research. The late Pentti Malaska’s presence, whose
legacy continues to live on through his students and
Conference notes
colleagues, was almost palpable at times. We were
also reminded of the lives and influences of futurists
and WFSF friends Vuokko Jarva, Anita Ruben, and
Turku Conference
RECAP
Christopher Jones, PhD
Secretary General (2001-2005)
Mika Mannermaa — all sadly now deceased.
Keynote plenary speakers included Ivana Milojevic
(Metafutures) and WFSF Fellow Ted Fuller (Futures),
both of whom I met 26 years ago in Finland. The 1993
Finland World Conference was notable for its radical
rules changes in the General Assembly that denoted
the transition to a younger generation of futurists.
The 2019 Turku participants represent a younger
generation of futurists coming up, now a fourth
generation, with far greater gender diversity than any
meeting I can recall. The vast majority of participants
were of course from Finland, Scandinavia, and
northern Europe. While there were participants from
nearly 30 countries, there were few faces of color.
I hope there is some way that international diversity can be enhanced, but was gratified to see so
many young, professionally-trained futurists and researchers, and it gave me hope to see how they are
embedded in companies and government agencies across the planet.
While there were some darker corners of our futures presented (like mine), for the most part presentations
were upbeat and optimistic about our futures. There seemed to be a technological bias, or techno-
optimism to the presentations on biofutures, networking, smart cities, entrepreneurialism, energy, and
surveillance technologies. However, compared to World Future Society gatherings, presentations were
not post-humanist, but normative and often critical of the business as usual narrative. Given Finland’s
excellence in high technology, biotechnology, and business success, it is no surprise that this focus on
sustainably–oriented green technology would be a central enterprise.
The conference venue, the LOGOMO
Center, was a perfect location for the
conference,
and
If the 20th anniversary conference, Constructing Social Futures, was any example, the Finland
Futures Research Centre (FFRC) puts on good conferences. The plenary presentations were all
captivating and effective, and the session themes and panels (8 threads per session) provided
enough diversity of topics and methodology for any but the most jaded practicing futurist. The
presentation abstracts filled 80 pages in the official booklet, food lines were long, and there was
always good energy in all of the rooms and sessions.
repurposed
neo-industrial
industrial
architecture
in the heart of the city next to the
train station. The retro feel, the high
ceilings,
the
decor
aligned
well
with the theme and the space was
conducive to networking, and the
hosts did a more than adequate job of
feeding and refreshing participants.
My last visit to Turku, Finland for the XIIIth World Conference of the WFSF was a quarter century The 21st conference in 2020 is slated
ago. Turku itself has changed, and clearly the futures program has become a world leader to be in Helsinki, and I plan to be
with one of the largest functioning futures programs in the world today. FFRC faculty were there.
visible and active in the making of introductions, the chairing panels, and in presenting their
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HUMAN FUTURES
HUMAN FUTURES
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