Services 2020

When it comes to changing the way we use energy, cities are at the centre of the action, says Manish Bapna, managing director of the World Resources Institute.who reports here on the recent meeting of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

AARHUS, Denmark, Jun 15, 2011 (IPS) - Images of the immense, dark stain of oil covering the waters of the Gulf of Mexico made their way across the globe last year as one of the largest oil spills in history unfolded. Other images - of the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch', a gigantic pile of litter floating in the North Pacific Ocean; of countless felled trees in the Amazon; of tar sands in Canada - have gained much fewer headlines, but are likely to remain as monuments to the price tag of wanton human appetites.

"Some random thoughts on Bitcoin, the decentralized online currency. Here's something to stir the pot and have some fun:"

"Imagining tomorrow's America today, FUTURESTATES is a series of independent mini-features - short narrative films created by established filmmakers and emerging talents transforming today's complex social issues into visions about what life in America will be like in decades to come."

We (Cognitive Edge) would be really grateful if you would be prepared to share your thoughts, fears and hopes about the current state of the world post the financial cris. What are the implications for public service? How will our institutions adapt? What will be important for the public service in the future? What is going to happen to public service anyway? We want your micro-narratives, you mini-scenarios as part of a crowd sourcing project. Anyone who participates can have access to the data, results will be published here. Basically you click here and contribute your ideas, then you signify their meaning. The signifier (or index) set was produced in conjunction with experts in strategic foresight. We want to demonstrate the power of networks, the ability of the voice of the person on the metaphorical Clapham Omnibus, Jo Public (or whatever yiyr cultural phrase is) to stand up there with the views of experts. One is not better than the other, we need both! Also we want them fast - as many as you can over the next couple of days. The first report will come out on Sunday, then more over next week. Please participate please pass this on in your blog, Twitter, Facebook, emails lists or good old word of mouth.

The TrendWiki engages your networks to study problems of interest and communicates the results to the decision makers and experts. The TrendWiki is different from typical Wikis in two ways: it is designed to support selected business processes and contains the data and text mining tools to study the content of the wiki pages. Click the balls on the left to study more; click the logos below to study our references.

What will the world be like when personal, custom satellites -- or "cubesats" -- are as cheap and easy to launch as websites are today? Help us uncover ideas about the future of science and technology at the Signtific Lab -- launching February 18, 2009. Brought to you by the Institute for the Future. To get updates when Experiment #1: Free Space launches, pre-register now at lab.signtific.org

"The tenth symposium of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) focuses on the way socio-cultural research addresses complex problems and opportunities in Australia, the Asian region, and globally."

Past, present and future examples of augmented reality

Neville Freeman Agency  - Strategic management and foresight. Scenario building.

What's Next is a trends report offering clear, concise and non-sensationalist commentary on trends in society, business, science & technology, government and the environment. Each issue covers trends across twelve sectors and speculates about future risks and opportunities.

Future Exploration Network - connecting ideas and people at the edge of the future(!) Not sure if we've captured these guys before.

Museums of the Future talk at TEDx Sydney

This paper highlights how investing in a robust, reliable and high speed communications network could have significant economic, environmental and social benefits. It can help change the way we live, work and play so that we decrease the environmental impact and not our quality of life.

Something immense is happening as the world transitions to a hyperconnected state where, for many, the distinction between the real and virtual worlds has ceased to exist. All the trailing paraphernalia of states and borders and government-to-government palavers, not to mention privacy laws, look so 20th century.

Last year the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) put out an interesting long-term report, Vision 2050, in which it looked at various sectors of society and the economy. Interestingly, they describe the next ten years, till 2020, as the Turbulent Teens and indicate that only after that period will we arrive in Transformation Time, which will last till 2050. During that period we will be able to actually implement and manage many of the ideas, suggestions, technologies and new business models that are needed to create a sustainable economy, society and environment.

The futurist Herman Khan introduced the idea of "thinking the unthinkable" as a way to loosen up the imagination in trying to forecast the future. Most time we are unable to guess the future because we are inhibited by conventional wisdom - something that everyone knows is true. For instance everyone (including me) knew that an encyclopedia written by amateurs that could be changed by anyone at anytime was simply a silly, impossible idea. That prevented anyone from forecasting wikipedia. Herman Khan stressed that we should assume what we know is wrong and begin to imagine how the unthinkable might happen.

Public Sees a Future Full of Promise and Peril Life in 2050: Amazing Science, Familiar Threats

Could the Fear of Adopting Social Media Be Due to a Fear of Death?