Futures Week 2023: Navigating the storm
Futures Week is an annual virtual conference that allows participants to explore the future. Futures Week 2023 was held May 16 – 18, 2023.
Sessions
Foresight from around the world: Public sector perspectives
A conversation among government foresight leaders about the futures and disruptions they are exploring.
Moderator
- Kristel Van der Elst, Director General, Policy Horizons Canada
Speakers
- Victor Israel, Head of the National Intelligence Directorate, Ministry of Intelligence, Israel
- Jeanette Kwek, Head, Centre for Strategic Futures, Strategy Group, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
- Maria Langan-Riekhof, Director, Strategic Futures Group, National Intelligence Council, United States
- Stephen Quest, Director-General, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Disruptions on the horizon: Canadian perspectives
Examining the circumstances, innovations, and events that could impact Canadians in the next decade.
Moderator
- Shalene Curtis-Micallef, Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada, Department of Justice Canada
Speakers
- Mark Tyndall, Public health and Infectious Diseases physician; Founder, MySafe Society
- Jesse Wente, Journalist and Chairperson, Canada Council for the Arts
- Andrew White, CEO, CHAR Technologies
- Armine Yalnizyan, Economist & Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers
Keynote by Peter Schwartz
Peter Schwartz shares his thoughts on what foresight has taught him and his insights into the pivotal uncertainties of the next decade.
Speakers
- Peter Schwartz, Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning, Salesforce
A divided society: Fractures, wedges, fault lines, and the next crisis
Exploring the emerging issues that could be used to sow societal divisions in Canada.
Speakers
- Sue Gardner, Founder & CEO, Tiny Ventures
- Brenda Gunn, Professor, Faculty of Law & Director Academic Research for the National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation, University of Manitoba
- Eric Merkley, Assistant Professor of Political Science & Policy, University of Toronto
- Elsa Mondésir-Villefort, Director General, Citoyenneté jeunesse
Living arrangements: What comes next?
Looking at how the future of living arrangements could be shaped by demographic and economic changes, climate change and cultural differences.
Moderator
- Lindsay Neeley, Director, Policy Foresight, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
Speakers
- Joyce Chau, Program Director, Evergreen
- Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty, Co-Chair, National Indigenous Housing Network
- Anil Khera, Founder & CEO, Node
Future lives: Basic needs at risk
Examining the growing challenges to and possibilities for meeting basic needs.
Moderator
- Simon Robertson, Director, Foresight Research, Policy Horizons Canada
Speakers
- Destine Lord, Anti-racism and inclusion consultant
- Melana Roberts, Federal and municipal food policy strategist, and food justice advocate, Food Secure Canada
Geotechnomics: The strategic interplay of geopolitics, technology, and economics
Examining the new dynamics of global power and influence.
Moderator
- Kristel Van der Elst, Director General, Policy Horizons Canada
Speakers
- Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, Observer Research Foundation America
- Marc-Etienne Ouimette, Global Leader for AI Policy, Amazon Web Services
- Linda Yueh, Adjunct Professor of Economics, London Business School, and Fellow of Economics, Oxford University
Geotechnomics: Canadian perspectives
Looking at Canada’s position in the new dynamics of global power and influence.
Moderator
- Rohinton Medhora, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation
Speakers
- Robert Asselin, Senior Vice President, Policy, Business Council of Canada
- Patrick Francois, Director and Professor, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia
- Deborah Hayek, Futurecasting Practice Lead, Manulife, and Co-founder, Resonance Innovation
Existential risks
Exploring threats to humanity: what is an existential risk and why is it important to be aware of them.
Moderator
- Duncan Cass-Beggs, Former Counsellor for the Strategic Foresight, General Secretariat, OECD
Speakers
- Rosa Alegria, Co-chair, The Millennium Project Brazil
- Jessica Bland, Deputy Director, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER), Cambridge University
- Paul Edwards, Co-Director, Stanford Existential Risks Initiative; Director, Program in Science, Technology & Society, Stanford University
- Brian Tse, Founder & CEO, Concordia Consulting
The future of space
Exploring the commercialization of space and its potential implications for regulation, international cooperation, and sustainability.
Moderator
- Isabelle Tremblay, eng., Executive Director, Space Infrastructure, Space Utilization, Canadian Space Agency
Speakers
- Ozgur Gurtuna, Founder, Turquoise Technology Solutions
- Claire Jolly, Head of unit in the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Branch, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Murielle Lafaye, Deputy Director, Space Observatory, Strategy Directorate, National Centre for Space Studies
Fireside chat with Thomas Homer-Dixon
Examining the polycrisis and what it could mean for society, governments, and the future.
Speakers
- Thomas Homer-Dixon, Founder and Director, Cascade Institute, Royal Roads University
- Simon Robertson, Director, Foresight Research, Policy Horizons Canada
The world we desire: Systemic transformation
Looking at systemic transformation and how we can move towards sustainable futures.
Speakers
- Nora Bateson, filmmaker, writer, educator, and President, International Bateson Institute
- Melanie Goodchild, Indigenous system thinker, complexity geek, PhD candidate in Social & Ecological Sustainability, School of Environment, Resources & Sustainability (SERS), Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo
- Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation, University College London