Futures conferences are international forum for current and important issues. The next conference will be focusing on the “futures of a complex world.”
More than any other time in history, our world is increasingly riddled with complexity. Look at the cities, for instance: their growth implies more infrastructure, more transport, more mobility. Or glance at our institutions: how the EU, for instance, have become an ever more complicated arrangement between European countries, balancing between centralised policies and national sovereignty. Almost everywhere we look, we see growing complexity around us.
To understand the challenges of our time, we need systems thinking to grasp the complexity of our world. At its core is to see the inter-relationships rather than linear cause-and-effect chains, and in seeing processes of change rather than snapshots. All futures studies are ultimately connected to a systems approach. Since systems thinking is a way of interpreting the universe as a series of interconnected and inter-related wholes, it offers us the tools to manage complexity we observe around us.
Thus, to grasp the future predicaments of our time requires systematic futures thinking. That is why we are gathering in Turku in June 2017.
The Call for Papers, Posters and Performances is now open. I invite you to share your findings, ideas, results and thoughts. Please submit your abstract by 2 December 2016 at the latest.
Looking forward to seeing you in Turku, June 2017!
Markku Wilenius
Professor
Chairman for the Conference Scientific Board
Finland Futures Research Centre
Turku School of Economics
University of Turku
This is the 18th International Futures Conference of the Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy, University of Turku.
The conference is organized in co-operation with the National Foresight Network, Finland and Foresight Europe Network (FEN).
At the same time the Finland Futures Research Centre is celebrating its 25th year of quality academic research (1992-2017).
The Conference organisers would like to thank
the following supporters:
– Foundation for Economic Education
– Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (Tieteellisten seurain valtuuskunta)
Futures of a Complex World 