Association of Professional Futurists - APF

Next in the series on Summit of the Future side events features an unofficial event addressing the sexual health of future generations. "Securing Digital Futures for Young People's Sexual Health and Rights," a panel discussion sponsored by USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health and Reckitt, brought together diverse voices including youth ambassadors, a popular social media influencer, and public health professional, along with representatives from UNDP and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to discuss how digital platforms can better serve youth seeking sexual health information. The panel featured Ayman Abdelmohsen, Nadya O., Patricia O'Hayer, H. Rodrigo Moheno M., and youth ambassadors Zacari T. and Rahinatou Sawadogo among others. Discussion began by stating disappointment with a general lack of urgency to promote health, specifically sexual health, in the Pact for the Future, then went on to expose a critical shift in how young people access sexual health information, with social media and digital platforms becoming primary sources. This trend presents both opportunities and challenges. While social media platforms are being utilized for health education, there's big concern about young people primarily relying on pornography for sexual information. A key challenge identified was the gap between traditional health organizations and modern digital communication exemplified by the UN's own difficulty in effectively using platforms like TikTok and complicated by increasing censorship of sexual health content and widespread misinformation. The panel emphasized solutions focused on meeting youth where they exist digitally, advocating for engaging content that balances entertainment with education. Success stories, such as FEMESS, Mexico's network of 3,000 centers, demonstrate how digital platforms can effectively bridge information gaps while providing anonymity for sensitive topics. The event concluded that strategic investment in digital platforms is essential for ensuring equitable access to accurate sexual health information, particularly for marginalized youth. Interesting Points Discussed: *The use of health tracking apps and targeted health campaigns. *Investing in digital platforms can significantly contribute to equity of correct information. *Go where people are and make content entertaining to them. *Social media content can’t be focused on what the organization finds interesting, but what the viewers find interesting. *There is a lot of work being done around the topic of ethical pornography. *Gen Z has an attention span of 8 seconds - “less than a gold fish.” *Content must be sex positive and pleasure oriented or youth won’t pay attention. *Content can be sometimes funny, sometimes informative, sometimes engaging. *Indigenous digital literacy (many cultures do not have a word for some aspects of health that weren’t known about until recently.) *Gamified sexual health. - Seth Harrell, APF Treasurer

?? ??????????, ??????????, ?????? ??????????????????: ???????????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ??????????????' ?????? ?????????????? ???????????????? ???????? ?????????????? recap by James Balzer, Oceania Fireside Chat series co-organizer. How can futurists best develop scenarios in uncertain and complex contexts? How can participatory processes be effectively conducted to design different scenarios? What implications does the design method of scenarios have for long-term strategic thinking? The APF were recently blessed with the presence of Betty Sue Flowers - a globally respected scenarios expert with a rich history of informing strategy across numerous organisations. In particular, Betty Sue shared insights on how myth and metaphor can revolutionise the way we create and communicate scenarios in strategic foresight. This included an exploration of how storytelling can reshape the futures we imagine and also the way managers and policymakers interrogate complexity, uncertainty and long-term transformation. ?? ?????? ???????????????? ???? ?????? ????????????????: 1?? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????????????? ???? ???????????????? ???????????????? 2?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????????????????? ???? ???????????????? ???????????????? 3?? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????????????? 4?? ?????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???? ?????????????????? ???????????????? - ?????????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?? ?????????? ?????? Betty Sue Flowers ?????? ???????? ???????????????????? ???????????????? ???? ?????? ??????????????! Read the whole blog here: https://lnkd.in/eh5f86ep

?? ?????? ?????? ?????????????????????????? ?????????????? ??????-?????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???? ??????????????????? We’re thrilled to announce that the APF Board members will be present at this year’s Dubai Future Forum, ready to engage with you in an in-depth conversation about the future of foresight practices. On Learning Day, November 21st, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with APF Board Members in both morning and afternoon sessions. In today’s rapidly evolving world, traditional foresight approaches may not be enough to address the growing complexities and uncertainties we face or to effectively connect with diverse audiences and stakeholders. That’s why the APF Board invites you to an immersive, hands-on workshop designed for futurists and foresight practitioners to explore unconventional, non-formal methodologies that enhance our innate human capacity for futures thinking. ?? Join ?????? ?????????????????? ?? ?????????????? - ?????????? ???????????? ?????????? 2024? WhatsApp group to connect with fellow futurists before and during the event: https://lnkd.in/dysUQKEm

Summit of the Future Report Side Event: Contesting Futures Location: The New School Host: The Observatory on Latin America On the eve of the Summit, I found myself intrigued by a critical discussion about whether the Pact for the Future was ambitious enough. One of the more direct statements was delivered by Sheela Patel and continues to resonate: “We can't build a future for future generations on top of infrastructure built for the past." This declaration serves as both a warning and a call to action, challenging many varieties of infrastructure including our conventional approaches to future-making. Juan Manuel Gonzalez Scobie delivered an insightful critique that the United Nations only seems to be able to vision the future through FIVE LENSES: 1. The Catch-Up Future: This perspective views progress as a linear race where developing nations must sprint to reach the standards set by developed countries. It's a narrative that implicitly accepts current power structures and development models as ideal. 2. The Adaptive Future: This lens focuses on responding and adjusting to changes already in motion, particularly climate change and technological disruption. While practical, it's inherently reactive rather than proactive. 3. The Remedial Future: This vision centers on fixing past harms, whether environmental damage, social inequities, or economic imbalances. While important, it keeps us tethered to historical problems rather than imagining new possibilities. 4. The Corrective Future: Similar to but distinct from the remedial lens, this approach focuses on addressing systematic mistakes and failed policies. It assumes that our current systems are fundamentally sound but need adjustment. 5. The Maturation Future: This perspective suggests we simply need to wait for existing initiatives and technologies to reach their full potential. It's a passive approach that might miss opportunities for transformative change. Scobie then asked: How do ordinary citizens envision the future? Do they naturally fall into these same institutional patterns of thinking, or do they possess different, perhaps more innovative ways of imagining what is possible? The UN might be missing the rich diversity of futures imagined by the very people its policies will affect. The path forward requires developing a common language of foresight that can serve both governments AND citizens. For #professionalfuturists, this presents an exciting frontier. Our role isn't just to help organizations navigate change, but to facilitate a more inclusive process through building capacity for #futures thinking at community levels and helping institutions expand beyond their traditional frameworks. Only then can we truly begin building a future that isn't constrained by the infrastructure of the past. https://lnkd.in/g3c_CScu #foresight #criticalfutures #ObservatoryonLatinAmerica #SummitoftheFuture Travis K. Jeremy Wilken Seth Harrell

?? ?????????????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ????????????????? Five times a year, the Association of Professional Futurists publishes its online magazine, Compass. Every issue is jam-packed with thoughtful and thought-provoking articles from professional futurists around the world. Previous issues of Compass are now available for purchase for anyone interested in learning more about the future at the APF’s store for just $10 each. Previous issues have explored the future of AI, Food, Water, Climate Change, Space, Work, and much more. Check out the APF store: https://www.apf.org/store *?????? ?????????????? ?????? ???????????????? ?????????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???????????????? ????????. Or, become a member today. Compass comes part of your APF membership. Learn how to join: https://lnkd.in/e_9c3i_E

???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????????????? ??????????????????, ? ??&?? ???????? ????. ?????????? ?????? ??????????????, ?? ?????????? ???????????? ???????? ??????????-?????????????? ????????????????, ?????? ?????? ???????????????? ?? ???????? ???????? ????????????! We're excited to announce that APF Board Member and Director for Asia, Luke Tay, will be attending the Seapunk Symposium, where he'll lead discussions on Seapunk x Food Futures and engage in wider conversations on Futures x Design x Systems Thinking. This event is a unique opportunity to explore a Seapunk Theory of Change and foster new collaborations from the Seapunk harvest. ? We also have a special Q&A session with Dr. Betty Sue Flowers! Attendees will have the chance to dive deep into her wealth of knowledge. Make sure to submit your questions during registration to ensure Betty can craft insightful responses. ? Excitement is building for our first APF Book Club meetup! We’re thrilled to see RSVPs coming in as we prepare to explore History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric. His message of hope, rooted in the past, inspires us to reflect on the future. Krznaric writes, “The time for gradualism is long over. The case for rapid and transformative change is all too clear.” Whether you've finished the book or just started, we’ll dive into the ideas together. Join us for APF First Friday, featuring Kimberly Camrass, 1st place winner of the Student Award 2024 (PhD category). She'll present her winning thesis, which explores eight principles for regenerative futures thinking and practice. Unlike traditional sustainability, regenerative approaches aim for net positive impacts on natural and social systems. Kimberly’s research draws on methods like Causal Layered Analysis, case studies, and interviews to create a framework for transformation, emphasizing the unique, place-specific nature of regenerative futures. Don’t miss this insightful presentation on the future of regeneration and foresight! RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/g7cGG96c Luke Tay, Dr Kimberly Camrass, Betty Sue Flowers, Steve Tighe, James Balzer, MSusDev MPP, Seth Harrell, Bülent Duagi ????, Sonia Fèvre, Matthew Mullan, KAM?L KAZIM SARI, Nicci Obert, Shahnaaz Hendricks

?????? ?????????????? ?????????????? 2024 - ???????????? ???? ???????? & ???????????????????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ??????????????????! ?? Do you think we’ll be working side-by-side with androids some day? Do you think millions of jobs will be eliminated because of AI? Or, millions of jobs created? Do you think a four-day work week will ever become reality? In the latest issue of Compass magazine, published by the Association of Professional Futurists (APF), professional futurists explore the future of work and workplaces. This issue is now available at APF.org: https://lnkd.in/gRpKStHd Thank you to all of our contributors to this issue, including: Joshua Barthel, Meredith Bowden, Ashley Chiarelli, ?????? ??????????, Martin Davis, Rich Erwin, Dr Elissa Farrow, Devin Fidler, Sara Fogarty, Dan Fukushima, Marina Gorbis, April Gorelik, Seth Harrell, James Holcombe, Samista Jugwanth, Johannes Kleske, Chris Mayer, Jacob Morgan, Langdon Morris, JT Mudge, Fernando Gutiérrez Olaizola, Claus Sneppen, Jessica Streit, Vinny Tafuro, Jay Vietas, PhD, Jeremy Wilken, Richard Yonck, and Khalil Zafar. Thank you to Stephen Dupont, APR, Fellow PRSA for editing this issue, Harmanjot Kaur, for magazine design, and Jocelyn Cheung, for website and marketing support.

Translations Honestly, I couldn’t wait to use the audio translator earpiece when I first sat down in the #UN General Assembly Hall. They have become such an icon of UN activities in TV news that branded replicas should probably be sold as souvenirs in the UN gift shop. Precise language and proper translation are extremely important to the functioning of the UN which is why there are so many expert translators of verbal and sign languages constantly in use. Perhaps language was taken slightly for granted when it came to the #PactFortheFuture. Association of Professional Futurists - APF foresight professionals inherently understand the inability for the public at large to talk and think in terms of far off or even plural futures. It is this language of #foresight, the language of acting for the future that is most in need of translation into the short term business and election cycles, the day-to-day language that constantly surrounds us. If your organization is having trouble reaching the UN #SustainableDevelopmentGoals or speaking the language of foresight, Association of Professional Futurists - APF members are global and can serve as your local foresight translator. #Summitofthefuture #APF #foresight #futures

Visual proof at 18:13 that I did in fact attend the UN #SummitoftheFuture. One of many excellent side events, this session featured inspired commentary from a panel of world class experts including Kenneth Nsah (Mala), PhD and Wales Future Generations Commissioner, Derek Walker. The later half features a provocative Q&A with author Kim Stanley Robinson on implications of a real-life #MinistryFortheFuture. UN Web TV contains an archive of all the on-site events held during the summit. It was impossible to attend them all as they ran simultaneously. I highly encourage those interested in the summit to watch these videos on your own time as I will be doing to discover what I missed while there. #APF #UNwebTV #Foresight

Read, Discuss, Connect: Launching the APF Book Club! ?? The APF is excited to announce the launch of the Book Club. A community aimed at exploring thought-provoking literature, share insights and reflections. It’s also a safe space to learn from, and foster connections among fellow futurists. ?????????????? ????????????: Meetups will start with a group conversation for everyone to share thoughts on the selected book. This will be followed by smaller breakout rooms, allowing for more focused and meaningful discussions. We cannot wait to embark on this literary journey with you! Join us on ??????????????????, 13 ???????????????? 2024, ???? 4 ???? ???????? for our inaugural Book Club meetup as we dive into ?????????????? ?????? ????????????????: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity by Roman Krznaric: ‘???????????????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ?????????????????? ???? ?????????? ???? ???????? ????????????????. ???? ???? ???????? ???? ???????????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????? ?????? ????????????????.’ Get ready for engaging dialogues and interactions. To be a part of this inaugural Book Club meetup, RSVP via: https://lnkd.in/g7cGG96c Thank you for the amazing effort of the planning and development of the book club: Bülent Duagi ????, Nicci Obert, Matthew Mullan, Sonia Fèvre, Shahnaaz Hendricks, KAM?L KAZIM SARI