Conference seeks to ‘create the future’

“The future is not something that needs to be survived, but something that should be created.”

This is according to the organisers of the annual Institute for Futures Research (IFR) Conference at Stellenbosch University (SU). The theme this year is “Create the Future”.

• The conference (link) is to be held from 19-20 October 2017 at the Wallenberg Research Centre at STIAS in Marais Street in Stellenbosch. Watch a short video about the conference here.

“This theme in our view is particularly relevant for the South Africa we currently live in,” says Dr Morné  Mostert, Director of the IFR. “One of the core objectives of the IFR is to assist senior leaders to make better decisions by anticipating risk earlier and to sense the opportunity, particularly before the competitor does, and in doing so create the future.”

The two day conference kicks off with an interactive workshop on day 1, which will allow delegates to engage with futures thinking tools and techniques. On day 2 the conference will include speakers from around the world who will share their thinking on future-focused topics that will inspire and provoke meaningful conversations.

Specific topics include “Portrait of a future(s) professional practitioner”, “2019 Elections – how it might unfold”, “The future of Universities”, “Finding the future in the crowd”, “How an on-camera stakeholder inquiry unearths the silent collective future narrative”.

Speakers include Dr Martin Reynolds, co-founding member of, and lead academic liaison for, the Applied Systems Thinking in Practice (ASTiP) Group at the Open University in the UK; Dr Etienne van der Walt, a neurologist and co-founder and CEO of Neurozone®; Mr Temba Nolutshungu, Director of the Free Market Foundation (FMF) and council member of the (SA) Institute of Race Relations; Dr Chris van der Merwe, founder of the independent school education group Curro; Mr Lesiba Mothata, member of the Alexander Forbes Investment Solutions Exco and Ms Shereen Amos, owner of Sugarbird Studios.

A further addition to the conference will be the launch for the IFR annual publication, Business Futures. The publication was first launched in 1976, and is a forerunner in the field of futures thinking. This year’s publication will include articles from a number of authors relating to the latest futures developments in their respective fields.

• For more information about the workshop and conference, liaise with Lynette Ferreira at tel 021 918 4153 or e-mail lynnette@ifr.sun.ac.za or visit the conference website here.
• Watch a short video about the conference here.

Source Stellenbosch University