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Events

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APF In-Person Events

APFxOCAD Nexus Event 2025 -
The Futures of Creativity & Compassion

from 6 p.m. on Aug. 15

Aug 15-17,
2025

Toronto

The Association of Professional Futurists (APF) is delighted to partner with OCAD University in The Futures of Creativity and Compassion. This is the first APF event in Toronto since 2010 and will gather together practitioners working at the intersection of futures, design, system change to explore transformational futures. The program will feature a dynamic blend of engaging panels, interactive workshops, and valuable networking opportunities. Attendees can look forward to thought-provoking experiential futures performances and unconference sessions for emergent conversations. These elements will provide a platform for participants to explore innovative approaches to creativity and compassion in future scenarios. The event will leverage OCAD University's expertise in art, design, and media education, as well as its commitment to fostering innovation across various disciplines.
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APF Public Events

Asian Brown Bag Series #6 - Peeling Foresight and the Self: Zen, the Dao, and the Un-Art of Facilitating Uncertainty with Alex Fergnani

7:00 p.m. SGT

Aug 7, 2025

Zoom

This interactive dialogue will invite participants to use Zen and Daoism to peel the philosophical layers of the facilitation of uncertainty in organizations, and thus to peel the layers of our “self” as facilitators. Together, we will ground ourselves in the present to meditate on the most foundational yet hidden tenets behind the investigation of our futures. We may or may not call this practice foresight.
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APF Public Events

APF Code of Ethics:
The first step

11:00 a.m. EST

July 17, 2025

Zoom

As professional associations mature, they typically develop a code of ethics—a crucial component that establishes professional standards, ensures credibility, and promotes responsible practices among members. A Code of Ethics (CoE) also serves as a guide for how members should conduct themselves in their professional practices. Additionally, the code can be shared with clients to inform them of the ethical standards they can expect from association members. In this session, we are excited to announce the release of the first step in APF's journey toward establishing its Code of Ethics. The session will cover the background / philosophy of APF’s approach and a review of the CoE and how you can participate in its future. There is plenty of time reserved for discussion on this important topic, so please join us.
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APF Member-only Events

Oceania Fireside Chat #11- Re-assessing The IT Revolution with Richard Slaughter

4:00 p.m. AEST

July 9, 2025

Zoom

This is the title of a project that, in its initial form, ran from 2018 to 2024. Its conclusions were progressively published in Futures and, more recently, in the APF journal, Compass. It was prompted by the growing realisation that this particular ‘revolution’ was not merely failing to achieve the positive outcomes that had been promised, it was creating quite new risks, dangers and existential threats for which humanity was ill-prepared. They include the near loss of privacy, new forms of ‘asymmetrical’ warfare, ruthless exploitation of civilian populations by internet oligarchs, and, finally, the rise of so-called ‘AI’; and the near-complete colonisation of the internet by rogue actors including organised crime. As one observer recently noted: "When most of us think of e-crimes we think of money laundering and global scammers who send millions of emails to hook the vulnerable. But the internet has become the single greatest weapon in the criminal world. - John Silvester, Fighting Against Online Predators, The Age, June 14, 2025 In this session we will visit these issues briefly and consider ways in which Futurists and others can respond. It is highly recommended that participants review the free ePub Deleting Dystopia prior to the session. It provides a succinct account of how we collectively reached this point. *The ePub link can be found in the registration page.
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APF Public Events

Asian Brown Bag Series #5 - Foresight in the Central Asian Terrains

5 p.m. GMT+5

June 4, 2025

Zoom

Turkic culture has alwaysbeen open to new influences and ideas brought there by different means, either by merchants travelling through the famous Silk Road, scientists and artists coming from the West, or even conquerors sweeping like a hurricane through its vast terrains. Foresight reached Central Asian countries relatively recently. It is still in the process of gaining its ground. However, there are stories the "Stan" countries are ready to share with the APF community. Futurists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan will bring their feelings, emotions, comments, and images to compose a narrative of a foresight journey in the region. If you know nothing about Central Asia, it is time to learn!
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APF Public Events

Asian Brown Bag Series #4 -MADANI: Values and Futures Oriented Policymaking in Postnormal Times

6:00 p.m. GMT+8

May 29, 2025

Zoom

In the complex, chaotic, and often contradictory present of our postnormal times, it is hard enough to think about the present, never mind the future. In Malaysia, under the premiership of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the MADANI Malaysia framework has provided a national platform for building futures literate policy and inculcating futures awareness throughout society. MADANI Malaysia takes a reformed approach to conventional policymaking that incorporates futures and foresight wisdom along with insights from the characteristics of postnormal times. The framework takes the entire enterprise of policymaking back to the core values that unite the diverse peoples of Malaysia as a way to lead a whole-of-society engagement with the future. Ziauddin Sardar and Scott Jordan will explain how the framework was developed along with its role in the present government of Malaysia. While tailored to the values and culture of Malaysia, it provides a model not just for regional organisations like ASEAN, now under the chairmanship of Malaysia, but by which other groups, institutions, or nations might take a similar approach to future oriented action.
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APF Member-only Events

APF Reading Club - The Futures of Creativity & Compassion Edition

4:00 p.m. CET

May 27, 2025

Zoom

What roles do creativity and compassion play in futures thinking and strategic foresight? In this newly rebranded APF Reading Club session, we invite you to an open hour of sharing and discussion centered on the book Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. This work was the second most-voted title during our inaugural APF Book Club session and has once again been recommended—this time by the APFxOCAD Futures of Creativity & Compassion organizing team. We see this as both a sign and a timely opportunity to delve deeper into The Futures of Creativity and Compassion through the lens of this thought-provoking book. *Special thanks to the APFxOCAD Toronto Gathering Team for their thoughtful and insightful recommendations. Full list of recommendations is available in the registraion page.
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APF Member-only Events

Asian Brown Bag Series #3 - State of Foresight and Foresight of State in Bangladesh: Reflections on Practice, Power, and Participatory Futures in a Postcolonial Context

6:00 p.m. CST

May 15, 2025

Zoom

This talk explores two intertwined inquiries: the state of foresight in Bangladesh and the foresight of the State. The first reflects on how futures thinking has taken root—or struggled to—across government, development, and civil society, drawing on personal experience and recent gatherings like the SEApunk workshop. The second examines how the state envisions its future and how citizens might reclaim agency in shaping those visions. In a time of geopolitical flux and generational change, the talk invites reflection on the architectures of imagination, participation, and accountability needed to shape Bangladesh’s emerging futures.
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APF Public Events

📣 APF IF Award Application Q&A

2:00 p.m. BST

May 14, 2025

Zoom

Are you planning to apply for the APF IF Awards and have questions about the process? Join us for a live FAQ Session where we’ll walk you through key details of the application, including eligibility, evaluation criteria, submission tips, and deadlines. Session Agenda: - 2:00 - 2:40 p.m.: application questions concerning eligiblity, AI policy, and more. - 2:40 - 3:00 p.m.: technical questions concerning how to submit an application and material formats *Possible 10-15 mins session extension. This is your chance to hear directly from the organizing team and clarify anything you’re unsure about before submitting your application. Whether you're just starting or already working on your submission, we welcome all questions!
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APF Member-only Events

Oceania Fireside Chat #10- The possibility wheel - making better choices
in a fractured world with Patricia Lustig

6:30 p.m. AEST

May 7, 2025

Zoom

This Fireside Chat is about the biggest ‘ah-ha’ moment out of our recent book, The Possibility Wheel. It introduces you to the metaphor of ‘Backbones’ and how they can be maintained and rejuvenated to aid in resilience. The workshop will result in a list of Backbones – physical, Legal or conceptual – which are important to you all. It will discuss which are fractured, which are evolving, and which are functional. It will consider what would restore fractured Backbones, what would encourage Backbones to evolve, and what supports functional Backbones. This is an interactive session. Open for questions on Backbones, the book or anything else.
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APF Member-only Events

Asian Brown Bag Series #2 - Seapunk — Experiments in Co-Imaginative Worldcrafting

8:00 p.m. CST

Apr 4, 2025

Zoom

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.
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APF Member-only Events

Oceania Fireside Chat #8 - Exploring the impact of foresight networks and ecosystems: the case of Aotearoa New Zealand with Victoria Mullligan

6:30 AEST

Apr 2, 2025

Zoom

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.
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Association of Professional Futurists

APF plays a unique role in the field of strategic foresight by defining the competencies of professional futurists, the knowledge base of futures studies they use and the standards by which their work can be evaluated.

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