WFSF-UNESCO

The UNESCO Futures Literacy and Foresight team has been engaged in co-designing capacity building activities with stakeholders around  the world, working with government ministries, UN agencies and community groups to advance abilities to creatively ‘use-the-future’ to address contemporary global challenges.

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Futures Publications – Journals

There are several peer-reviewed academic and professional journals dedicated to reporting, discussing and analyzing issues of relevance to futures researchers, practitioners and students. There are also some futures-oriented magazines below. 

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Accreditation Services

The World Futures Studies Federation offers its standards to institutions interested in achieving accreditation in futures studies. Institutions offering programmes which meet the Federation’s standards will be credentialed as an Accredited Foresight Programme. Accreditation will extend for a period of five (5) years. Review of accreditation will be available every five (5) years to ensure programmes continue to maintain high quality standards of the Federation.

To verify which programs have obtained WFSF Accreditation you can visit the WFSF Members Directory and filter for Accredited members [click here].

We provide accreditation only to education providers that have been recognized by the relevant department or ministry of education in their country as a tertiary education provider.

Key Documents for download:

World Futures Studies Federation Guide for Accreditation – effective 1 July 2021, version 2.5 (click here to download)
World Futures Studies Federation Request for Accreditation- effective 1 July 2021, version 2.5  (click here to download)
World Futures Studies Federation Accreditation Process – effective 1 July 2021  (click here to download)
World Futures Studies Federation Institutional Accreditation Submission – effective 1 July 2021, version 2.5  (click here to download)

World Futures Studies Federation Request for Accreditation (Course) – effective April 2024, version 3.0 (click here to download)

WFSF Regional Meetings & Partnered Events

WFSF has co-convened many regional conferences, meetings & workshops.

WFSF Regional meetings have been held in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Mexico City, USA, China, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Iceland and Europe.

A complete listing of Regional Meetings, in reverse chronological order, is below. Clicking on the highlighted links will take you to the website or further articles and documentation.

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WFSF Iberoamerican Chapter

8 May 2024 3 December 2023 I am pleased to send you the information about the 46 events that we held in 2023 in the Prospective Studies Seminar supported by the Latin American vice presidency of the WFSF. There were conferences, two book presentations and two tributes to recognized prospectivists in Mexico. Eight countries in the region and five states in Mexico were connected. The presentations are on the page that appears in the report and can be downloaded freely. Guillermina Baena Paz, PhD  Vice-President Latin America World Futures Studies Federation WFSF Programme Accreditation Council Member Iberophone Hub lead, Mexico City 31 March 2023 7 January 2023 NEWS 2022 FROM VICE PRESIDENCY OF LATIN AMERICAN REGION WFSF I am pleased to inform you that during the year 2022 we had 44 weekly events convened by the Prospective Studies Seminar and the WFSF Regional Vice-Presidency for Latin America on my behalf. It was an important experience since we opened the Seminar on a regional basis and we have had participants from at least seven countries in the region in addition to those carried out by the International Seminar on prospective training (with technical support from the Universidad del Cuyo in Argentina) We had an average weekly attendance of about 40 attendees on a constant basis and one hundred registered who are informed weekly and register on the subject of their interest. As an added value, we have the materials on the page of the Faculty of Political Sciences with free access …

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WFSF and Futures TV/Radio

A partnership between WFSF and Futures TV to promote Futures Studies and the WFSF agenda.

The new mass media project – Futures Television (https://futurestelevision.com/) – is a futures studies specific channel that will start broadcasting via Roku TV. Roku has a 180 Million subscriber base — a platform to distribute futures related content free of charge to the masses.

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WFSF-PMU Research Fund

17 April 2022 Update:

The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies (PMFCFS) and the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF) announce the continuation of their futures research grant for the year 2022. The objective of this grant is to encourage researchers to expand their disciplines with methods of futures studies.

(Useful to know: What is Futures Studies?)

PMFCFS website: https://pmfcfs.pmu.edu.sa/default.aspx

Research Grant Proposal: https://pmfcfs.pmu.edu.sa/scientific-research-grants.aspx

Submission Link: https://pmu.edu.sa/forms/scientificresearchgrant/index



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Middle East and North Africa Chapter

REPORT BY THE PRINCE MOHAMMAD BIN FAHD CENTER FOR FUTURISTIC STUDIES; 12 May 2024

CENTER’s OVERVIEW

i. Introduction

Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies (PMFCFS) has been conceptualized as part of Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) and is aligned with its mission, vision and values. It was established in 2019 and reports directly to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Currently, PMU has a large number of faculty with a diverse array of specializations in areas that are consistent with the mission of the center for Futuristic Studies. These individuals have independently established research groups, planned quantitative and qualitative research activities, attended conferences, and published in scholarly journals. Their expertise encompasses all disciplines within PMU’s Colleges and Departments (College of Engineering, College of Law, College of Business Administration, College of Computer Engineering and Science, and College of Sciences and Human Studies). The center utilizes existing skills, expertise, and experience to offer an interdisciplinary approach to issues of local and international relevance.

Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies conducts research through a team of interested faculty and students in areas that benefit KSA and in line with its Vision 2030. The center focuses its research on topics related to the future of education, of the environment and the resources, the future of businesses, of public policies, design and technologies, urban development, cultural and social change, or health and medicine. Multidisciplinary collaboration is necessary to ensure the most adequate research input and output.

The center also welcomes research topics in the field and has opened international collaboration with the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF), announcing joint projects and programs, as well as the MENA Chapter for the WFSF at the PMU campus. In addition, PMU is an UNESCO Chair in “Transitional and Inter-Generational Anticipation” In alignment with PMU mission and vision, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies aims to position itself among the leading academic institutions in the Middle East as a research-led center. Since PMU already promotes research as a vital part of its core mission, the aim of the center is to focus research on topics and issues that are relevant to the MENA region, Europe, the Americas and Asia. The center’s members work on building a strong network of partner institutions to ensure viable and productive exchanges with local and international communities and institutions. Its modus operandi includes educational outreach, problem-solving activities and knowledge sharing.

 ii.  PMFCFS Mission and Vision

  • Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies envisions a sustainable and peaceful future for humanity. To achieve this, we research, identify and spread the best and most sustainable policy solutions worldwide by: Allowing a number of distinguished researchers to carry out viable projects in their areas of expertise.
  • Ensuring that the mission of Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies is aligned with the University’s research strategy, mission, vision and values.
  • Establishing collaborations and partnerships with leading research, academic, and industrial organizations to conduct research that leads to demonstrable improvements not only in the academic domain of Futures Studies, but also across developed and developing countries.
  • Training and motivating researchers, faculty, students and alumni with the long-term aim of building resources and infrastructures for research activities in the area of Futures Studies.
  • Undertaking the appropriate actions, implementing activities and focusing on different areas

iii. Facts and Figures

PMFCFS is housed in its own building suitably designed for workshops, lectures, collaborative research and events, together with a fully equipped multimedia studio optimized for interviews, podcasts and media communications. The center provides a workshop-style set up for around 60 participants and is the venue for a wide variety of futures programs including team projects as part of PMUCF’s futures studies courses and the Futures Literacy Labs conducted with UNESCO collaboration. The center holds a library of critical works from the futures studies field.

PMUCFS hosts the undergraduate courses in Futures Studies and Futures Skills, the PMU-WFSF Research grant, consulting projects, futures studies tools and techniques development, a lecture series, faculty training in futures thinking and collaboration with international partners. It also provides input for the future strategy and development of the university.

The center has its own website (http://pmfcfs.pmu.edu.sa/default.aspx) with up-to-the minute news on futures studies developments, programs conferences and emerging works from the field.

YEAR’S HIGHLIGHTS

Main Achievements

2023 was a year full of activities of the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies which took place inside and outside Kingdom. All these activities opened a lot of possibilities of collaborations all around the world.

International Cooperations

  • Signing MOU between PMU and Dubai University

In 10.07.2023 PMU signed a MOU with Dubai University. According to the MOU, both universities will cooperate in various academic fields, among them Futures Studies. What is more, they agreed to provide academic exchange for the faculty and students, and support each other in organizing important scientific events.

  • The PMU-ICESCO International Conference on Futures Studies in Morocco

In collaboration with its partner, ICESCO (the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), PMFCFS organized an international conference entitled: “The State of Foresight Studies in the World” which was held on 26 and 27 May 2023 at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat.

The conference was an in-person event which attended a lot of scholars from all over the world. The conference contained of a lot of sessions, panels, and guest speakers. The objective of the event was to emphasize on the importance of anticipating and understanding change in order to ensure proper policy implementation through strategic decision-making. It included a high-level conference during the first day, as well as workshop sessions during the second day, to discuss in depth the state of Foresight studies in the world, alongside networking sessions. Dr. Faisal Alanezi, the vice-president of the University was a keynote speaker on the opening of this important scientific event.

  • World Futures Day in Paris

On the occasion of the World Futures Day on 2.12.2023 in Paris, PMU and UNESCO organized the event to celebrate it. In the year 2023 there was second official celebration of this day at UNESCO Headquarters. Dr. Faisal Al Anezi had a speech during the opening of the event, as a keynote speaker, he presented the importance of the Futures Studies worldwide and concentrated as well on leading role of PMU in this field.

  • Signing MoU with China Society for Futures Studies

During the Academic visit the PMU delegation, on 25.05.2024 the MoU with China Society for Futures Studies was signed. Dr. Muamar Salameh delivered a speech and the delegation met meeting with the President, Vice-President and Secretary General of the society. During the meetings, several topics were deliberated upon, encompassing potential avenues for future collaboration, potential collaborative initiatives and partnerships.

The PMU-UNESCO Symposium 2023 in Paris  

The PMU organized next big international event – the PMU-UNESCO Symposium entitled: “Towards Evaluation Frameworks for Futures Literacy and Foresight”. It took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 21 and 22 June 2023.

The Symposium lasted for 2 days but it hosted 90 researchers, academics and practitioners, sharing their researches and views in 5 discussion panels.  The conference started by welcoming remarks from Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director General, Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO and Dr. Sotirios Zygiaris, Dean of the College of Business Administration, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University who presented the State of Futures Studies in the World. After that the participant could see official launching PMU-UNESCO Futures Literacy Playbook by Mariagrazia Squicciarini, Chief Executive Office and Director of Division for Social Policies a.i., Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO.

During the conference different topics were covered, as – for example – call to enable a ‘culture of evaluation’ for ‘social betterment’, and a call to advance capabilities to explore futures by looking into personal and collective anticipatory models, patterns, and assumptions. There was also an evening reception attended by almost every guest.

During the symposium the PMFCFS took part in organizing one of the panels, which was moderated by Dr. Muamar Salameh, Director of the PMFCFS. He moderated presentations concerning different approached to futures of different countries all over the world. Discussions in this panel stressed that the incorporation of a strong reflection component is critical to the effective evaluation of futures work. We must move away from linear problem solving and adopt new methods, considering time, place and local specificities.

  • XXV World Conference of WFSF

WFSF, the PMU’s partner, on the occasion of 50th anniversary of establishing the Federation, organized international conference, which was held in Paris, on 25 and 26 October 2023. The conference contained various interesting presentations about different approaches and perspectives in Futures Studies. The PMU was represented by the delegation from faculty and students.

  • Workshop: “Futures Skills” as a part of XXV World Conference of WFSF

The PMFCFS in the collaboration with Arab Council for Youth also emphasized its presence during this important event by conducting on 23 October 2023 the workshop for youth on Future of Skills. The workshop was attended by around 20 students (among them 4 students from PMU) and some of the respectable futurists. The workshop started by introduction of the Center and ACFY. The discussions were endless and brough a lot of intellectual freshness by combining different perspectives from different participants coming from all continents.

  • PMFCFS received the award from the WFSF

During this conference PMU received award from WFSF for its activities and achievements of WFSF-MENA Region Chapter and for expanding the knowledge about the Futures Studies in the MENA Region.

  • Education and Research

Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University is keen on implementing futures education and embracing this emerging field of futures studies among its academic courses and degrees. From the inception of Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies (PMFCFS), it launched an introductory course in Futures Studies, designed with the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF). This course allowed students to get an international exposure, participating in activities with the UNESCO and WFSF. The Introduction to Future Studies course introduced guest speakers from around the world on a virtual platform to assist in bringing a real-life connection to the application of future thinking. This course was taught on male and female campus in the Fall 2023/2024.

There was also a second course, Introduction to Futures Skills, taught in the Spring 2022/2023 on the female side.

  • Master Program in Futures Studies

PMU accomplished working side-by-side with the UNESCO to develop a Masters’ degree in Futures Studies, which will be the first graduate degree in this field within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2024 the program will be submitted to obtain the approval from the Saudi Ministry of Education.

  • Launching PMU-UNESCO Futures Literacy Playbook

During the PMU-UNESCO Symposium entitled: “Towards Evaluation Frameworks for Futures Literacy and Foresight”, which took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on June 2023, the participants witnessed official launching of PMU-UNESCO Futures Literacy Playbook. It is the first book all over the world published about conducting the Futures Literacy Labs.

  • Futures Literacy Lab training

In 2023, during 3 months, 3 members of PMU Faculty and 5 students were receiving a training from the UNESCO’s Ms. Christine Kavazanjian how to conduct the Futures Literacy Labs. The training was full of important information, started from the introduction to Futures Literacy and Futures Literacy labs, by the methods and tools used to organize labs and a lot of practical advices for the future.

  • Futures Literacy Lab

On the 14th December 2023, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies held its fifth and sixth UNESCO-PMU Futures Literacy Lab – one for students and second for faculty. The theme of both of them was The Future of Hybrid Learning with a time horizon of 2053. The sessions dealt with questions such as the future role of an IA at the university, the next wave of online learning, student-centred education, home-learning, future learning environments and tools, human and artificial teachers, future curriculum.

The program, which was held at the Center for Futuristic Studies, was conducted by UNESCO. The program consisted of two labs involving three different teams. First one consisted of around 40 male and female students. The next lab was conducted for the around 40 faculty.

Both labs took approximately 2 hours each of them. It was a quick journey to the future, the participants were thinking about the probable and preferable futures, then they came back to 2023 and were looking on the present and future with different approaches, after their previous analyses. 

  • Futures Studies Day at the University

Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Center for Futuristic Studies in the cooperation with College of Sciences and Human Studies and Futures Studies Students Club (male and female) from PMU organized the Futures Studies Day at PMU, on 13th of December 2023. The event was similar in its goals as the one conducted in Paris. What is more, the Center wanted to popularize among students the knowledge about Futures Studies and Center’s activities. The celebrations started by the lecture conducted by Ms. Christine Kavazanjian, the officer at UNESCO. She put flesh on PMU-UNESCO’s cooperation over recent years. After that, the students from the Introduction to Futures Studies courses, prepared the booths presenting their futures projects. There were 4 booths prepared by female students and 3 by male students. Their work was visited by a lot of members of University’s community and welcomed by faculty and other students with appreciation and satisfaction.

  • Online lecture of Victor Motti – “Evolving Pathways of the Futures Studies Histories in the World”

The online lecture of Victor Motti, currently serving as the Executive Director of the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF) was dedicated to faculty and students and was scheduled for 1 h but finally, it took around 1,5 hours as the students were very excited and asked a lot of questions.

The lecture traced the historical development of futures studies. Beginning with an exploration of its roots from ancient to modern times, the lecture covered the identification of waves, traditions, and schools that have shaped the discipline. It highlighted the influential authors and milestone publications contributing to its evolution. The institutionalization of futures studies, its connections to related disciplines, and its role place in research, education, and academia were examined. The lecture also dealt with the practical dimensions, addressing the professionalization of the field as a trade or industry and its application in real-world contexts. The speaker emphasized as well the often-overlooked non-Western contributions, including from the Middle East and North Africa, providing a global perspective on the diverse pathways of futures studies.

The celebrations of Futures Studies Day at the University were welcomed warmly by students and faculty and became a huge success. The Center and the Students Clubs are planning to organize next event, on the same occasion, after one year.

  • PMU – WFSF Research Grants

During 2023 more than 10 research papers were published as a part of PMU-WFSF Futures Research Grants. It was an aftermath of the announcement of three Futures Research Grants which started from February 2020 and continued successfully until 2023.

  • Arabian Journal of Futures Studies

Arabian Journal of Futures Studies is a new journal at PMU which is under the process of establishing. It will be a peer-reviewed journal published two times per year – in June and December. What is a huge advantage of this idea is the fact, that the journal will accept papers written in English and Arabic. The editorial board was formed and the launching of the journal will be in 2024.

STRENGTHS

PMU and PMFCFS extended its futures reach across the university and globally with a strengthening of its activities and penetration on multiple fronts. In education terms, we continued our Introduction to Futures Studies course for male and female students in the Fall 2023/2024 and Introduction to Futures Skills for female students in the Spring 2022/2023.

In addition, we finished the development work on the Masters’ Program in Futures Studies which will be submitted to the Ministry of Education to obtain for the approval.

We have also contributed to individual research projects and a variety of committees.

PMFCFS has added a futures consultancy capability to its armor, which resulted in the completion of the first phase of an in-depth futures research project on the future of PMU for

2030 and beyond. This capability was offered to external organizations from 2023.

Collaboration with UNESCO was significant during 2023 and involved some major initiatives including the PMU-UNESCO Symposium and Futures Studies Labs at the PMU. 5-year project and is planned to commence in 2023. PMFCFS now has a number of students and faculty trained in conducting labs and workshops on the future. In conjunction with the Futures Literary Program, 2023 witnessed the official launching of publication of the UNESCO-PMU Playbook on how to create, design, curate, manage and facilitate futures literacy labs.

The PMFCFS started also the strong cooperation with ICESCO which can bring in a lot of new project and ideas. What is more, the PMU organized with the ICESCO the scientific conference, mentioned above. The Center started also talks with Chinese partners to expand the cooperation in Asian continent. With WFSF we were still observing the publications of the researchers who had received 2nd and 3rd Futures Research Grants.

YEAR’S CHALLENGES

Whilst PMU and PMFCFS’ rapid advancement as a prominent member of the futures community is both commendable and a significant contribution to KSA academic prowess and leadership, sustaining and growing this position is not without it challenges. The most important among these is the need to continue to strengthen its academic competencies in futures studies and to make the center even more desirable for global students to want to study at PMU. It is extremely important that the reputation achieved is suitably supported by on the ground expertise. First and foremost, this will require a higher level of futures studies expertise internally, especially in the area of futures thinking. The introduction of the Futures Skills course in Spring 2022/2023 and Introduction to Futures Studies in Fall 2023/2024, has contributed greatly to competencies and spread of futures studies across the colleges. This continuing growth will require additional staff and resources. Such additions would also contribute to the growing potential for research and consultancy projects.

Secondly, establishing the importance of futures studies internally as well as building up its practicing skill base to enable the PMFCFS to offer its services to regional government and industry (in the first instance) will give both the center and the field a higher reputation and relevance, all of which are part of its vision to support the KSA Vision 2030 initiative. The research grants have helped in that respect, however, part of the solution to this challenge will be the integration of futures studies into other faculty syllabi, both to increase student creativity and innovational skills and their understanding of future potential in their area, as well as the complexity of the “global challenges”.

Thirdly, the Center organized the Futures Literacy Labs which also helped in expanding the knowledge about the Futures Studies among the faculty and students. While talking about the students, two Student Clubs for Futures Studies – on the male and female side – were also working hardly to bring other students into contact with this field. The PMFCFS needs as well more researchers and staff.

ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Signing MOU between PMU and Dubai University
  • The PMU-ICESCO International Conference on Futures Studies in Morocco
  • The PMU-UNESCO Symposium 2023 in Paris 
  • XXV World Conference of WFSF
  • Workshop: “Futures Skills” as a part of XXV World Conference of WFSF
  • World Futures Day in Paris
  • PMFCFS received the award from the WFSF
  • Master Program in Futures Studies
  • Launching PMU-UNESCO Futures Literacy Playbook
  • Futures Literacy Lab training
  • Futures Literacy Lab
  • Futures Studies Day at the University
  • Online lecture of Victor Motti – “Evolving Pathways of the Futures Studies Histories in the World”
  • PMU – WFSF Research Grants
  • Arabian Journal of Futures Studies

EXPANSIONS AND NEW INITIATIVES FOR 2024

  • UNESCO – Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University Prize for the Best Scientific Advancement of Futures Studies

The Prize was proposed for the purpose of encouraging, recognizing and honoring distinguished scientists, research institutions, research centers and universities across the globe for their outstanding scientific achievements and effective dissemination of knowledge that will contribute to the advancement of the field of Futures Studies. This includes applied research aimed at exploring and finding the best practices that generate impact, and inspire innovation, in fields that have been widely recognized within the Futures Studies domain. PMU is currently one of the institutions that actively induces work towards the field of futures studies, and spreading future literacy in the region.

The UNESCO-Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University Prize reflects the continuing and growing importance of Futures Studies. Consequently, given that PMU always encourages and awards distinguished scientists and research institutions for their valuable contributions in disseminating knowledge around the world, we have decided to establish the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Prize for Best Scientific Advancements to Futures Studies will be the largest UNESCO Prize in the history of UNESCO Prizes.

The UNESCO-PMU Prize will add a new dimension to the portfolio of UNESCO Prizes in an area in which the organization has declared that humanity must develop and diffuse the study of the future. The UNESCO-PMU Futures Prize will run for a period of 5 years.

  • Master Program in Futures Studies

In 2024 PMU will introduce a Masters’ programme in Futures Studies to the Ministry of Education. This degree plan is an inter-disciplinary program that prepares graduated students for employment in futures studies and adjacent fields as independent futures (foresight) consultants, institutional futurists, corporate futurists, trainers and workshop facilitators, etc. The Programme is being developed jointly within a UNESCO-PMU Committee which includes leading futurists, programme developers, administrators in the field, accreditation experts, UNESCO Futures team and relevant PMU faculty. The programme will integrate Technology Futures in collaboration with the College of Computer Engineering and Science.

Outcomes should provide students with a broad knowledge of futures studies. • familiar with important concepts of the futures studies and comprehensive skills required to undertake a futures project • familiar with basic foresight approaches and methods, including decentralized thinking techniques essential to creating the future • capable of applying greater foresight about emerging issues, trends weak signals, disruptors, impacts, and their implications • prepared to professionally enter the field.

The programe will take a progressive approach and be appropriate for regional and global issues and take account of the future long-term vision for Saudi Arabia for industrial, policy, economic, social andenvironmental development. Course topics will include Introduction to Futures Studies World Futures, Futures Research, Social Change and Transformation, Technology Futures, Systems thinking, Theory and Theory building in Futures Studies, Anticipatory systems Tools and Techniques.

  • 3rd  PMU-UNESCO International Symposium

In May of 2024, PMU will organize the third PMU-UNESCO International Symposium in Futures Studies and Futures Literacy. The venue is not yet confirmed but will likely take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The topic also to be confirmed. All the preparations will start in January 2024.

  • The Arabian Journal of Futures Studies (AJFS) – first two issues

PMFCFS is launching a designated futures studies journal – Arabian Journal of Futures Studies, the first Middle Eastern. The AJFS publishes peer-reviewed articles in Arabic and English twice a year in electronic format. Scholars are invited to share their research results, philosophies, theories, methods, and ethical concerns. Included may be the roles of individuals, agencies, governments, and technologies towards future. The journal is international in its scope and does not focus only on the Middle East. It is open to any research concerning Futures Studies. Almost everything is ready to start a work, the editors are waiting just to receive the website prepared by the foreign company.

  • WFSF MENA Region Accreditation

The PMU is planning to become a hub for WFSF MENA Region Accreditation. The discussions about will start at the beginning of 2024 with the representatives of WFSF. The PMU has a big potential to become a hub due to its localization and importance in the MENA Region.

  • Foresight Glossary in Arabic

The Foresight Glossary in Arabic is an innovative project aimed at developing a specialized lexicon that encompasses a wide range of terminologies related to the field of foresight. By creating a glossary in Arabic, this project intends to enhance the accessibility and understanding of foresight concepts within the Arabic-speaking community, fostering knowledge exchange and promoting forward-thinking strategies.

  • The WFSF MENA Chapter

The University is planning to organize 3 seminars with WFSF/ICESCO in KSA, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, e.g. Future Imagined by Youth. The seminars will be conducted by the specialist of futures studies in-person or online.

  • Futures Literacy Labs

In 2024 the Center is planning to organize next two Futures Literacy Labs in the cooperation with UNESCO. These labs will be conducted by the faculty and students, who took part in the training prepared by Ms. Christine Kavazanjian, the officer at UNESCO. Ms. Christine will be present during labs but the goal is to check, under her supervision, how the faculty and students are able to conduct the labs by themselves after having all the guidelines from UNESCO.

  • Collaboration Agreements and MOUs

As in every year, the Center is planning to sign 2 new agreements or MOUs with local, regional & international institutions. This time, including Chinese institutions.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

The PMFCFS is already cooperating with prestigious centers worldwide, as: Future Foresight Foundation in Abu Dhabi, ICESCO, the WFSF, UNESCO, Teach the Future Association located in Houston, Texas, the Association of Professional Futurists (APF, located in Seattle, Washington), University of Turku’s Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC) and South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies. In the coming year the Center is planning to maintain these good contacts and continue various projects with the partners.

In 2024, the PMFCFS is planning also to pursue expanding its worldwide connection and cooperations. The Center wants to launch the new partnerships with different institutions in, among others, China and Morocco.



13 December 2023, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia 

The academic lecture, Evolving Pathways of the Futures Studies Histories in the World, traces the historical development of futures studies. Beginning with an exploration of its roots from ancient to modern times, the lecture covers the identification of waves, traditions, and schools that have shaped the discipline. It highlights the influential authors and milestone publications contributing to its evolution. The institutionalization of futures studies, its connections to related disciplines, and its role place in research, education, and academia are examined. The lecture also deals with the practical dimensions, addressing the professionalization of the field as a trade or industry and its application in real-world contexts. Notably, the speaker emphasizes the often-overlooked non-Western contributions, including from the Middle East and North Africa, providing a global perspective on the diverse pathways of futures studies (click here to read more).


State of Foresight Studies in the World was organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) and the Policy Center of the New South on May 26-27 in Rabat.

The Conference gathered futurists from universities, think tanks and research centers across the globe to discuss opportunities, challenges, and formulate recommendations for Foresight Studies:

Here is the full playback video collection of the whole event in English, Arabic and French: (Click Here to Watch On YouTube)


The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd (PMU) campus looked to the future when it hosted its very first International Conference in Futures Studies on Dec. 7-8 at the campus headquarters in Khobar. The conference was organized in collaboration with the university’s partner, the World Futures Studies Federation.

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LEALA World Futures Learning Lab

WFSF has been supported by the UNESCO Participation Program 2012-2013 in developing online learning content and procedures to run three pilot futures courses in Lubumbashi, DR Congo; Cairo, Egypt and Penang, Malaysia. WFSF also received approval under UNESCO Participation Program 2014-2015 to extend our World Futures Learning Lab into a second stage. The pilots for the second stage include projects in Mexico, Haiti and the Philippines.

The courses blend local face-to-face workshops with online learning of futures studies and foresight. The LEALA project focuses especially on the needs of Africa, youth and developing countries and the related challenges. It enables 60-90 young adults in these locations to learn foresight and it aims to provide experiences and skills to allow the participants to potentially seed ideas and support others who hold a forward-looking stance within their local communities.

 

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Interview WFSF Junior


PRESS RELEASE Antalya , Turkey, 13 January 2020.  

The World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF) , founded in 1973, is the leading international scholarly body of futures studies and also an official consultative partner of the UNESCO. In 2019 the WFSF Executive Board initiated a new category of membership dedicated to the younger generation called the WFSF Junior. School age children can apply to join the WFSF provided that at least one of their parents or legal custodians are already individual, either Full or Associate, members of the WFSF. In this short interview, Director of the WFSF, Victor V. Motti, asks a number of questions from one of the members of the WFSF Junior whose name is Arsam MARDUK born in 2008 in Iran. Another interview with Arsam was published in the September 2019 issue of the WFSF Human Futures Magazine, pages 60-63. He tells now us what are the goals that he wants to achieve in 2020: introducing and spreading Gen Z Futurists Movement and Platorm to the world.

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WFSF Futures Courses

Since 1975 WFSF has offered courses to young people around the work introducing them to the concepts and methods of the futures studies field. WFSF Futures Courses have been held in Dubrovnic, Romania, USA, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Western, Central and Eastern Europe, Egypt and DR Congo.Please refer to the details below for a chronological list of the Futures courses that have been offered since the 1970’s. Click on the links provided to access further details for each course.

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