THE FUTURES/

FORESIGHT FIELD
AN OVERVIEW GUIDE

BY VICTOR SARAT CATALAN

 WELCOME!
Sylvia Gallusser
PROFESSIONAL FUTURIST

Hello Future Traveler! I’m a Global Futurist and Strategist, based in San
Francisco. A core aspect of Foresight is the concept of Agency. Futures
Thinking is about regaining power over our actions and retrieving our
ability to act upon the future. Instead of feeling scared and fatalistic, we
need to “look the future in the eyes” and face full-spectrum scenarios, in
order to decide what role we want to play in such futures! There’s plenty
of room to take part in Foresight: we can envision the future, share it,
create it. Foresight is truly multidisciplinary, and all talents are welcome -
entrepreneurs, scientists, activists, business leaders, educators,
journalists, artists, storytellers, designers, architects, therapists,
strategists, students… Victor’s Future is one of my favorite places to
elevate the Futures/Foresight field with concrete applications. Victor has
his very unique way of bringing a variety of inspiring futures thinkers from
all over the world to debate the future, envision it together, and ultimately
build it!

Akash Das
FUTURES RESEARCHER

Hello everyone! Hope you’re doing great... I am happy that you're about
to take a leap into the world of futures thinking and research. It will be
one of the most important decisions of your life, and because of the way
the world is shifting, we need more minds, focused on the beauty of
futures’ multiplicity. We need more minds capable of understanding that
futures are many, myriad and multi-faceted and that “predicting trends”
is an oxymoron. It’s just the beginning, and while I - a humble futures
researcher and multidisciplinary, holistic designer, systems thinker and
dot-connector - starting not too far while ago, I feel I have learnt so
much in a short time but I feel I know even lesser than I begin with 😃
But it’s all good. Futures is not a cavern but a space. And I am so happy
empathetic visionaries like Victor are building the platform to bring us
together. You’ll enjoy it. With diversity, we can accelerate transformative
change - let’s craft better futures together.

I
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
01 / A Cool Introduction

02 / Why This Title?

03 / Part I: Futures Studies

04 / Part II: Foresight Practice

05 / Part III: The Field

06 / Where do I go from here?

07 / An Inspiring Ending...I hope!

II
 THE
DIAGRAM

The Futures/Foresight Field

Futures Studies Foresight Practice

Futures Literacy Futures Research Methodologies Applications

Here is a quick overview of the field from my perspective. Others have

different ideas, but I did my best to simplify it for you to best understand
who we are and what we do.

III
A COOL
INTRODUCTION
Hello there! Thank you for taking the time to read this guide that I created with much love! If
you don't know, I have had a passion for this field ever since my first exposure in 2015.

You might know that there are historians that study the past, but did you know that there are
people who study the future? I'm not talking about people who are making predictions, I'm
talking about people who are using different methodologies that explore different possible
alternative futures that we MIGHT head into.

We're definitely not Fortune Tellers, nor Oracles, as some of you might think. We wish we
have that super power, though! It would definitely make our work so much easier!

So, I hope you get a solid understanding of this field, and how you can start. I know there is so
much information, and there is no point to explain everything on here, because there are
many other great resources that explain them better than me.

I will give you a launching pad, and you can go wherever you want after reading this. I will
also avoid using any big words, and keep it an easy read, so don't worry about that!

Again, thank you for taking the time to learn more about this Futures/Foresight Field! Take
care, and happy reading!

1
 SOME
DEFINITIONS

Future- A singular prefarable future.

Futures- More than one future.

Futures Studies- The study of different foresight methods and frameworks.

Futures Literacy- A skillset and mission to expand futures thinking to more people.

Strategic Foresight- A type of strategy to help anticipate and create actionable steps

for a future.

Futurology- The discipline of the field, but not only the study of futures and foresight

practice, but also knowledge of it's history (I'm hoping this term can make a

comeback).

Futures Thinking- Having an open mindset of more than one possible future.

Forecasting- A planning tool that uses stats and data of the past to project a probable

future.

Weak Signals- A rising idea that hasn't been made mainstream.

Trends- Popular ideas that are impacting the world.

Black Swans- A rare, never would have thought, event that was impossible to imagine

could ever happen.

Scenarios- Usually the outcomes and futures from using any foresight tool.

2
WHY THIS TITLE?

During my exposure to this field for the past 7
years, I noticed that there are two parts: the
mindset, and the action.
You can't do one without the other, and
because of that missing element, it feels like
the field doesn't have a solid agreement of
how we should introduce ourselves to the
public.
Simple as that. I know many people in the
field who are fond of these two particular
words, and we are getting to the point
where we don't use one without the other,
so it's incredible seeing that!
Future(s)
One last thing to mention is that I like to

In my view, everyone should be involved when use futures with the "s" in parenthesis.

shaping or influencing our world's future. So, I

didn’t want to make it feel academic, nor
exclusive, or use an inaccurate name
(Futurism for example).
The Futures/Foresight Field title has that easy
sense of understanding for anyone of any age.
It's about a field that thinks about many
futures, and does foresight.
It gives that sense of inclusion for people
who like to go after one preferable future,
but still have a plural feel that the field
likes.
A higher increase in usage of this could
help us separate us from the stock trading
futures term, as well!

3
PART I: FUTURES
STUDIES

As I mentioned before, there are two parts of this field, and one of them is the study of the
future. In order to be well equipped in this field, I recommend having a basic understanding
of the foundations.

Futures Studies is currently the popular term to identify the field, and it's good, but I think
it's just one side of the coin. Within this area of the field, there are two distinct sub-topics
that one must familiarize themselves with before continuing further into this field. This is
where Futures Literacy and Futures Research come into play.

4
 FUTURES
LITERACY

You probably have never heard of this field before, and that's ok!

This is a term that is recently being used the most to promote the awareness AND usage of
futures thinking. Futures Literacy is the skill set that people will learn to gain a practical way
of using the future to take action today. To many organizations in this field, it's a mission to
teach the mindset and the tools to as many people as possible.

So, don't be afraid of this field! Becoming Futures Literate takes a while, because there are
many ways to learn how to think, perceive, imagine, and act upon our or your future(s). Even
how you think about the future now is just as valid, and we would love to hear what you have
to say.

However, there are some things you should know before you start your Futures Literacy
journey (if that's something you want to do).

5
Some things to unlearn
and re-learn

Futurology- A forgotten term.

In my research, -ology means a branch of

knowledge. Such as Biology, Sociology,
Ecology, Zoology, Dermatology, and
Cardiology.

However, Futurology isn't widely used

anymore.
For many it doesn't give that same sensation
as the other disciplines. Instead, for a lot of
people in this field, Futurology feels more on
the side of Astrology.
I'm actually hoping it makes a comeback, but
more on that some other time. So keep this in
mind.
Futurism- An Art Movement
This is easily one of the most used term by
the mainstream for anything that is future-
related. That, and "futuristic."
Futurist
It's a controversial title in the field, because
anyone can call themselves a Futurist without
any foresight training. Some professionals in
this field don't use it because of the historical
painters.
I don't mind the term "Futurist" being used in
the modern world. I just want you to understand
where it comes from, and why. In my way of
thinking, I like to think everyone is a Futurist in
their own way, including you.
Afrofuturism

This is actually an Italian art movement that
started in 1909. The painters who were
associated with the art are the original
Futurists.
It's a bit hard to come across this because it
doesn't get talked about at all. Even I wasn't
aware of this until much later.
They depicted modern technology in their
paintings, but they also had a unique
relationship with violence.
This is a movement where it is a development
and inclusion of science and technology
within the African Culture.
This is shown in many ways through
videogames, films, stories, and fashion to
push for a hopeful future for black people.
https://biblio.cofutures.org/ is a great place
to learn more and of other Modern Futurism
movements!

So remember, Futurism is not the name of

our field.

6
Different ways to learn.
Rarely anyone decides that they want to go
into the Futures/Foresight Field as a high
school student.

Majority of the people you will encounter will

have bumped into this field either by accident,
or by research.

And because of this, there is no right way to be

apart of this field. Anyone can join at any time.

University Education
Examples:
Yes, there are actual degrees that are related to Futures and
Foresight in the world! There's a lot of Graduate programs, University of Houston
and a few undergraduate programs. San Diego City College
OCAD University
I highly recommend doing a thorough research, and
understand how a degree in Futures/Foresight will help in
your career!

Mentorship/Workshops
Examples:
There are different organizations and individuals that you
The Futures School
can get your Futures/Foresight training from.
Basics of Foresight
They each teach differently, and usually have a mentorship Service Design College
style. So if you need help, you can always reach out to your
instructors!

Self-Taught
Examples:
You can also take some paid courses that you can take on Futures Thinking
your own time and pace.
Coursera
Metafuture
There's also a bunch of free resources, articles, journals,
LinkedIn Courses
podcasts, and videos that you learn from for free.

7
 FUTURES
RESEARCH

This is another term that I think is used differently than how I would use it. When I
think of "research," I can't help but attach it to the academic side of things.

If you forgot, Futures Thinking is the mindset and openness of more than just
one future. With Futures Research, it is about already having that "Futures
thinking" mindset, but applying it to different disciplines, and towards specific
topics of expertise.

In this second branch of Futures Studies, we have to bring in the work that many
experts of this field have done or are doing. Not only are some doing the work of
providing different scenarios for topics of their interest, but there are others in
this field that do "research" to further enhance this field by creating new concepts
and frameworks to play with.

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Concepts

Some researchers are always trying to

create new concepts from different
disciplines, or adding futures thinking to
other methodologies.

Because of that, we have to thank many

people for the introduction of many
foundational foresight frameworks that
many use today.

Finding new ways of approaching the future

takes some time and a unique perspective to
create and introduce to everyone else in the
field. So, much respect for them!
Some Futures Concept examples:
A few influential people of the field
Courtesy of Sohail Inayatullah (a leading
expert of the field), here are some people
that helped established the field of Futures
& Foresight.

Design Futures- A combination between If you're interesteded in the history of this

field, these people are a good start!
design thinking and futures thinking.
Regenerative Futures- A futures thinking
outlook with regenerative sustainability Johan Galtung
ideology. James Dator
Terranascient Futures- An indigenous and Graham Molitor
sustainable view through futures thinking. Elise Boulding
Protopia Futures- An outlook on the Eleonora Masini
Ashis Nandy
future where it progresses positively as
Alvin Toffler
time moves on.
Immanuel Wallerstein,
Participatory Futures- Involving
Herman Khan
participation when doing futures thinking
Hazel Henderson
with others.
Experiential Futures- Creating an actual
tangible future in the present to be
experience first handed.
Integral Futures- Futures Thinking plus
Ken Wilber's Integral Theory.
Personal Futures- When life coaching
meets futures thinking.

9
Interest/Focus

There are many people who have a broad range

of interest or topics they like to talk about with
others. However, you will also come across
people who have a singular focus of interest.

These individuals are experts or have a formal

education within a discipline. After exposure to
Futures Thinking, they can easily apply it to their
own subject of expertise.

For example, someone with a Masters degree in

Finance can provide their expert opinion about
the many futures the finance industry may be Pop/Mainstream Futurists
heading into.
Anyone can say they are a Futurist, and I do
Of course they don't need to use foresight tools consider everyone a Futurist, but not every
to do so, but it can make it easier for them to Futurist is involved in the Futures/Foresight Field
identify twice as many futures than they can or actually uses a foresight tool in their work.
imagine.
You will definitely encounter many people in the
world who are sharing a potential "future" on a
A few topic examples: topic. They are mainly making remarks about a
potential future, and might even consider them
Fashion Futures as predictions.
Urban Futures
Digital Futures The future can never be predicted, but I don't
Sustainable Futures think predictions are bad, but I would use them
Space Futures as signals to help me create more robust
scenarios. So consider them as one possible
Tech Futures
outcome, but don't think of them as the truth.
Entertainment Futures
Nature Futures Lastly, I recommend googling with the phrase
Finance Futures "Futures of..." instead of "The Future of..."
Education Futures because it will give you more scenarios to
Health Futures explore!

and so on...

There are many areas and disciplines that

futures thinking can be applied in!

This can also be used in other ways such as

in reports to section off different kinds of
topics they researched, or in workshops and
events to help identify their specific theme.

10
CONCLUSION OF
PART I

Futures Literacy and Futures Research are just a small part of the Futures/Foresight Field.

Becoming Futures Literate is a mission of many organizations, and they are great at teaching
you the necessary skills to face our many futures. Just remember that no one tool is better
than the other, and you should always continue expanding your knowledge to broaden your
creativity.

Remember, I don’t mind people using the word "Futurist" as a title, I just prefer people who
are involved in the field to add “Professional” or something else in front of it to distinguish
themselves from the mainstream Futurists or Futurism's Futurists.

So yes, Futures Studies is a good name, but I don't think it encompasses the whole field itself,
only half of it. Now, let's move into the action part of this field: Foresight Practice

11
PART II: FORESIGHT
PRACTICE

Now that you know a little background of the field and who we are, now you will dive into
the second half to understand how we do the things we do.

This isn't a field where people can make a single prediction. There are many people who do
that, but they are not necessarily a part of this field. I don't think predictions aren't bad, it's
just that the people in this field understand that it's better to imagine all the possible,
plausible, and probable futures.

This way, it's much easier to help others navigate towards their preferable future.

In this part, you will learn about some fundamental methodologies that many use in this
field, and where exactly people apply this into or work at.

12
 POPULAR
METHODOLOGIES

One of the fundamental goal for a lot of the organizations within this field is to
democratize the future. They want to give people a new way to face uncertainty,
and to give them a sense of control of their present.

Here are some methods, tools, and frameworks that you might come across
during your journey into the field. Of course it's not all of them, and I won't explain
each of them in detail since I want to keep this guide simple.

If you would like to learn more about each of these Foresight tools, I recommend
searching them up on Google to learn how to use them.

13
 Some Common Tools
Source: Jerome C. Glenn. Source: knowledgeworks.org

Futures Wheel Futures Cone of Probability

Source: Australian Government's Department of Agriculture and Water Source: Dow Jones adapted From UK Government – Futures toolkit
Resources' Strategic Foresight Guide

Backcasting Horizon Scanning

Source: Amy Webb

Source: Method by Inayatullah image by Cristina Pozzi

Axes of Uncertainty Futures Triangle

14
 Let's go through one exercise together

This is the Axes of

Uncertainty (also goes
by the 2x2 Matrix).
This is probably the
first foresight tool
that I learned during
my undergrad., and
one of the easiest
tools to use.

Step 1: Choose an uncertain Step 6: Write out a

variable for A (i.e Public outlook on
social media)
Step 2: Choose another uncertain
variable for B (i.e Brand
engagement).
Step 3: Write out the opposite
states for uncertainty A (A1-
Positive Public Outlook, A2-
Negative Public Outlook)
LOW BRAND ENGAGEMENT
headline/statement/scenario/future/story for each
quadrant. (Future 1: Due to high brand engagement
and a positive public outlook on social media,
there will be more collaborations and
participation).
POSITIVE PUBLIC OUTLOOK
HIGH BRAND ENGAGEMENT

Step 4: Write out the opposite

Future 2: Future 1:
states for Uncertainty B (B1- Low Positive and Low Positive and High
Brand Engagement, B2- High Brand
engagement)
Step 5: Combine the different Future 3: Future 4:
Negative and Low Negative and High
uncertainty variables in each
Quadrant (Future 2: Positive Public
Outlook with Low Brand
NEGATIVE PUBLIC OUTLOOK
Engagement).

Here are some more methods that the field likes to use.

Visioning Scenario Planning Janus Cone Dator's Four Futures

15
 FIELD OF
APPLICATIONS

Yes, there are many methods and tools that teaches you how to use foresight, but
where do people in the field work in?

The Futurists that you see giving presentations, or participating in interviews in

public usually aren't a part of the field. They share remarks about futures, which is
cool, but you won't know if they use a particular foresight tool to back up their
opinions or their so called "predictions."

Here are five areas that I see people applying Foresight. Some people are
following the traditional job route, but there are some who want to change things
up a little.

16
 Government
Strategic foresight was first derived as a strategy in the
military. It's also useful for govt offices to understand
outcomes when creating new policies.

Corporate
Businesses and companies utilize foresight for growth, and try
to understand possible end results when it comes to new
products and services.

Academia

Universities are a great place to find yourself as a student or

Professor to do futures research. Most of the well-established
leaders in this field reside in this area.

Consultancy

After getting an education or training, some people work as

Consultants (independently or in a firm) to help others
individually or as a client project using foresight.

Media/Entertainment
A newer space with not much going on. There are some people
creating card games, or making videos and other kinds of
content to expand futures literacy to more people.

17
CONCLUSION OF
PART II

Foresight is a powerful tool to learn and apply. When done correctly (and incorrectly!), you
are opening new opportunities, scenarios, and futures that many haven't considered
before.

As you can see, Foresight Practice is the second half of this field. People can learn the
methodologies and frameworks without learning the other half.

So, I hope you got a better understanding of what kind of methodologies we use, and have
an idea of where it is used and applied in. This field is still expanding to many different
industries, so you have no idea what new strategies, methods, and frameworks will be
created in the future.

Now that you know who we are, and what we do, I will show you the main organizations,
communities, leaders, and events for you to learn about!

18
 PART III: THE FIELD

So, now that you have an understanding of our background, and the way we do our work,
we can explore a few areas within the field that are pretty cool to check out.

There's some communities and organizations that I recommend joining if you want to
connect with people in this field. Some world-wide events that you should attend, and
some leaders in the field that you should follow!

Also, some people consider this field as new, young, unique, or dying. Because of this, there
is a lot of disagreement on certain things such as title, definitions, and approaches. I try not
to be like that. Instead, I like to be inclusive, because the future is uncharted territory, and
we need all hands on deck to explore all potential futures together.

19
Identification
Everyone uses a mixture of different
titles in this field. I tried my best to
identify a few titles that encompasses
some common words that we use the
most.

So, one can identify themselves

however they like!

Futurologist– An individual who has an extensive educational background related

to Futures Studies, and it's history.
Futures Researcher– An individual who is undergoing research with futures
thinking and other discipline(s).
Professional Futurist– Has an acknowledgment of the field, and use some
foresight methodologies in their work.
Foresight Practitioner– Has gone through training to understand how to use
different foresight methods.
Strategic Forecaster– A certain type of person that uses strategic tools and data
to forecast a particular future.
Trend Analyst– Someone who identifies trends and signals of a particular topic
of choice from a local or global perspective.
Strategist– An individual who is using foresight as part of one of their strategy
tools more in a business setting.
Futures Advocate/Foresight Activist– An individual who is supporting and
helping extend Futures Literacy to others.

Remember, if you think, dream, imagine, draw, talk, or plan for a future, you're a
Futurist at heart.

20
Organizations

World Futures Studies Federation

Associations of Professional Futurists
Copenhagen Institute for Futures
Studies
The Millennium Project
Teach The Future
School of International Futures
UNESCO Futures Literacy
Institute for The Future
Center for Engaged Foresight
International Institute of Forecasters
Association for Strategic Planning

Institutions/Companies

Future Today Institute

Near Future Laboratory
The Futures Laboratory
Fast Futures
Shaping Tomorrow
Supertrends Institute
Futures Platform
Disruptive Futures Institute
Sensible Futures
The Forward Club
I know I didn't list every
The Futures Agency
organization, institutions,
Silicon Humanism
companies, and consultancies
Foresight Factory
out there.
FFWD - Futures Intelligence & Strategic
Foresight
There are many more, and
Centre for the Future
probably in different
Futuros Plurais
languages as well!
Forum for the Future
Futuribles International
So, go check these out to
The Futurist Institute
learn a bit more about their
World Futures Review
background, methods, and
World Future Council
goals.
National Assembly Futures Institute

21
Communities

Futures Space
Grey Swan Guild
Envisioning
Global Swarm
DFI Speculative Futures Chapters
Global Foresight Network
Philippine Futures Thinking Society
La Futura

World Wide Events

World Future Day

World Futures Day
PRIMER Conference
WFSF World Conference
There has been a little Global Foresight Summit
confusion ever since UNESCO Future Summit
established World Futures Day Futures Festival
on December 2nd. WSJ The Future of Everything Festival
Grey Swan Guild 1,000 Day Radar
Many people keep changing Asia Pacific Futures Network (APFN)
World Future Day to World Conference
Futures Day for March 1st.

But to keep things easy, I like to

think:

March 1st is World Future Day to celebrate and go after our preferable future.

December 2nd is World Futures Day to celebrate and encourage others to embrace a
futures thinking mindset.

However, you can use World Future(s) Day for March 1st if you're inclined for a more
plural feel!

22
Pioneers of the Field

Andy Hines Jose Ramos Sohail Tanja Faith

Inayatulla Schindler Popcorn

Jeniffer Nancy Catarina Peter John

Gidley Giordano Tully Bishop Sweeney

Riel Miller Shermon Alexandra Wendy Amy Webb

Cruz Whittington Schultz

Verne Leah Zaildi Alex Lidia Zuin Maree

Wheelwright Fergnani Conway

Ross Stuart Barbara Ferrer Kirstin Frank

Dawson Candy Lanz Alford Spencer

23
CONCLUSION OF
PART III
I know at times the field may feel like we are exclusive, but do know that we are doing
everything we can to make the whole world be included in our conversations.

The future doesn’t belong to only those who are shaping it, it also belongs to all those who
will be living in it as well. So, this is my invitation for you to come to the decision making
tables, and explore all of the unimaginable futures with us.

You can join a community, you can follow everyone on the list, or learn more about what
each organization is doing. Please do come by to any of the events if possible, because it
would be awesome to receive your support!

Just remember that you can be a futurist if you want to be, but to be a Professional
Futurist, you might have to do some practical training or learn from the leaders of this field.
Nevertheless, your opinions about A future will be just as valid as any other person here.

24
 WHERE DO I GO FROM
HERE?
If you didn't know, I kept this guide short and simple. I didn't want to go into too much detail since
I know you have other stuff to do. However, if you would like some good websites to check out,
here are a few:

https://jfsdigital.org/ https://en.unesco.org/futuresliteracy
https://rossdawson.com/ /summit2020
https://www.foresightguide.com/ https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/top
https://www.teachthefuture.org/resources -ten-toolkits-futures/

You can also just just learn more about this subject/field by using any search engine. There are
many resources out there that are in audio, video, and written format. Here are a few for you to
get started:

Written Audio

Futures & Foresight Science Journal FuturePod

Foundations of Futures Studies Vol.1 The Briefing.Today Podcast
&2 Near Future laboratory Podcast
The Future: A Very Short Introduction Applying Futures Thinking
Thinking About The Future Future Imagined Podcast
Future Shock
The Futures/Foresight Field LinkedIn
Newsletter

Video

Alex Fergnani's YouTube Channel

Institute for the Future (IFTF) YouTube Channel
Global Foresight Summit YouTube Channel
Association of Professional Futurists YouTube Channel

25
AN INSPIRING
ENDING. . . I HOPE!

I guess that is IT! Thank you for taking the time to read this overview guide. I was hoping it
would be quick and easy, but there's just so much information ! I really do hope that you at
least got some sense of the different parts of this Futures/Foresight Field.

If you're one of my friends, I hope you now understand what I do! If you're a stranger, I hope
it was easy to learn something new, and enough to intrigue you to dive deeper into this field.
Please do reach out to me for any more guidance or if you would like to have a nice virtual
coffee chat.

This field is so cool, but it was confusing to me

when I first started, because there was no set
structure for me to follow. Everyone was using
different terms, but the tools seemed the same
across the board.

So, I hope this way of looking into the field seems

easy to grasp, and you're able to find a way to
start participating with us!

I do believe the future involves everyone, and this

is just one step into establishing this field just as
credible as any other field to the general public.

With that said, I hope to see you in one of these

futures! :) Take care, and good luck.

Victor Sarat

Page 26 for good luck!

 ABOUT VICTOR

Victor Sarat
FORESIGHT/FUTURES ADVOCATE

Victor Sarat is a Foresight Advocate and Content Creator

who was introduced to the futures/foresight field in his
first class of his undergrad in 2015.

Since then, he graduated with an Innovation in Society

degree from the College of Global Futures at Arizona
State University. He is the Founder of the newly created
online media, called Using Foresight, where he is set to
explore and showcase how the world thinks about our or
their future(s) in different engaging content and events.

He was a Co-Organizer for the Speculative Futures

Phoenix Chapter, where he invited local professionals to
share their speculative design and/or strategic foresight
work. Victor is currently volunteering his time as a
Community Builder for Futures Space, an online digital
community for individuals who are interested in foresight
and futures.

As an emerging tech enthusiast, he enjoys his time

listening to experts and their take on the future of
emerging technologies. Not only does he enjoy talking
about futures-thinking to anyone he comes across, but he
also enjoys watching movies, dancing, listening to music,
and meeting new people.

I
 OTHER NAMES?
There's many reasons why I don't use other names for this field. As I've said, one
can't be said without the other.

Future Thinkers- Nobody in the field likes to use the singular term, because they all understand

that there are more than one future. However, we still use it in certain methods.

Futures Industry- If we only say "futures" many people in the general public can confuse it with

stock futures trading.

Futures Studies- It feels too academic, and I would like to keep it open for the general public to

feel involved. Plus, I think it's only one side of the coin.

Futures Literacy- It's more related as a skill set and a mission for many organizations to further

expose futures thinking and foresight tools to people.

Foresight Field- This is a practice or action oriented term, and only one part of what this field is

all about.

Futurism- This is an art movement. Has some influence in the field, but it's not the entire thing.

Futurists Community- The original painters of the Futurism are the original Futurists. Also, not

everyone in the field likes to use "Futurist" as a title, and I also think that anyone can identify as

one if they choose to without training.

Futurology- Many feel it's too outdated, or that it's associated with predictions. It's definitely

not the field, but I would like for it to make a comeback someday.

Futures Thinking Discipline- This is a mindset, but we do more than just having an open mind of

many possible futures.

Forecasters- These are groups of people that utilize a certain type of strategy, but they don't

represent the whole field.

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 THANK YOU

I had the idea of creating this guide on my 10th year being in this field, but here I am
releasing it on my 25th birthday! I would like to thank a lot of people for the
encouragement to create a guide like this.

I hope I can do more with this in the coming years, and see how much has changed. In a
way, this is like a time capsule of my own knowledge! Who knows what's going to happen,
maybe write a whole book that will be printed? that would be cool!

Anything is possible. So thank you friends, and colleagues for everything- Sylvia, Akash, Kay,
Shay, Jeremy, Estelle, Amanda, Seamus, Ana, Hanna, Jocelyn, Koen, Hauson, Emmanuelle,
Fernando, Giselle, Brooke, Tom Tom, Fei, Alejandro and everyone else who have been
supporting me on my journey!

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CONTACT ME
www.victorsfuture.com
victorsfuture@gmail.com
@VictorsFuture (social media)