magazine.
2007 CONFERENCE SUMMARY:
Photos, papers, PowerPoints, and session summaries will be posted as they
become available. Go to
http://www.wfs.org/2007summary.htm
RECORDINGS:
Audio CDs and multimedia CD-ROM
of nearly all the conference sessions and presentation materials are
available from IntelliQuest Media. For more information or to order now:
http://www.intelliquestmedia.com/store/search.php?a=E&c=200725
CONFERENCE VOLUME:
A collection of essays prepared in conjunction with the meeting and edited
by Society President Timothy C. Mack is now available for sale. Order HOPES
AND VISIONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY:
http://www.wfs.org/2007volume.htm
WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY BENEFITS FROM GOODSEARCH
The World Future Society is one of more than 30,000 nonprofit organizations
benefiting from GoodSearch, an Internet search engine that donates a penny
per search--50% of its revenues--to the charities and schools designated by
its users. The users pay nothing.
"I registered the Society with GoodSearch, began using it right away, and
could not see any difference between Internet searches made with GoodSearch
and those made with other search engines," says Ken Harris, the Society's
development committee chair and secretary.
Visit GoodSearch at http://www.GoodSearch.com and type World Future Society
in the space that "Says Who Do You Do GoodSearch For?" You may then set the
page as your homepage or follow the instructions for installing the
GoodSearch toolbar.
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2008 CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Futurists are now looking ahead to Washington, D.C., host of the World
Future Society's 2008 annual meeting. The focus of the conference is
learning to see the future through new eyes.
Chairing next year's conference will be Nat Irvin II, founder of FutureFocus
2020. Nat is executive professor of future studies and assistant dean of MBA
student development at Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of
Management. He is also a member of the World Future Society Board of
Directors.
Check out the 2008 meeting homepage for session proposal information and
conference volume submission guidelines:
WORLDFUTURE 2008: http://www.wfs.org/2008main.htm
SAVE $300! Register before August 31:
https://www.wfs.org/2008regform.htm
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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:
http://www.wfs.org/fbjul07.htm
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.
