CFS-1159 (2)

From left: Chief facilitator Richard O’Neill, President of The Highlands Group, with participants Prof Thomas Malone, founding director of MTI Center for Collective Intelligence, Mr Tom Burke, Chairman of Third Generation Environmentalism and Ms April Rinne, sharing economy expert, at Foresight Conference 2015.

Overview 

The Centre for Strategic Futures (CSF) organises the biennial Foresight Conference, which convenes a group of international thought leaders across multiple disciplines to discuss the opportunities and risks of the future. The Conference aims to challenge prevailing assumptions and promote divergent thinking about the future, and how we might respond. These conversations take place in small intimate groups of up to 30 invited guests, including senior decision makers in Singapore. The Conference is part of the larger Singapore Foresight Week that includes the International Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning Symposium (IRAHSS), organised by the Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning Programme Office, and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Complexity Workshop.

Foresight Conference 2015

Foresight Conference 2015, to be held from 9 to 10 July, will focus on the theme of “Global Cities in 2035 – Flows, Spaces and Flux”. During the Conference, we will explore driving forces that will shape the development of global cities in the future, as well as how interactions between the forces will re-define traditional spaces. Through the discussions we aspire to understand the impact of the social drivers on the success and resilience of global cities, and what the changes mean for different actors in global cities. Participants included:

  • Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics, George Mason University.
  • Tom Burke, Chairman, Third Generation Environmentalism.
  • Vinay Gupta, Global Resilience Guru.
  • Mariania Mazzucato, Professor of Science and Technology, University of Sussex.
  • Peter Schwartz, Senior Vice President for Global Government Relations and Strategic Planning at Salesforce.com.
  • April Rinne, Sharing Economy Advisor.
  • Thomas Malone, Founding Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence.
  • Mishaal Al Gergawi, Managing Director, Delma Institute.

View Foresight Conference 2015 Report here. 

Foresight Conference 2013

The theme of the second Foresight Conference was “Foresight and Public Policy”, which explored  the future of growth, the future of the middle class, the future of cities, the future of relationships between citizens, corporations and governments, and the future of trust, power and well-being. Topics discussed ranged from the implications of policies on governments and the governed, to the rise of China. Participants included:

  • Richard O’Neill, Founder and President, The Highlands Group and Chief Facilitator.
  • Anies Baswedan, President of Paramadina University, Indonesia. He was Indonesia’s Minister of Culture and Primary and Secondary Education from 2014 to 2016.
  • Manu Bhaskaran, Director of Centennial Group.
  • Catherine Fieschi, Director of Counterpoint United Kingdom.
  • Pankaj Mishra, writer and historian, recipient of the 2014 Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction.
  • Ann Pendleton-Jullian, distinguished Professor of Design at Georgetown University.
  • Peter Schwartz, Senior Vice President for Global Government Relations and Strategic Planning at Salesforce.com.
  • Xue Lan, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University.

View Foresight Conference 2013 report here.

Foresight Conference 2011

The inaugural Foresight Conference explored the “Future of Asia and It’s Place in The World”. Key topics included geopolitics and geo-economics, internal pressures in uncertain external environments, and resource security. The Conference sought to prompt a fresh look at the frames and lenses through which we perceive Asia, as well as the risks, uncertainties, challenges, and opportunities Asia’s future will have for governments and global governance. Participants included:

  • Lai Hairong, Executive Director for the China Center for Overseas Social and Philosophical Studies.
  • Parag Khanna, New America Foundation Senior Research Fellow and an expert on geopolitics, global trends and systemic risks.He is now the Director of Hybrid Reality Institute in Singapore.
  • Bernice Lee, Chatham House Research Director for Energy, Environment and Development. She is now an Associate Fellow in the Department of Energy, Environment and Resources.
  • Didier Sornette, ETH Zürich Professor, an expert on entrepreneurial and systemic risk.

View Foresight Conference 2011 report here.