In June 2024, the Finnish Society for Futures Studies, which promotes foresight and long-term analysis in Finland, published Our World of Futures Studies as a Mosaic, a sort of panorama of foresight approaches practised around the world. Without claiming to provide an exhaustive description of the world of futures studies and foresight (an almost impossible objective), the authors propose a ‘mosaic’ of approaches present on the main continents (with the exception of North America), as well as in three international networks (mainly based in the United States, which offsets the absence of North America in the continental division), showing their diversity and particularities.
For although we all live on the same planet, we are also imbued with traditions and cultural specificities, and evolve in different local contexts, and these particularities influence foresight work and its authors. Knowing, comparing and understanding these specificities is undoubtedly both a means of building bridges between different approaches to the future, and a source of inspiration for futurists of all backgrounds. In an increasingly interconnected and ‘global’ world, such a mosaic shows, on the one hand, the richness of foresight work and, on the other, broadens the spectrum of possible methods for studying the future and thinking in the long term.
Below is the list of chapters (by geographical entry) that make up this mosaic, which the authors invite you to add to over time:
Europe
- “Brief History of Establishing the Futures Field in Finland”, by Sirkka Heinonen and Laura Pouru-Mikkola
- “Futures Studies in Denmark through Three Lenses”, by Mikkel Stein Knudsen
- “Foresight in Germany: A History of Long-term Views and the Exploration of Futures”, by Kerstin Cuhls
- “Perspectives of French Futures Studies as Opened up by Key Experts”, by Sirkka Heinonen and Sofi Kurki — for the French reader, the experts consulted in this chapter are Thierry Gaudin (Prospective 2100), Hugues de Jouvenel (Futuribles), Saphia Richou (French node of the Millennium Project), Fabrice Roubelat (UNESCO), Anne Marchais-Roubelat (Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, Lirsa) and Jacques Theys (Société française de prospective).
- “Futures Studies in Italy: Organizations, Approaches, and Objectives. An Exploratory Assessment”, by Mara di Berardo, Carolina Facioni and Roberto Paura.
Africa
- “Elements on Anticipation Initiatives in Morocco”, by Manal Mouhsine
- “2063 Governance Scenarios for Africa’s Futures”, by Joni Karjalainen and Njeri Mwagiru
- “Goldilokshin and the Three Bears: A Narrative Architecture Perspective for Foresight of the African Economy”, by Morne Mostert
Latin America
- “The State of Long-term Thinking in Latin American Governments”, by Fredy Vargas Lama and Luz Martha Melo Rodrigues
Asia and Oceania
- “Experiences in the Foresight System in Singapore”, by Tuomo Kuosa
- “Futures Studies and Foresight in Australia and New Zealand”, by Matti Minkkinen and Tero Villman
International Networks
- “The Millennium Project: A Global Participatory Think Tank to Accumulate Wisdom for the Future”, by Jerome C. Glenn and Mara di Berardo
- “UNESCO Global Futures Literacy Network Develops Capabilities to Engage all Forms of Anticipation”, by Laura Pouru-Mikkola, Nicolas Balcom Raleigh and Markku Wilenius
- “Predicting the Future: From Oedipus to The Limits to Growth”, by Ugo Bardi
Reference: Villman Tero, Heinonen Sirkka and Pouru-Mikkola Laura (eds.), Our World of Futures Studies as a Mosaic, Helsinki: The Finnish Society for Futures Studies (Futures Series 10), June 2024, 241 p.
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N.B.: this article has been translated from French by DeepL, and revised by the author and Futuribles.
