One interesting movement and community that coalesced last year is Seapunk (seapunk.asia)— a research-and-imagination movement and community interested in solarpunk imaginaries for Southeast Asia. Inspired by the region’s historical open common sea, and the emergent thriving decentralized ‘punk’ worlds it fostered, Seapunk gathered a few dozen thinkers, creators, and futurists for a two-week co-imagination camp and symposium exploring fresh solarpunk futures for Southeast Asia. This year continues the Seapunk journey with an upcoming research workshop on open distributed AI futures for Southeast Asia (seapunk.asia/ksw), the constellation of Seapunk Studios, and a continuing experiment on confluencing professional and amateur, community and method, inquiry and practice, and more. This session will feature sharings, reflections, and provocations from this sea of experiments with Sam Chua, the initial Seapunk curator.

The conversation will focus on the value of network design and network weaving. Networks are essential to futures thinking - not just to connect futures thinkers with each other but to connect present generations to generations past and future. If strategic foresight is “step one” in systemic transformation, network formation and strengthening is a critical step two. It’s only through forming partnerships and bridging divides that we can turn thought into action - turn insights into informed decision making. Networks are therefore key to creating change on a meaningful scale.

For over a decade, Dr Seongwon Park has worked with Korean citizens to explore the future using the "Four Images of the Future" methodology developed by the Hawaii Manoa School. These four future images encompass both possible and preferred futures. In futures workshops, participants first analyze the characteristics and trajectories of the four futures, then select one as the most likely outcome given current trends and another as their preferred future for future generations. By combining four possible futures with four preferred futures, citizens generate 16 unique future scenarios -- what he terms the "Four by Four Methodology" for future strategy development. In the discussion, Dr Park will share the broader context of how the practice of foresight has developed in South Korea.

The presentation draws on Brett’s experience over the last few years supporting national security planning for Pacific island nations through a range of capability uplift initiatives. Strategic foresight approaches have been useful to make national security planning more anticipatory and resilient in the face of dynamic geopolitical circumstances and a shifting risk landscape.

* APF Members receive early access and can register through the Member Event Page. Public registration opens on January 31st. Join us for an engaging conversation as we explore the key ideas behind Roman’s latest book and delve into meaningful discussions about futures thinking and hope in history. Roman would also like to invite participants to think about the question: "Where do you see hope in history?" We’ll start by welcoming everyone with an interactive check-in question to set the stage. Roman will then share the inspiration behind his book, its connection to futures thinking, and the key messages he wants to highlight. The session will include an open Ask Me Anything segment, allowing you to engage directly with Roman in a free-flowing conversation. Following this, we’ll break into smaller groups for discussions. To wrap up, we’ll highlight key takeaways and share next steps. For those who’d like to stay longer, Roman will join an informal after-hours chat to keep the discussion going. Don't miss this rich mix of learning, dialogue, and connection event.

Save the date! Kimberly Camrass is a Student Award 1st Place Winner PhD Category in 2024. You can read more about her submission here: https://www.apf.org/association/student-recognition-award/student-award-2024

Read, Discuss, Connect: Launching the APF Book Club! We are excited to announce the launch of the APF Book Club. A community aimed at exploring thought-provoking literature, share insights and reflections. It’s also a safe space to learn from, and foster connections among fellow futurists. Meetups will start with a group conversation for everyone to share thoughts on the selected book. This will be followed by smaller breakout rooms, allowing for more focused and meaningful discussions. We cannot wait to embark on this literary journey with you! Join us for our inaugural Book Club meetup as we dive into History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity by Roman Krznaric: ‘Humanity needs to look backwards in order to move forwards. It is time to discover how our past can offer us radical hope for tomorrow.’ Get ready for engaging dialogues and interactions.

Join us for an insightful Question & Answer session with Dr Betty Sue Flowers, where attendees will have the unique opportunity to tap into her vast knowledge and experience. We invite registered attendees to submit their questions when registering, so we can forward the questions to the guest speaker ahead of time, allowing Betty to prepare thoughtful responses. Don't miss this opportunity to engage directly with a thought leader in the Futures Field!

APF Board Member and Director for Asia Luke Tay will be attending the Seapunk Symposium, convening discussions on Seapunk x Food Futures, and participating in wider dialogue on Futures x Design x Systems Thinking approaches, towards a Seapunk Theory of Change. We welcome other members' participation in Chiangmai, and will look towards further collaborations and initiatives arising from the Seapunk harvest. Symposium participation is complimentary, with delegates bearing their own travel and living costs. *Please sign up for the communication channel to receive updates on potential location changes due to weather conditions.

Cumulatively, Asia has 60% of the world population, close to that share of the world economy, 30% of the world’s land area, and __% of the world’s futurists! To fill in the blanks, join APF Vice-Chair Miguel Jiménez an APF Board Member and Director for Asia Luke Tay to learn about the APF’s purpose, strategies, and global and regional initiatives. Designed to build member networking and engagement and enlist new members from across the regional foresight community, the session will debate foresight challenges/opportunities and priorities for the region, and discuss how APF can champion the cause of future-readiness and advance the impact and interests of futurists across the regional and global stage.

Our Vice-Chair Miguel Jiménez is travelling to Manila and would like to invite APF members to attend a networking brunch! Kindly note that meals will be self-sponsored.

Universities are facing a serious – maybe existential – crisis, with questions about sustainability, and the future nature and purpose of higher education. A year ago, Cardiff University - a UK Russell Group university - decided to use a collaborative anticipation process to co-create our future. We took 7,500 staff, 33,000 students and multiple stakeholders on a futures journey, using a whole suite of tools to build understanding and support for change, and emerged with a strategy to 2035: 'Our future, together'. This talk will share some of the futures process and the learnings from the past 12 months, particularly on the future for universities and on how to shift large institutions.