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Social Futures

Athena @ ST 30 May 2019


This Trend Alert is written in association with the conference on CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL FUTURES – Sustainability, Responsibility and Power, taking place on 12–13 June 2019 in Turku, Finland at which we will be presenting. A few tickets still available on a first come, first served basis.
What is changing?

Description

In 2019, consumers, businesses and governments will no longer simply seek meaningful change, they will actively take responsibility for it.

From global school strikes led by Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg to the Green New Deal, led by the youth-based Sunrise Movement and 29-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, young people across the globe are making it clear they will not accept inaction.

Read on to discover what our robot, Athena, has found on the Social Futures and act accordingly, or click any link to read the evidence she found in 2,380 reports, articles and PowerPoints from the Web and Social Media in a few seconds.

If you are new to foresight, we recommend you view this slide presentation first: to get the best out of this report.

Quick Summary

The summary visuals below are completely machine produced, showing our robot's global analysis of:

Driving Forces



What is changing?

Causations

Who and what are causing these changes:

Potential solutions

What are others doing to seize opportunities or minimise risks?



You can learn more, click through to more detail on 'social futures and run collaborative, digital  workshops on these findings at /home. Please contact us if you need assistance.

More analysis
This summary analysis draws from our robot's below visualizations of on social futures and draws from different vantage points to tell the story of what's emerging, just like a GPS system.

Cloud:The key debates on how to reach global sustainability through constructing social futures revolve around the future of water, business, health, the economy, consumption, energy, technology, cities, food and population growth. But the Cloud also shows the myriad of other topics that need addressing to optimize Sustainability, Responsibility and Power.

Systems map: Mapping these onto a systems map, shows that the prime responsibility for achieving sustainability rests with consumers, business and city/regional governments. The complexity of achieving sustainability will require everyone to work to a common vision, values and goals and for communications and education to be consistent in their message. The question is how with different parts of the world moving at different speeds, needs and future interests?

Radar chart: On a topic basis, achieving social futures will rely on massive changes to trade. infrastructure, cities, batteries and energy grids as well as the need for new drugs, life science development and the use of many more robots. This will not be achieved without focused, determined and constant investment around the world.

Graph-It: By 2025, we can expect to see smart cities, health organizations and business significantly embracing social futures. They'll be assisted by an exponential explosion in data analysis and robotics to help begin solving many of today's existing challenges.

Spline chart: In the past three years the two presented Trend Wave charts show there has been a significant raising of awareness about the need to embrace social futures with many experiments underway. We are currently likely to see efforts reach a peak in 2024 but it is entirely possible that new solutions might see the peak arrive around 2040. Failure will likely produce mounting rage, particularly among young people.

Sentiment: Overall sentiment is relatively balanced. Positive sentiment is being expressed by pundits and the public towards efforts to increase resiliency, better energy use and associated emissions reduction. But, while there is also a hope for peace, negative sentiments revolve around the threats of continued terrorism, new and existing crises that could lead to war, These include North Korea, Ukraine, US/Chia/Russia conflict and a Middle East conflagration involving Iran, Israel, Hezbollah, Syria, Turkey et al and threats to global  supply and productivity through escalating trade wars.

Pie Charts: Achieving sustainability is likely to take the rest of this century but it's a prize worth having in terms of the billions and trillions of dollars that experts attach to delivering social futures worldwide.

However, most initiatives are still at early stage (65%) with almost all the remainder still evolving or gaining traction. Much more needs to be done for the world to accept a new social future compact by the estimated tipping point of 2036.

Heat map: The Heat Map shows the current weak efforts of sectors to drive positive social responsibility in their countries and regions. Businesses the world over could be doing a lot more to create positive change and in so doing retain their influence and power for the common good. This report gives clues as to how others have started their journey.

Emergent Drivers: As a starting place the emergent drivers chart shows experts suggesting that the initial focus for now should concentrate on creating sharing economies, improving cities and their organizations with the use of better intelligence and reducing consumption. And, very importantly, engaging with Generation Alpha, the first generation born entirely within the 21st century (e.g., Greta Thunberg), to create the future world they want to live in, today.

Geography: Two countries are leading the charge: Japan and Australia. But efforts elsewhere are low by comparison to what needs to be achieved in the next two decades.

Leader board:The Leader board also shows the paucity of global leaders pushing for global sustainability but also the EU taking a longer term and welcome positive approach to be the leading, sustainable region.

SWOT:Given the above it is not surprising that opportunities for improvement considerably outweigh the treats associated with delivering social futures. Come on in, the water's warm!

Visuals
For more detailed explanation of the graphics below please click here. All outlooks based on 2025 unless otherwise stated.

Cloud
The key debates on how to reach global sustainability through constructing social futures revolve around the future of water, business, health, the economy, consumption, energy, technology, cities, food and population growth. But the Cloud also shows the myriad of other topics that need addressing to optimize Sustainability, Responsibility and Power.

System map
Mapping these onto a systems map, shows that the prime responsibility for achieving sustainability rests with consumers, business and city/regional governments. The complexity of achieving sustainability will require everyone to work to a common vision, values and goals and for communications and education to be consistent in their message. The question is how with different parts of the world moving at different speeds, needs and future interests?



Radar chart



On a topic basis, achieving social futures will rely on massive changes to trade. infrastructure, cities, batteries and energy grids as well as the need for new drugs, life science development and the use of many more robots. This will not be achieved without focused, determined and constant investment around the world.

Graph-It
By 2025, we can expect to see smart cities, health organizations and business significantly embracing social futures. They'll be assisted by an exponential explosion in data analysis and robotics to help begin solving many of today's existing challenges.

Spline
In the past three years the two presented Trend Wave charts show there has been a significant raising of awareness about the need to embrace social futures with many experiments underway. We are currently likely to see efforts reach a peak in 2024 but it is entirely possible that new solutions might see the peak arrive around 2040. Failure will likely produce mounting rage, particularly among young people.

Trend Wave - Today



Trend Wave – 3 years ago



Sentiment



Overall sentiment is relatively balanced. Positive sentiment is being expressed by pundits and the public towards efforts to increase resiliency, better energy use and associated emissions reduction. But, while there is also a hope for peace, negative sentiments revolve around the threats of continued terrorism, new and existing crises that could lead to war, These include North Korea, Ukraine, US/Chia/Russia conflict and a Middle East conflagration involving Iran, Israel, Hezbollah, Syria, Turkey et al and threats to global  supply and productivity through escalating trade wars.

Pie Charts



Achieving sustainability is likely to take the rest of this century but it's a prize worth having in terms of the billions and trillions of dollars that experts attach to delivering social futures worldwide.

However, most initiatives are still at early stage (65%) with almost all the remainder still evolving or gaining traction. Much more needs to be done for the world to accept a new social future compact by the estimated tipping point of 2036.

Heat map

The Heat Map shows the current weak efforts of sectors to drive positive social responsibility in their countries and regions. Businesses the world over could be doing a lot more to create positive change and in so doing retain their influence and power for the common good. This report gives clues as to how others have started their journey.

Emergent drivers

As a starting place the emergent drivers chart shows experts suggesting that the initial focus for now should concentrate on creating sharing economies, improving cities and their organizations with the use of better intelligence and reducing consumption. And, very importantly, engaging with Generation Alpha, the first generation born entirely within the 21st century (e.g., Greta Thunberg), to create the future world they want to live in, today.

Geography
Two countries are leading the charge: Japan and Australia. But efforts elsewhere are low by comparison to what needs to be achieved in the next two decades.

Leader board
The Leader board also shows the paucity of global leaders pushing for global sustainability but also the EU taking a longer term and welcome positive approach to be the leading, sustainable region.

SWOT
Given the above it is not surprising that opportunities for improvement considerably outweigh the treats associated with delivering social futures. Come on in, the water's warm!




Questions

Evidence

Search term: 'social and power' OR 'sustainability OR responsibility' Use this search term to explore our database for more knowledge and wisdom and latest data and information on the topic.

Implications

rate

responsibility

growth

development

model

economy

state

demand

system

market

sector

Potential Responses

Custom Services
We can produce equivalent reports to this one on any topic for just £1,000 (Plus VAT in Europe). Market rates are usually at least five to ten times this price. Or, you can subscribe to our service and make these yourself at will and use the forecasts in private, collaborative workshops to develop your strategic responses in hours rather than the weeks and months of traditional foresight projects using these methods below:

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Do contact us to see how we can help you track emerging uncertainty issues and developments as they are announced or reported.

Sources
Athena used the sources below as the top ones to create this report and determined which embedded forecasts are included in this Trend Alert. She found 6,648 forecasts in seconds on 23rd May 2019 to allow us to publish this report in less than two hours. She can turn these into PowerPoint slides and Audio files in minutes too as you wish, or we can prepare a full customized and professionally written brief for you to order covering all these forecasts.

Athena
Athena does show duplicates to aid your understanding of themes as well as contradictory forecasts. She may also show near-duplicates. You can speed read past the duplicates and near-duplicates if you wish, though the latter may show additional information. You can use the contradictory, and likely uncertain forecasts she finds to imagine different scenarios. The future is unpredictable, but we can examine the possibilities and choose our preferable future from the choices she presents.
Athena is apolitical. She will report forecasts from different viewpoints however distasteful that might be to our own values. Wearing rose-colored glasses is not her purpose; reporting potential futures is. So, we recommend you check her veracity before responding to her extracted forecasts.

Just like humans, Athena can be fallible. Do recognize that you and your associates are biased too. But whereas you tire, make mistakes and only recognize what interests you, she does not. She might miss or misinterpret as you do, but with far less frequency and she'll take uncomfortable truths and alternative ideas in her stride. But, please let us know if you feel her bias can be reduced. We want to do our best for you. And, as with any research, you should check and triangulate her findings for yourself.

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