AC/UNU Millennium Project -- Press Room
Press Releases and News:
being selected as one of the
fifty best articles published in 2006 in management (from the 15,000 articles
reviewed throughout 2006)Jerome Glenn, Director of the Milleniumm Project, headed the delegation that met with the President of the Chile Senate, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, for discussing the formation of a Commissions of the Future dedicated to help the Parliament to carry out political analyses to improve the management of the future. Glenn was accompanied by Miguel Gutiérrez Angel, Argentina, Director of the Center of Globalización and Prospectiva; Jose Cordeiro, Director of the Venezuela Society of the Future; Luis Ragno, Director of the Training center Prospectivos of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Héctor Casanueva, Academic Vicerector of the University Miguel de Cervantes of Chile, and Marcela Palaces, Director of Continuous Education of the same university.
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Jerome Glenn, Director General del Milleniumm Project de la Universidad de Naciones Unidas encabezó la delegación que se entrevistó con el Presidente del Senado Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle para informarfle respecto de las Comisiones de Futuro que se están formando en los Parlamentos dedicadas a efectuar análisis políticos para mejorar la gestión del futuro. Glenn estuvo acompañado de Miguel Angel Gutiérrez, argentino, Director del Centro de Globalización y Prospectiva; José Cordeiro, Director de la Sociedad venezzolana del Futuro; Luis Ragno, Director del Centro de Estudios Prospectivos de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Héctor Casanueva, Vicerrector Académico de la Universidad Miguel de Cervantes de Chile y Marcela Palacios, Directora de Educación Continua de la misma casa de estudios http://www.senado.cl/prontus_senado/site/artic/20070516/pags/20070516145556.html |
Winners of the Global Millennium Prize
Announced
(see Press Release PDF)
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Statement by Jerome Glenn, Director of the Millennium Project CONTACTS --see below
contacts by country/region |
Washington, DC––February 23, 2007 -The 15 winners of the Global Millennium Prize are represented by seven different countries which include Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Korea, USA, and Venezuela.
The Global Millennium Prize sponsored by the Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University is the first ever worldwide competition for high school students to address the 15 Global Challenges facing humanity .
Interestingly the Mexican students, representing the wealthiest to the poorest states, come from Baja, Distrito Federal, Guerrero, Mexico, Queretaro, and Tlaxcala.
The competition invited students to write an essay on one of the AC/UNU Millennium Project’s 15 Global Challenges which cover sustainable development, water, democratization, information technology, population and resources, the status of women, energy, transnational crime, health, the rich-poor gap, decision making, science and technology, peace and conflict, long-term policy making, and global ethics.
Winners were chosen for each of the 15 challenges and will receive an International Certificate of Recognition, a trophy, an all expense paid trip to Mexico City for the awards ceremony and a Hewlett Packard Laptop computer.
The Winners by the respective challenges are:
1. Sustainable development: Aline Mazeto Roldan, Brazil
2. Water without conflict: Chinwe Madubata, United States of America
3. Population and Resources: Teotl Rosas Lozano, México
4. Democratization: Yolanda Belén Zavala Gómez, México
5. Global, Long-Term Policymaking: Mario Urióstegui Hernández,
México
6. Globalization of Information Technology: S. Laxmipriya, India
7. Rich-Poor Gap: Alberto Jaime Plancarte, México
8. Health: Elías David León, Venezuela
9. Decisionmaking Capacities: Maria do Rosario da Silva Gomes, Brazil
10. Conflict Resolution: Luz María Resendiz Montoya, México
11. Improving the Status of Women: Anayeli Muñoz Vázquez, México
12. Transnational Crime: Yunshin Cho, Korea
13. Energy: Min Yixiao, China
14. Science and Technology: Sai Sidhardh, India
15. Global Ethics: Nely Karina Santillán Silva, México
Statement by Jerome Glenn, Director
of the Millennium Project
(see PDF
of the Statement)
Congratulations to all the winners, the judges, the sponsors, and Concepción Olavarrieta with her Millennium Project Node in Mexico.
Theses prizes are part of a new human awaking around the world. We are wakening to the realization that anyone can contribute their ideas to improve people's lives. For the first time in history it is possible to connect people with good ideas with people who need them, and connect to the resources that can implement the ideas that can improve the human condition anywhere in the world.
The 15 Global Challenges have been identified and updated by over 2000 participants in the Millennium Project. And now you too are part of this international participation.
The Millennium Project will join forces with the World Federation of United Nations Associations to expand the participation in the Global Millennium Prize. I hope that the winners over years in the future will form a network for connecting people, ideas, and resources to build a better future.
In addition to the Global Millennium Prize for secondary school students, we
are also planning to have a prize for university students around the world.
Maybe one day we can connect the many prize programs around the world into a
global system that can help connect people, ideas, and resources that will answer
all the 15 Global Challenges.
About the Millennium Project: The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University, comprising more than 2,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists, and policy makers from more than 50 countries, who volunteer their time to the Project. The Project explores global futures, by interviewing individuals who work for corporations, universities, Non-Government Organizations, UN organizations, and governments around the world. The Millennium Project is organized into regional and national “Nodes”, groups of individuals and institutions that identify key in-country futurists, and political, business, science, technology, and academic leaders, to participate in Millennium Project studies. Presently the Project has 27 Nodes around the world that connect global and local views. For more information about the Millennium Project see http://www.acunu.org/millennium/overview.html
The Global Millennium Prize: The Global Millennium Prize,
based on the 15 Global Challenges, emulates on the successful national “Premio
del Milenio” launched in 2005 under the guidance of Ms. Concepcion Olavarrieta,
President, Nodo Mexicano, El Proyecto del Milenio. “Premio del Milenio”
that invited grade 5 school children from Mexico to choose one of the 15 Global
Challenges and to research creative solutions to address that Challenge. The
program was such a success and incited such an interest from the other Millennium
Project Nodes, that it was expanded to include teenagers worldwide. More
information about the Global Millennium Prize can be found at http://www.globalmillenniumprize.org
CONTACTS by country/region
Argentina: Miguel Angel Gutierrez, alterfutures@hotmail.com
Brazil: Rosa Alegria rosa.alegria@terra.com.br
Canada: Elizabeth Florescu acunu@igc.org
Brussels Area: Marie-Anne Delahaut delahaut.amarie-anne@institut-destree.eu
Finland: Heinonen Sirkka Sirkka.Heinonen@vtt.fi
France: Saphia Richou saphia.richou@cnam.fr
Germany: Cornelia Daheim daheim@z-punkt.de
India: Anandhavali Mahadevan <anandd_2k@rediffmail.com>
or Mohan Tikku <mohan_tikku@yahoo.co.in>
Mexico: Concepción Olavarrieta olav@prodigy.net.mx
South Korea: Youngsook Park harmsen@korea.com
Russia: Nadezhda Gaponenko foresightr@mail.ru
U.S: John J. Gottsman, Phone: 650-329-9818, gottsman@msn.com
Venezuela: Jose Cordeiro jose_cordeiro@yahoo.com
, Eileen Cárdenas eileen.cardenas@gmail.com
WORLD COMPETITION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL
STUDENTS ADDRESSING THE GLOBAL FUTURE
(see Press Release PDF)
|
CONTACTS --see
below contacts by country/region General contacts: English: John J. Gottsman, gottsman@msn.com Tel: 650-329-9818 Spanish: Concepción Olavarrieta olav@prodigy.net.mx Tel:+55 (55) 5540-2746 General background: Jerome C. Glenn, jglenn@igc.org, Tel: 202-686-5179 |
Washington, DC––September 15, 2006: the Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University launches the GLOBAL MILLENNIUM PRIZE, the first ever worldwide competition for high school (secondary school) students to address the 15 Global Challenges facing humanity http://www.globalmillenniumprize.org
Following a highly successful national competition in Mexico in 2005, the Millennium Project expanded the contest for teenagers in other Millennium Project Nodes, although children from around the world are welcome to participate as well.
The Competition invites students (age 15-19) to choose one of the AC/UNU Millennium Project’s 15 Global Challenges and to research and write an essay (scenario) on how they think one of the Global Challenges could be addressed between now and the year 2015. The 15 Global Challenges cover issues and opportunities in sustainable development, water, population & resources, democratization, long-term policymaking, information technology, the rich-poor gap, health, decision making, peace & conflict, changing roles of women, transnational crime, energy, innovations in science & technology, and global ethics. For a brief overview of the 15 Global Challenges, see: http://www.acunu.org/millennium/challeng.html.
The competition opens on September 15, 2006, with a November 15, 2006 deadline for submission. Three awardees will be selected in each of the 15 Global Challenges categories. Acknowledgement will include an International Certificate of Recognition, a trophy, and all expenses while in Mexico City for the Award Ceremony (round trip airfare to Mexico might also be supplied pending resources.) The winner in each of the 15 challenges will receive a HP laptop.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Recognition. They may also receive the registration fee to the World Future Society Annual Conference to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 29–31, 2007, pending resources.
About the Millennium Project: The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University, comprising more than 2,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists, and policy makers from more than 50 countries, who volunteer their time to the Project. The Project explores global futures, by interviewing individuals who work for corporations, universities, Non-Government Organizations, UN organizations, and governments around the world. The Millennium Project is organized into regional and national “Nodes”, groups of individuals and institutions that identify key in-country futurists, and political, business, science, technology, and academic leaders, to participate in Millennium Project studies. Presently the Project has 27 Nodes around the world that connect global and local views; see http://www.acunu.org/millennium/nodes.html
The Global Millennium Prize: The Global Millennium Prize,
based on the 15 Global Challenges, emulates on the successful national “Premio
del Milenio” launched in 2005 under the guidance of Ms. Concepcion Olavarrieta,
President, Nodo Mexicano, El Proyecto del Milenio. “Premio del Milenio”
that invited grade 5 school children from Mexico to choose one of the 15 Global
Challenges and to research creative solutions to address that Challenge. The
program was such a success and incited such an interest from the other Millennium
Project Nodes, that it was expanded to include teenagers worldwide.
CONTACTS by country/region
Argentina: Miguel Angel Gutierrez, alterfutures@hotmail.com
Brazil: Rosa Alegria rosa.alegria@terra.com.br
Canada: Elizabeth Florescu acunu@igc.org
Brussels Area: Marie-Anne Delahaut delahaut.amarie-anne@institut-destree.eu
Finland: Heinonen Sirkka Sirkka.Heinonen@vtt.fi
France: Saphia Richou saphia.richou@cnam.fr
Germany: Cornelia Daheim daheim@z-punkt.de
India: Anandhavali Mahadevan <anandd_2k@rediffmail.com>
or Mohan Tikku <mohan_tikku@yahoo.co.in>
Mexico: Concepción Olavarrieta olav@prodigy.net.mx
South Korea: Youngsook Park harmsen@korea.com
Russia: Nadezhda Gaponenko foresightr@mail.ru
U.S: John J. Gottsman, Phone: 650-329-9818, gottsman@msn.com
Venezuela: Jose Cordeiro jose_cordeiro@yahoo.com
, Eileen Cárdenas eileen.cardenas@gmail.com
The
Millennium Project Releases “2006 State of the Future” Report
Extraordinary overview documents global prospects for humanity
No. 1 Best Selling Book on the Future
at the World Future Society Conference
See the PDF file of the Press
Release
2006 State of the Future
presentation and Executive Summary
Washington, DC–The Millennium Project––a
global participatory think tank–– released its 10th annual State
of the Future report today. Its pre-released copies were the top seller
at the July 28-31 World Future Society conference held in Toronto, Canada.
This “Report Card on the Future” distills the collective intelligence of over 2,000 leading scientists, futurists, scholars, and policy advisors who work for governments, corporations, NGOs, universities, and international organizations. The 2006 State of the Future comes in two parts: a 125-page print executive summary and a 5,400-page CD. The CD contains all the research behind the print edition, plus the Millennium Project’s 10 years of cumulative research and methods. Some unique features not available in other global assessments:
• 15 Global Challenges – Prospects, Strategies, Insights
• 4 Global Energy Scenarios for 2020 - rich in detail
• 650 Annotated Scenario Sets
• State of the Future Index
• Reflections on 10 years of Global Futures Research
• And much more futures intelligence on technology, environment, governance, the human conditionA must in foresight, an excellent tool for policymakers.
Maria João Rodrigues, Special Advisor to the European CommissionShows us the importance of future thinking.
Reyes Tamez, Minister of Education, MexicoBest money I ever spent at Ford.
Ed Martin, former Director, Global Market Research, Ford Motor CompanyExceedingly valuable resource for corporate strategic planning.
Michael Stoneking, Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP
“There is so much extraneous information that it is difficult to identify and concentrate on what is truly relevant,” says co-author Jerome C. Glenn, director of the Millennium Project of the American Council for the UN University. “Our report cuts through this clutter by presenting short, clear summaries in print, while giving the full details in the attached CD.” For example:
• Just as computer code is written to create many kinds of software, genetic code will be written to create many varieties of life, including those that make hydrogen from plants.
• $1 trillion was paid in political bribes last year and organized crime’s annual income is over $2 trillion. By comparison, all military budgets combined worldwide are $1 trillion.
• The worldwide race to connect everything not yet connected is just beginning.
• Sales of nanotech-related products exceed $20 billion a year, while the health and environmental impact studies proliferate that may knock out some of the nano-producers.
• Buffett/Gates will have more implementation power in the developing world’s health policies than the United State or the World Health Organization––showing the evolution of power from nations, to corporations, to individuals.
• The Chernobyl plant is still leaking radioactivity 20 years after the accident––Ukraine’s President has asked for $1 billion for better containment, 27,000 nuclear warheads still exist, smuggling of nuclear waste is up again; hence, we are still out to lunch on nuclear management.
• 25 million are likely to die if avian flu mutates for human-to-human transmission.
• While electoral democracies increase, press freedoms are actually falling worldwide.
• In the best case scenario, China’s water situation does not start to improve for another 10 to 15 years, which could lead to future mass migrations.
• Dramatic increases in collective human-machine intelligence are possible within 25 years. It is also possible that within the same time frame single individuals acting alone might create and use weapons of mass destruction.
• Conducting regional water negotiations in the Middle East may be the best way to build confidence that peace is possible in the region.
• Using a State of the Future Index can improve decision making and setting priorities.
After 10 years of Millennium Project research, it has become increasingly clear that humanity has the resources to address its global challenges; what is less clear is how much wisdom, good will, and intelligence will be focused on these challenges.
The authors:
Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon co-founded the Millennium Project of
the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU) in 1996. Glenn
has been the executive director of the AC/UNU since 1988 as liaison between
the U.S. and the UNU, the primary academic research system of the United Nations.
He has 35 years experience in futures research for various think tanks and was
deputy director for PfP International in micro-enterprise development, where
he introduced e-mail to thirty developing countries in the early 1980s. Gordon
was a space scientist in the Apollo program, has 45 years experience in futures
research, founded The Futures Group, co-founded the Institute for the Future,
and was an early pioneer with the RAND Corporation’s Delphi studies.
About the Millennium Project:
The Millennium Project is a unique think tank with 26 Nodes––groups
of institutions and individuals who connect global and local perspectives––around
the world, plus 2,000+ volunteer futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists,
and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the
American Council for the United Nations University. It is dedicated to exploring
global futures by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations, universities,
NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand world change and to identify
actions to improve humanity’s prospects for the future. In addition to
its annual State of the Future reports, the Millennium Project also produces
the Futures Research Methodology series, and special studies. Current sponsors
of the AC/UNU Millennium Project are Applied Materials, Deloitte & Touche
LLP, Ford Motor Company, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and the U.S. Army Environmental
Policy Institute, and (in-kind) the Smithsonian Institution, World Future Society,
and World Federation of United Nations Associations.
NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information, visit The Millennium Project’s
website www.acunu.org and/or download the
project’s flyer at: http://www.acunu.org/millennium/mpflyer-2006.html
Future of Livestock in Developing Countries to 2030
First Meeting of the
Future of Livestock in Developing Countries to 2030 Held in Nairobi
Group of 25 experts enters 'uncharted waters' in building futuristic livestock
scenarios that force new thinking and new decisions
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) hosted a group of 25 livestock and futures experts from around the world for two and a half days 13-15 February 2006 to do some non-crystal-ball-gazing. The experts constructed alternative scenarios of likely futures of livestock development in developing countries paying particular attention to what will happen to poor people.
They got help from Jerome Glenn (jglenn@igc.org), who is an expert in 'futures research' and director of a think tank called the Millennium Project, which has been running under the aegis of the American Council for the United Nations University since 1991.
Decisionmakers in ILRI and FAO and other livestock research and development institutions are the target of the products of this meeting. The idea behind this work is to force serious, flexible thinking about alternative possibilities for the future and begin to come up with the right mix of strategic decisions that will allow people to adapt to the future. The process of doing this work can alter the way decision makers think about the future. That, says Glenn, may be the most important outcome of the meeting.
'The germ of a future-oriented collective intelligence on livestock development for the poor was created here,' Glenn said at the close of the meeting. 'What we believe is possible for livestock development is "pretty poultry"', he laughed. 'Here, for example, are just a few of the things that were not yet in the world in 1980: personal computers, the World Wide Web, cellular phones, AIDs, the European Union and the World Trade Organisation. The world has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. What is guaranteed is that we will have even more and faster changes in the future. This meeting was held to enlarge the capacity of stakeholders in livestock development to respond to good and bad events in future, including major shocks such as another tsunami, a war and or disease pandemics.'
Click here to read Jerome Glenn's paper, Global Scenarios and Implications for Constructing Future Livestock Scenarios, January 2006, 68 pages.
'We are entering uncharted waters', said FAO's Henning Steinfeld (henning.steinfeld@fao.org) to develop a platform for creating a better understanding of livestock futures.'
ILRI's director general, Carlo Seré (c.sere@cgiar.org), said ILRI and FAO share concerns about finding the best ways to position livestock in a dynamic world for the benefit of the poor.
The products of this meeting include a wealth of information embedded in four plausible 'storylines' that the participants constructed for the future. The participants adapted the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment scenarios for the livestock sector. These ranged from a 'Techno-Garden' scenario, where technology is largely a good, benefiting many and bringing people together, to a 'Global Orchestration' scenario where consumers rule---but which consumers?, to an 'Adaptive Mosaic' scenario in which novel uses of IT connect livestock communities, to a 'Order from Strength; Weakness from Chaos' scenario where today's international organizations are largely ineffective or have disappeared altogether, the world is fragmented and reactionary, and its every country for itself.
Summaries of the storylines will be produced by the end of February 2006. A longer report will be produced subsequently by ILRI and FAO. To receive a copy of the summaries or report, contact the meeting's organizers, ILRI's Ade Freeman (a.freeman@cgiar.org) or FAO's Anni McLeod (anni.mcleod@fao.org).
This livestock expert opinion is needed to feed into the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and another major inter-governmental and consultative 3-year effort initiated by the World Bank called the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (http://www.agassessment.org/). Involving 900 participants and 110 countries, the IAASTD is now collecting global and regional assessments of the state and needs of science and technology and is at the stage of preparing first drafts of results. Results of the ILRI-FAO meeting will also be used to inform annual program meetings of ILRI and the Animal Production and Health Division of FAO, where feedback from wider circles of livestock experts will be sought.
The aim of all this work, says ILRI livestock systems analyst Philip Thornton (p.thornton@cgiar.org), is to 'help build and drive a bandwagon rather than jumping on whatever bandwagon happens along. We need to be changing mindsets in a world where ten percent of the world's population consumes ninety percent of the world's resources. It is surely not impossible to have a more equitable world. We need to show people that livestock are a great development tool with which to do that.'
If the world does not view livestock experts as long-term global visionaries, maybe it should take another look.
2005 State of the Future Book Launch
November 14, 2005: 2005 State of the Future Book Launch. Jerome C. Glenn, co-author of 2005 State of the Future will provide his insights into the collective intelligence of nearly 2,000 leading minds in more than 50 countries.Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 5th Floor Conference Room, 12pm-1:30pm
See the archived video from the webcast of the meeting, at: Live Webcast: 2005 State of the Future. An Extraordinary Overview of the Global Situation and Prospects for the Future
See the power point presentation 2005 State of the Future Book Launch by Jerome C. Glenn, co-author, presented at the launch.
Jerome C. Glenn, Director of the Millennium
Project, receives the Donnella Meadows Futures Award
and Hazel Henderson, member of the Millennium Project Planning Committee, receives
USACOR Lifetime Achievement Award
US Association for the Club of Rome (USACOR)
AWARD MEETING and 30th ANNIVERSARY
at a meeting on Friday, September 30, 2005, 3 PM to 6 PM at Old Dominion University
To be held in the Rector's Room at the Webb University Center
The Donnella Meadows Futures Award
Presented by Dr. Prof. Dennis Meadows, author of Limits to Growth ...a Thirty
Year Update
To Jerome Clayton Glenn (ACUNU/Millennium Project)
Followed by a presentation by Jerry Glenn
The USACOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
presented by Dr. Anitra Thorhaug, the president of USACoR
To Hazel Henderson
With talk by Hazel Henderson,
A presentation of Hazel's most recent works and a signing of her most recent
book.
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Jerome C. Glenn receives the Donnella Meadows Futures Award presented by Dr. Prof. Dennis Meadows |
Hazel Henderson, a well known, independent, futurist and economist
is the author of many outstanding books and articles including: The Politics
of the Solar Age; Ecocities: Building Cities in Balance with Nature; New World
Trends and the Future of Oil and Energy; Beyond Globalization: Shaping a Sustainable
Global Economy; Building a Win-Win World: Life Beyond Global Economic Warfare;
Creating Alternative Futures, the end of economics.
She has participated in the development of the Calvert-Henderson Quality of
life Indicators.
Most recently she has worked to create and to moderate a TV series that reaches
44 million homes, called Ethical Markets, which can be viewed at http://www.ethicalmarkets.com/
In the past few days, she has brilliantly proposed Vouchers for Resettling Katrina’s
Victims, which would Stimulate US Economy. An article by her on this topic can
be read at the above website.
We are honored to have her with us at the COR annual meeting and we hope that
many of you will be at her talk on Friday September 30th 2005, at USACOR Awards
Ceremony at Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia.
Jerome Clayton Glenn is the Executive Director of the American Council / United Nations University and the Director of the UN Millennium Project. He also serves on Editorial Board of the World Future Society’s “Future Research Quarterly.” He is the author of numerous books and articles including: Future Mind: Artificial Intelligence: The Merging of the Mystical and the Technological in the 21st Century; Spacetrek: The endless migration; 1999 State of the Future: Challenges we Face at the Millennium; Defining Environmental Security: Implications for the US Army; and Linking the Future: Findhorn, Auroville, Arcosanti.
The Millennium Project Releases “2005 State of the Future” Report
Think Tank Explores the Global Challenges and Prospects for the Future
WASHINGTON, DC - August 4, 2005 - The Millennium Project--the global participatory think tank--released today its ninth annual "2005 State of the Future" report. This unique resource presents what is important to know about today and prospects for tomorrow. This "Report Card on the Future" distills the collective intelligence of nearly 2,000 leading experts from around the world who work for governments, corporations, NGOs, universities, and international organizations.
"There is so much extraneous information that it is difficult
to identify and concentrate on what is truly relevant," says co-author
Jerome C. Glenn, director of the Millennium Project of the American Council
for the UN University. "Our report cuts through this clutter by presenting
short, clear summaries in the paperback, while giving the full details of
the research in an attached CD." For example:
· the annual gross income of organized crime is more than twice that
of all military budgets worldwide
· views of women and men on future ethical issues are strikingly similar
around the world
· the worldwide race to connect everything not yet connected is just
beginning
· in the best case scenario, China's water situation does not start
to improve for another 10 to 15 years, which is now the key impediment to
its growth and could lead to future mass migrations
· dramatic increases in collective human-machine intelligence are possible
within 25 years. It is also possible that within the same time frame single
individuals acting alone might create and use weapons of mass destruction
(WMD)
· conducting regional water negotiations in the Middle East may be
the best way to build confidence that peace is possible in the region
Some early reactions:
"This extraordinary overview reminds policymakers of their long-term
responsibilities."
Barbara Haering, V.P., OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
" Exceedingly valuable resource for corporate strategic
planning."
Michael Stoneking, Partner, Deloitte & Touche
"Very important for Korea and the future of our planet."
Lee Kang-chul, Chief of Staff for the President of South Korea
The new "State of the Future Index" (SOFI) shows that the outlook for the future is getting better due to the past 20 years of improvement in the infant mortality rate, food availability in low-income countries, and other factors. However, plausible and significant drops in the index could occur due to proliferation of various forms of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, the rich-poor gap, and increasing global climate changes.
After nine years of Millennium Project research, it has become increasingly clear that humanity has the resources to address its global challenges; what is less clear is how much wisdom, good will, and intelligence will be focused on these challenges.
The 2005 State of the Future consists of a series of executive summaries accompanied by a CD-ROM of approximately 3,800 pages with complete details of the Millennium Project's cumulative work since 1996 and an annotated bibliography of over 600 scenarios.
The authors:
Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon have been co-directors of the Millennium
Project of the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU)
since 1995. Glenn has been the executive director of the AC/UNU since 1988
as liaison between the US and the UNU, the primary academic research system
of the United Nations. He has 35 years experience in futures research for
various think tanks and was deputy director for PfP International in micro-enterprise
development where he introduced e-mail to thirty developing countries in the
early 1980s. Gordon was a space scientist in the Apollo program, has 45 years
experience in futures research, founded The Futures Group, co-founded the
Institute for the Future, and was an early pioneer with the RAND Corporation's
Delphi studies.
About the Millennium Project:
The Millennium Project is a unique think tank with 25 Nodes-groups of institutions
and individuals who connect global and local perspectives-around the world
plus 2,000 volunteer futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists, and
policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the
American Council for the United Nations University. It is dedicated to exploring
global futures by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations,
universities, NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand world
change and to identify actions to reach the best possible future for humanity.
In addition to its annual State of the Future reports, the Millennium Project
also produces the Futures Research Methodology series, and special studies
such as nanotechnology impacts, Middle East peace scenarios, environmental
security, 2025 global science and technology scenarios, early warning and
decisionmaking systems. The Millennium Project's work has been recognized
by leading organizations, has been named one of the best foresight organizations
by the US Department of Energy, is annually selected among "Top Picks"
by Future Survey, and is recognized as one of the leading "Best Practices"
by United Nations Habitat.
To order go to: http://www.acunu.org/millennium/sof2005.html
The Millennium Project, American Council for the UN University, 4421 Garrison
Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016 USA 202-686-5179
Current Sponsors of the AC/UNU Millennium Project
are Applied Materials, Dar Almashora (for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation), Deloitte
& Touche LLP, and U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute and inkind
support from the Smithsonian Institution, World Future Society, and World
Federation of United Nations Associations.
PRESS RELEASE
March 23, 2005 08:01 AM US Eastern Timezone
April 4 Nomination Deadline for 2005 Tech Museum Awards; Global Awards Program Recognizes Those Who Use Technology to Benefit Humanity
--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Tech Museum of Innovation
WHAT
The deadline to nominate for the 2005 Tech Museum Awards is April 4. The Tech
Museum Awards, presented by Applied Materials Inc., is a unique program, which
recognizes pioneers who leverage technology to address the world's most pressing
challenges.
Annually, The Tech Awards honor 25 laureates from around the world in the categories of Education, Equality, Environment, Economic Development, and Health. At a black-tie gala each November, five laureates share a $250,000 cash prize to further their work.
WHO
Nominate anyone who uses technology in any way to help make the world a better
place. Any individuals, companies and non-profit organizations are eligible,
and self-nominations are accepted.
HOW
Nominations for the 2005 Tech Museum Awards can be submitted online only at:
http://techawards.thetech.org/nominations.cfm.
ABOUT THE TECH MUSEUM AWARDS
The concept for The Tech Awards and its five categories was inspired in part
by The American Council for the United Nations University's "State of the
Future" report, which recommends that award recognition is an effective
way to accelerate scientific breakthroughs and technological applications to
improve the human condition. The Tech Awards were inaugurated in 2001, and have
since generated over 2,000 nominations across 80 countries.
An international team assembled by Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology, and Society independently conducts judging for The Tech Awards.
THE TECH MUSEUM AWARD PARTNERS
Key supporters of The Tech Awards include presenting sponsor Applied Materials,
Inc., Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology, and Society,
the United Nations Development Programme and The World Bank Institute. Category
sponsors include Intel, Accenture, Microsoft and Agilent Technologies.
ABOUT THE TECH MUSEUM OF INNOVATION
Located in the heart of downtown San Jose, Silicon Valley, Calif., The Tech
Museum of Innovation, a non-profit organization, engages people of all ages
and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing the technologies affecting their
lives and aims to inspire the young to become innovators in the technologies
of the future. For more information, visit http://www.thetech.org/ or call 408-294-TECH.
Contacts
The Tech Museum of Innovation
Tony Santos, 408-795-6226
tsantos@thetech.org
ARTICLE
Daily Environment
No. 228 Monday, November 29, 2004. News, Page A-7
ISSN 1521-9402
Toxic SubstancesQuestionnaire Seeks More Views on Problems Related to Military's Use of Nanotechnologies
Individuals or organizations with an expertise in nanotechnologies are invited to participate in the second round of a study to identify and rank environmental pollution and health hazards that could result from military uses of nanotechnologies, the director of the study told BNA Nov. 26.
Jerome Clayton Glenn, director of the Millennium Project, was discussing the
status of a study his organization is conducting to identify potential problems
that could stem from the military's use of nanotechnologies and research that
might reduce or eliminate these problems.
The study is being conducted with the support of the Army Environmental Policy
Institute.
The American Council for the United Nations University, a nonprofit organization,
runs the Millennium project which conducts "future research," studies
to forecast and analyze global change.
In September, the Millennium Project invited individuals and organizations to
answer a variety of questions about potential environmental pollution and human
health hazards from military applications of nanotechnologies (186 DEN A-13,
9/27/04 ).
For example, by 2010 to 2025 the military could be using nanoscale sensors for
many purposes. These sensors might litter the environment, concentrating in
water and soil and eventually linking with natural organisms, causing unknown
environmental changes, according to the first round of the questionnaire.
Replies Sought by Dec. 15
"Environmental Pollution and Health Hazards Resulting From Military Uses
of Nanotechnology-Round 2" asks additional questions and requests replies
by Dec. 15 from people with expertise in the issues being discussed, Glenn said.
The second questionnaire provides a three-page list of potentially relevant
reports and articles and invites interested parties to submit information about
other ongoing or planned studies that could help to address potential problems
of the military application of nanotechnologies.
In addition, the second questionnaire describes the ranking given to various
issues described in the first questionnaire. For example, research to determine
how nanoparticles may be absorbed into the body was ranked as "very likely"
to help understand health hazards.
Research on whether nanoparticles might get into plants and other organisms
was also ranked as "very likely" to help understand whether military
applications of nanotechnologies would create environmental pollution.
Results from both surveys are being analyzed by an expert group convened by
the Millennium Project, Glenn said.
'Heads Up' on Research Needs
A report summarizing people's concerns and research that could address those
concerns will be submitted to the Army in February or March 2005, Glenn said.
The information will also be included in the 2005 State of the Future report
that the Millennium Project expects to publish in August, he said.
Chemical companies and other organizations conducting research into potential
applications of nanotechnologies may find the survey results of interest because
the information will serve as a "heads up" on the types of research
the Army may fund to answer key concerns, Glenn told BNA.
Several links to Environmental Pollution and Health Hazards Resulting From Military
Uses of Nanotechnology-Round 2 can be found at http://www.acunu.org/millennium/hot.html
on the World Wide Web.
By Pat Phibbs
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Judy Conner
650.917.1122
Judy@foresight.org
www.foresight.org
FORESIGHT INSTITUTE TO FOCUS ON MILLENNIUM
CHALLENGES
NANOTECHNOLOGY THINK TANK TO WORK WITH THE MILLENNIUM PROJECT ON CRITICAL
ISSUES FACING HUMANITY
Palo Alto, CA - October 22, 2004 - Foresight Institute, a nanotechnology education and public policy think tank, will align its future efforts with The Millennium Project, sponsored by the American Council for United Nation University, to guide the use of nanotechnology towards solving global challenges faced by human kind. Over the past eight years, The Millennium Project has identified 15 Global Challenges and has assembled over 1650 experts worldwide. The Global Challenges are transnational in nature and transinstitutional in solution.
"Too many believe that technology and social concerns are somehow in conflicts," said Jerome C. Glenn, Executive Director of The Millennium Project, "Humanity faces enormous challenges and unprecedented opportunities. It is very important for the world to know that nanotechnology can make substantial contributions to addressing these challenges."
Foresight Institute has 18 years of experience in promoting open dialog about nanotechnology. Its track record of educating the public about the potential benefits and downsides of nanotechnology makes it a natural fit to support and explore how nanotechnology can help solve the Global Challenges.
"Nanotechnology will be a critical component in solving some of these serious challenge facing our society, "said Scot Mize, President of Foresight institute. "Now is the time to accelerate the pace of scientific and technological breakthroughs on the nanoscale to meet these challenges in time to avoid negative consequences."
Several of the challenges that can be addressed by nanotechnology include achieving sustainable development, providing clean water to everyone, meeting global energy needs, balancing population and resources, making powerful information technology available to everyone, combat infectious diseases, and reducing the threat of terrorism.
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank comprising more than 1,500
futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more
than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the
United Nations University. It is dedicated to exploring global futures by
interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations, universities, NGO's,
UN organizations, and governments to understand world change and to identify
actions to reach the best possible future for humanity as a whole. In addition
to its flagship "State of the Future" reports, the Millennium Project
also produces studies in other specialized areas, including counter-terrorism
strategies, future issues of science and technology, environmental security,
United Nations Millennium Summit analysis, early warning and decision making,
long-range goals for governance, and "Future Research Methodology."
http://www.acunu.org
About Foresight Institute
Foresight Institute is the leading think tank and public interest organization
focused on nanotechnology. Foresight dedicates itself to providing education,
policy development, and networking to ensure the beneficial implementation
of molecular manufacturing.
For more information about Foresight Institute: http://www.foresight.org
The
Millennium Project Releases “2004 State of the Future” Report
Think Tank Explores the Global Challenges and Prospects for the Future
WASHINGTON, DC - August 3, 2004 - The Millennium Project, an international think tank with more than 1,500 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from over 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University, announces the release of its "2004 State of the Future" report, an informed global view on the challenges facing humanity today.
For those who want a heads up on what's next, this comprehensive annual report provides an assessment of the human situation as a whole, addressing the international situation on the global challenges with sensitivity to regional perspectives, prospects for the future and actions for today. Policymakers, strategic planners and educators around the world use the report to add focus to important issues, clarify choices and improve the quality of decisions.
"Decisionmaking is increasingly affected by globalization; hence, global futures research will be needed to inform decisions made by individuals, groups, and institutions" says Jerome C. Glenn, director, The Millennium Project. "While there are many answers to many problems, there is so much extraneous information that it is difficult to identify and concentrate on what is truly relevant. Our report is designed to cut through this clutter by presenting clear summaries, with supporting materials, that capture the current informed global view of humanity's challenges."
The "2004 State of the Future" report consists of a series of executive summaries in 98 pages accompanied by a CD-ROM of over 3,000 pages with complete details of the Millennium Project's cumulative work since 1996 and an annotated bibliography of about 550 scenarios. The cost of the report is $49.95.
Highlights of the "2004 State of the Future" Report
Call to Global Collaborative Action
The most important global challenges are transnational in nature and transinstitutional in solution; they cannot be addressed by any government or institution acting alone. They require collaborative action among governments, international organizations, corporations, universities and NGOs.
"My colleagues and I at the United Nations find the State of the Future's insights, research and lucid presentation immensely useful sources of inspiration for our own annual reports on the UN's Millennium Declaration," stated Michael Doyle, former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
"The '2003 State of the Future' Report is an exceedingly valuable and unique resource for corporate strategic planning," commented Michael Stoneking, partner, Deloitte & Touche.
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank comprising more than 1,500
futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from
more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council
for the United Nations University. It is dedicated to exploring global futures
by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations, universities,
NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand world change and
to identify actions to reach the best possible future for humanity as a
whole. In addition to its flagship "State of the Future" reports,
the Millennium Project also produces studies in other specialized areas,
including counter-terrorism strategies, future issues of science and technology,
environmental security, United Nations Millennium Summit analysis, early
warning and decision making, long-range goals for governance, and "Future
Research Methodology." The Millennium Project's work has been recognized
by leading organizations and has been named one of the best foresight organizations
by the US Department of Energy, is annually selected among "Top Picks"
by the Future Survey, and is recognized as one of the leading "Best
Practices" by United Nations Habitat. For further information, call
+01-202-686-5179; email acunu@igc.org
or visit www.StateOfTheFuture.org.
MILLENNIUM PROJECT TO RELEASE MIDDLE EAST PEACE SCENARIOS
Washington, DC – February 10, 2004 – Instead of cursing the darkness of events in the Middle East, an international team is lighting candles for Israeli-Palestinian peace by writing scenarios to show what is possible. After finding no plausible scenarios for peace in the Middle East, they sent out two-rounds of questionnaires to poll 200 experts around the world to generate and rate 108 actions to address 7 preconditions. The results have been folded into three draft "normative" scenarios, which have just been distributed around the globe for critique.
The Millennium Project, an international think tank comprising more than 1,500 volunteer futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU), today announced the release of its draft Middle East Peace scenarios for critical review, the results of which will be available in the forthcoming 2004 State of the Future.
Undertaken in response to a request by its Cairo Node (one of 20 around the world), the Millennium Project’s Middle East Peace scenarios address the void of “stories with causal links connecting a peaceful future condition and the present for the Middle East”. The impetus being: “Why should people cooperate if no peace scenario could be imagined that is plausible to most people on all sides?” Three years in the making, these scenarios represent the combined insights of more than 180 futurists, social scientists, and representatives of involved institutions, and decision-makers in the Middle East and around the globe.
Through the course of this research, the Millennium Project has identified seven preconditions for peace in the Middle East:
The three draft Middle East Peace Scenarios: Water Works, Open City, and Dove are available at: http://www.acunu.org/millennium/MEPS-rd3.html. For further information contact: Jerome C. Glenn at jglenn@igc.org or Elizabeth Florescu at acunu@igc.org, Tel: 202-686-5179.
2004 State of the
Future Report
The Executive Summary of the first two rounds of the Middle East Peace
scenarios is currently available at http://www.acunu.org/millennium/MEPS.html.
The full scenarios and accompanying data will be available in July in the
2004 State of the Future Report. This annual report provides an assessment
of the 15 Global Challenges identified by the Millennium Project, their
trends, and actions to address each. The report also includes a State
of the Future Index based on changes in these challenges over the next
10 years., a CD-ROM of more than 2,500 pages of details behind the research,
plus an annotated bibliography of hundreds of scenarios. Interested people
can pre-order the report by sending an email to acunu@igc.org.
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank comprising more than
1,500 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers
from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American
Council for the United Nations University. It is dedicated to exploring
global futures by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations,
universities, NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand world
change and to identify actions to reach the best possible future for humanity
as a whole. In addition to its flagship “State of the Future” reports,
the Millennium Project also produces studies in other specialized areas,
including counter-terrorism strategies, future issues of science and technology,
environmental security, United Nations Millennium Summit analysis, early
warning and decision making, long-range goals for governance, and “Future
Research Methodology.” The Millennium Project's work has been recognized
by leading organizations and has been named one of the best foresight organizations
by the US Department of Energy, is annually selected among “Top Picks”
by the Future Survey, and is recognized as one of the leading “Best Practices”
by United Nations Habitat. For further information, call +01-202-686-5179;
email acunu@igc.org or visit www.StateOfTheFuture.org.
EL PROYECTO MILLENNIUM PROJECT DIO A CONOCER ESCENARIOS DE PAZ EN EL MEDIO ORIENTE
Washington, DC – Febrero 10 de 2004 En vez de maldecir
la oscuridad de los eventos en el Medio Oriente un equipo internacional está
encendiendo cirios por la paz Israelí-Palestina hoy, diseñando
escenarios que sirvan para mostrar que eso es posible. Después de hallar
escenarios no- pausibles para la paz en el Medio Oriente esos equipos enviaron
una segunda ronda de encuestas a más de 200 expertos de todo el mundo
para generar y jerarquizar 108 acciones que servirían para concretar
7 precondiciones para la paz. El resultado se volcó en tres s de escenarios
normativos en borrador, los que han sido presentados alrededor del mundo para
su crítica.
El Proyecto Millennium, un grupo de pensamiento para la investigación
del futuro mundial, constituido por más de 1500 voluntarios: expertos
en estudios de futuros, académicos, hombres de negocios y dirigentes
políticos en más de 50 países, actuando bajo los auspicios
del Consejo Americano para la Universidad de Naciones Unidas, anunció
hoy que dio a conocer sus borradores de escenarios de paz en Medio Oriente,
para su revisión crítica de los resultados, lo que estará
disponible el venidero informe Estado del Futuro 2004.
Emprendido como respuesta a un requerimiento del nodo de El Cairo (uno de los 20 nodos del proyecto en todo el mundo) Los Escenarios de Paz en el Medio Oriente del Proyecto Millennium están orientados a evitar historias con vinculaciones causales, conectando las condiciones para un futuro pacífico para el Medio Oriente con el presente. El impulso es un interrogante ¿Por qué podría la gente cooperar si un escenario de no- paz puede ser imaginado como pausible por la mayoría de la gente en todas partes? Esos escenario realizado durante tres años, representan la perspicacia articulada de más de 180 expertos en futuros, científicos sociales y representantes de instituciones y decisores político de todo el mundos involucrados en el Medio Oriente.
Durante el curso de esta investigación el Proyecto Millennium ha identificado siete precondiciones para la paz en el Medio Oriente:
Una lista de acciones para obtener esas precondiciones, incluyendo su importancia, probabilidad y potencial resultados negativos fueron explorado en un total de 108 acciones compiladas y ordenadas por el panel de expertos.
Borradores de Tres Escenarios de Paz en Medio Oriente: Trabajos de Agua,
Ciudad Abierta y Paloma están disponibles en la Web en el sitio: http://www.acunu.org/millennium/MEPS-rd3.html.
Para mayor información contactar a Jerome Glenn en jglenn@igc.org
o Elizabeth Florescu en acunu@igc.org,
TEL: 001 202-686-5179. En Buenos Aires al director del nodo latinoamericano:
Centro Latinoamericano de Globalización y Prospectiva Dr. Miguel Angel
Gutierrez alterfutures@hotmail.com
o alterfutures@yahoo.com.ar
TEL 11 47842860.
The
Millennium Project Releases “2003 State of the Future” Report
WASHINGTON, DC – July 18, 2003 – The Millennium Project, an international think tank with more than 1,500 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries who participate on a voluntary basis, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University, today announced the release of its “2003 State of the Future” report, an informed global view on the challenges facing humanity today.
This comprehensive annual report provides an assessment of the human situation as a whole, addressing the international situation on 15 global challenges with sensitivity to regional perspectives, prospects for the future and actions for today. Policymakers, strategic planners and educators around the world use the report to add focus to important issues, clarify choices and improve the quality of decisions.
“International responses to SARS, the September 11th attacks and the Space Shuttle Columbia explosion have increased global long-term thinking, but their impacts seem short-lived,” said Jerome C. Glenn, director, The Millennium Project. “One of the reasons is that while there are many answers to many problems, there is so much extraneous information that it is difficult to identify and concentrate on what is truly relevant. Our report is designed to cut through this clutter by presenting clear summaries, with supporting materials, that capture the current informed global view of humanity’s challenges.”
The “2003 State of the Future” report consists of a series of executive summaries in 90 pages accompanied by a CD-ROM of approximately 2,500 pages with complete details of the Millennium Project’s cumulative work since 1996 and an annotated bibliography of 500 scenarios. The cost of the report is $49.95.
Highlights of the “2003 State of the Future” Report
· Mid-term report of international study to produce Middle
East peace scenarios
Key Finding: Conducting regional water negotiations in the Middle East
is the best way to build confidence that peace is possible in the region.
· Four science and technology global scenarios for 2050
complete three-year study
Key Findings: Dramatic increases in collective human-machine intelligence
are possible within 25 years. It is also possible that within the same
timeframe single individuals acting alone might create and use weapons of mass
destruction (WMD).
· 15 Global challenges updated and improved
Key Finding: It has become increasingly clear that humanity has the resources
to address its global challenges; what is less clear is how much wisdom, good
will and intelligence will be focused on these challenges.
· State of the Future Index (SOFI) improved
Key Finding: The outlook for the future is getting better due to the past
20 years of improvement in the infant mortality rate, food availability in low-income
countries and other factors. However, a plausible and significant drop
in the future SOFI due to WMDs and nuclear proliferation, among other items,
suggest an agenda for global attention.
Call to Global Collaborative Action
The most important global challenges are transnational in nature and transinstitutional in solution; they cannot be addressed by any government or institution acting alone. They require collaborative action among governments, international organizations, corporations, universities and NGOs.
“I and my colleagues at the United Nations find the ‘State of the Future’s’ annual guidance invaluable,” stated Michael Doyle, UN assistant secretary-general and special advisor to UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.
“The ‘2003 State of the Future’ Report is an exceedingly valuable and unique resource for corporate strategic planning,” commented Michael Stoneking, partner, Deloitte & Touche.
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank comprising more
than 1,500 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers
from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council
for the United Nations University. It is dedicated to exploring global futures
by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations, universities, NGO's,
UN organizations, and governments to understand world change and to identify
actions to reach the best possible future for humanity as a whole. In addition
to its flagship “State of the Future” reports, the Millennium Project also produces
studies in other specialized areas, including counter-terrorism strategies,
future issues of science and technology, environmental security, United Nations
Millennium Summit analysis, early warning and decision making, long-range goals
for governance, and “Future Research Methodology.” The Millennium Project's
work has been recognized by leading organizations and has been named one of
the best foresight organizations by the US Department of Energy, is annually
selected among “Top Picks” by the Future Survey, and is recognized as one of
the leading “Best Practices” by United Nations Habitat. For further information,
call +01-202-686-5179; email acunu@igc.org
or visit www.StateOfTheFuture.org.
MILLENNIUM PROJECT CAPTURES BROAD RANGE OF
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE OFSCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Upcoming Report Explores Important Questions, Including
“How To Prevent Dangerous Uses of Science and Technology While Protecting
Free Inquiry and Human Rights?”
Washington, DC – June 10, 2003 – The Millennium Project, an international think tank comprising more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU), today offers preliminary results of its three-year study into the future management and practice of science and technology. Looking ahead to the year 2025, the majority of respondents believe that the science disciplines cannot effectively self-regulate, but most participants in the study believe that it is plausible that international systems, such as the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), will be established to monitor and regulate biotechnology, nanotechnology and other areas of scientific research and development with enforcement powers. However, they are not confident that such regulatory systems can keep up with the pace of change.
Just 25 years ago, there was no widespread, public use of the Internet; no European Union, space shuttles orbiting the earth, talk of globalization, or AIDS; and many people believed that nuclear war between the USSR and the USA was inevitable. Since the factors that accelerated change over the past 25 years are themselves accelerating, then the rate of change over the next 25 years should be much faster. In the face of all of this, the Millennium Project embarked on a study designed to help shed light on what the future may bring. Global themes that emerged for discussion included the:
“A key role for futurists is to provide information that can act as an early warning system for business leaders, scientists, scholars and policymakers, helping them to better plan for long-range issues,” explained Jerome C. Glenn, director of the Millennium Project. “We gather a broad range of judgments from diverse professionals from all over the world in order to provide what we believe are plausible routes that may be taken in a variety of areas, including science and technology, governance, crime, environmental issues and many others. Today, we shine a light on science and technology practices.”
Scenario Development
Over the past three years, the organization has polled 237 science attaches, leaders in the science and technology communities; business, government and academic leaders; as well as futurists and policy makers about the emerging issues and forces that are likely to influence science and technology programs and their management over the next 25 years. The scenarios that have been developed from the final results of the study will be published in July in the Millennium Project’s 2003 State of the Future Report.
These scenarios are essentially stories about different paths the future could take, based on serious research. Written in easy-to-understand language, they are excellent tools, providing the context for setting long-term goals and strategies, for national and international scientific communities and the institutions that fund such research, as well as for non-scientific people, including governmental and business leaders.
“Today, public attention is particularly focused on the unintended dangers of science, the misapplication of technology, and the need for solutions from both science and technology to pressing global issues,” Glenn continued. “We provide these scenarios as tools to help address these challenges and to effectively communicate information about them to the public.”
2003 State of the Future Report
Abstracts of the Science and Technology Scenarios for 2025 are currently available at http://www.acunu.org/millennium/press.html. The full scenarios and accompanying data will be available in July in the 2003 State of the Future Report. This annual report provides an assessment of the 15 Global Challenges identified by the Millennium Project, their trends, and actions to address each. The report also includes a State of the Future Index based on changes in these challenges over the next 10 years. Included in the 2003 report will be a unique international assessment of seven pre-conditions for peace scenarios for the Middle East, with an average of 15 actions to help achieve each pre-condition. The State of the Future Report comes with a CD-ROM of more than 2,500 pages of details behind the research, plus an annotated bibliography of hundreds of scenarios. Interested people can pre-order the report by sending an email to acunu@igc.org.
Note: The Report is free to media.
Contact Elizabeth Albrycht at Albrycht McClure & Partners: ealb@albrycht-mcclure.com.
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think
tank comprising more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists
and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the
American Council for the United Nations University. The Millennium Project is
dedicated to exploring global futures by interviewing and surveying individuals
at corporations, universities, NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand
world change and to identify actions to reach the best possible future for humanity
as a whole. In addition to its flagship “State of the Future” reports, the Millennium
Project also produces studies in other specialized areas, including counter-terrorism
strategies, future issues of science and technology, environmental security,
United Nations Millennium Summit analysis, early warning and decision making,
long-range goals for governance, and “Future Research Methodology.” The Millennium
Project's work has been recognized by leading organizations and has been named
one of the best foresight organizations by the US Department of Energy, is annually
selected among “Top Picks” by the Future Survey, and is recognized as one of
the leading “Best Practices” by United Nations Habitat. For further information,
call +01-202-686-5179; email acunu@igc.org
or visit www.StateOfTheFuture.org.
Abstract of four Scenarios on Future S&T Management Issues
Scenario 1: S&T Develops a Mind of its Own
The rate of scientific discoveries and advanced technological
applications explodes. A global science/ social feedback system is at work:
science makes people smarter- smarter people make better and faster science.
Better and faster science open new doors to discovery- new doors lead to synergies
and solving of old roadblocks. Removing the roadblocks creates new science that
makes people smarter. S&T moves so fast government and international regulations
are left in the dust. Science and technology appears to be taking on a mind
of its own.
Scenario 2 The World Wakes Up
The murder of 25 million people in the mid-2010s by the self-proclaimed
Agent of God who created the genetically modified Congo virus, finally woke
up the world to the realization that an individual acting alone could create
and use a weapon of mass destruction. This phenomenon became known as SIMAD-
Single Individual Massively Destructive. Regulatory agencies and mechanisms
were put into place to control the science and technology related dangers that
became apparent. Education was a big part of the answer, but connecting the
educational systems with the security systems is disturbing to some people.
Nevertheless, individual acts of mass destruction thus far have been prevented.
International and government regulations do manage the S&T enterprise to
the public good.
Scenario 3 Please Turn off the Spigot
Science is attacked as pompous and self-aggrandizing, as encouraging
excesses in consumption, raising false hopes, and worst unexpected consequences
that can destroy us all. Particularly worrisome was accidentally or intentionally
released genetically modified organisms and the potential for weapons of mass
destruction. The poor were ignored. A science guru arose to galvanize the public.
A global commission was established but failed because of corruption. But a
new commission with built in safeguards seems to be working.
Scenario 4. Backlash
Control is low and science moves fast, but negative consequences
cause public alarm. The golden age of science is hyped by the media, but it
all proves to be a chimera. Some of the most valued discoveries and new capabilities
have a downside and surprises abound. Rogue nations take advantage of some of
these shortcomings. The level of concern rises. Mobs protest. Regulation fails.
Progress stalls. And corporate (or government) scientists frequently feel pressure
from within their organization. Both corporate and government organizations
cannot be counted on to self-regulate. What’s next?
MILLENNIUM PROJECT CALLS FOR DECLARATION OF GLOBAL INFORMATION WARFARE AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME
Corruption, Money Laundering, Funding Terrorism by Organized
Crime Should
be Treated as National Security Threat
Washington, DC – February 10, 2003 – The Millennium Project, an international think tank comprising more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU), today draws attention to a globally neglected challenge, that of the growth and pervasiveness of transnational organized crime (TOC). In nation-states around the world, TOC has grown to the point where it is increasingly interfering with the ability of governments to act. This requires nothing less than a declaration of information warfare against money laundering, TOC’s linchpin, according to the Millennium Project.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that as much as five percent of the global economy – or $2.5 trillion per year – is laundered through the international financial system. Diversification in diamonds, barter and other media outside traditional currency systems could put the actual number at more than $3 trillion per year. As Afghanistan and Columbia have clearly demonstrated, this money facilitates terrorism, corruption, the drug trade and other criminal activities.
“The vast amount of money controlled by TOC creates a self-perpetuating cycle, enabling participants to buy the knowledge and technology they need to create new forms of crime to generate even more profits,” said Jerome C. Glenn, Millennium Project director. “These criminal organizations respect no national boundaries, operating with impunity around the globe. This problem requires an international effort, but few organizations exist today that are focused on combating TOC in a comprehensive way.”
The few independent, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that exist only address portions of this problem. Transparency International confronts corruption, Amnesty International deals with political prisoners, and the International Criminal Court has been formed. The OECD’s Financial Action Task Force has made 40 recommendations to counter money laundering. While these are important efforts to tackle specific aspects of the problem, they do not address the entire scope of the issue.
“Transparency International addresses corruption, not international organized crime, but it is clear that controls against money laundering are essential to combating both. Global collaboration ought to focus on catching criminals through the trail left by their money-laundering activities,” Jermyn Brooks chief financial officer, Transparency International.
The Millennium Project believes that a new intergovernmental body must lead global information warfare targeted at TOCs. The first step has already been taken with the signing by 140 nations of the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Treaty), which calls for modes of international cooperation. The next step is to form an international body that could address the problem on a global basis by:
· Using information technology to identify sources, target money laundering locations, and prioritize individual targets"Transnational organized crime is one the most significant threats to my country, and to the Western World," says Hon. Mircea Dan Geonana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania and a participant in the Millennium Project global interviews. "We need a global system to counter this global problem. The strategy that the Millennium Project is developing is moving in the right direction. We in Romania have started with the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) Regional Center for Combating Trans-border Crime and want to become a first line of defense for NATO and the European Union against terrorism and organized crime.”
· Updating the software for banks’ financial transfer transactions
· Sharing information on financial transactions
· Prioritizing and coordinating international prosecution strategies
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank comprising more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University. The Millennium Project is dedicated to exploring global futures by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations, universities, NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand world change and to identify actions to reach the best possible future for humanity as a whole. In addition to its flagship “State of the Future” reports, the Millennium Project also produces studies in other specialized areas, including counter-terrorism strategies, future issues of science and technology, environmental security, United Nations Millennium Summit analysis, early warning and decision making, long-range goals for governance, “African Futures 2025” and “Future Research Methodology.” The Millennium Project's work has been recognized by leading organizations and has been named one of the best foresight organizations by the US Department of Energy, is annually selected among “Top Picks” by the Future Survey, and is recognized as one of the leading “Best Practices” by United Nations Habitat. For further information, call +01-202-686-5179; email acunu@igc.org or visit www.StateOfTheFuture.org.
MILLENNIUM PROJECT EXPLORES POTENTIAL
FOR WIRELESS ENERGY;
ANALYZES APPROACHES TO CARBON SEQUESTRATION
Futures Think Tank Calls for More Global
Research into Approaches that Address Growth of Greenhouse Gases;
Suggests Creation of World Energy Organization May
Be Required
WASHINGTON, DC – Nov. 18, 2002 – The Millennium Project, an international think tank comprising more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU), has recently turned its attention to the growing worldwide energy challenge: How can growing energy demands be met safely and efficiently, without adding to the growth of greenhouse gases? The Millennium Project is exploring unique combinations of wireless energy transmission and carbon sequestration.
Wireless Energy Transmission
Wireless energy transmission converts electricity to microwaves,
which can then be beamed over long distances via satellite, and then reconverted
back to electricity. NASA demonstrated the feasibility of such technology in
1967.
If electric cars catch on over the next 20 years, and current urban growth trends continue, we will need far more electricity than today. “Instead of exporting oil in giant tankers, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, and other oil producing nations could use their own oil and gas that is currently flared away to produce electricity locally and then beam it by satellite to other countries’ receivers attached to local power grids,” explained Jerome C. Glenn, Millennium Project director. “This has the great benefit of reducing potential catastrophic oil spills, managing pollution more locally, and eventually opening up new energy sources such solar panels in earth orbit.”
The Millennium Project is currently in discussions with oil companies in Kuwait and Venezuela to explore this option, which has stimulated new National Science Foundation (NSF) grants for research in this area. “However, the long-term goal would be to beam down solar energy from space to remote sites all over the world, providing an affordable source of baseload electricity without producing either carbon dioxide or nuclear proliferation,” explains Dr. Paul Werbos, NSF program manager for control networks and computational intelligence. The NSF in collaboration with NASA and the Electric Power Research Institute, recently held a funding competition for this area, explicitly justified on the basis of a Millennium Project study cited as the starting point for their announcement. (Publication number NSF 02-098 at www.nsf.gov.)
Carbon Sequestration
Conventional carbon sequestration attempts to remove carbon
dioxide from power plants, at the point of production. But the world's greatest
needs for carbon-based fuels occur in cars, trucks and busses, where that kind
of carbon sequestration is impractical. It is possible that cars carrying hydrogen
or big batteries might solve the problem, but there remain many problems with
those approaches. “In order to explore a third alternative,” continues Dr. Werbos,
“The NSF plans to cooperate with the United Nations University and others to
sponsor a series of workshops on how to sequester carbon dioxide from the air.
The field is a ripe for new, creative high-risk approaches, based on new partnerships
between different fields of science.”
Future strategies for carbon sequestration include injecting carbon dioxide into the earth or into the ocean; separating the gases from the air and storing them by planting trees; and using chemistry to produce new products from these gases, such as methanol to fuel dual-fired cars, and longer-term as an energy source for fuel cell cars. While there is no comparative assessment of these approaches, nor state-of-the-art research completed, the National Science Foundation is currently exploring how to address this gap.
“If research in carbon sequestration and wireless transmission of energy becomes serious, then one day oil producers could become electricity suppliers to the world without adding greenhouse gases and a global energy grid could be in space orbit,” continued Glenn. “By 2020, the world faces serious challenges in the global electricity supply, especially in areas of massive urban concentrations. We strongly support research into these two areas, seeing in them vast potential for meeting these challenges.”
The Energy Challenge:
Looking Forward to 2020
Projecting current energy use trends forward for 20 years,
some facts can be stated with impunity, based on Millennium Project research
and other widely published reports:
· World energy consumption is expected to increase 57% by 2020 and to double or triple by 2050Potential World Energy Organization
· U.S. Department of Energy expects most of the increase in energy production to 2020 will come from oil (40%), natural gas, and coal
· If so, carbon emissions are expected to rise to 9.9 billion metric tons by 2020, more than doubling the figure over the past 20 years
· Developing countries would pass the industrial countries in total carbon emissions by 2015
· Electricity loss from decommissioned nuclear power plants will need to be replaced
· Current renewable energy options will not keep up with demand
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank comprising
more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers
from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council
for the United Nations University. The Millennium Project is dedicated to exploring
global futures by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations, universities,
NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand world change and to identify
actions to reach the best possible future for humanity as a whole. In addition
to its flagship “State
of the Future” reports, the Millennium Project also produces studies in
other specialized areas, including counter-terrorism strategies, future issues
of science and technology, environmental security, United Nations Millennium
Summit analysis, early warning and decision making, long-range goals for governance,
“African Futures 2025” and “Future Research Methodology.” The Millennium Project's
work has been recognized by leading organizations and has been named one of
the best foresight organizations by the US Department of Energy, is annually
selected among “Top Picks” by the Future Survey, and is recognized as one of
the leading “Best Practices” by United Nations Habitat.
For further information, call +01-202-686-5179;
email acunu@igc.org or visit www.StateOfTheFuture.org.
The Millennium Project Calls for Global Partnership Among Rich and Poor Nations to Increase Progress Towards Sustainable Development
WASHINGTON, DC – Sept. 23, 2002 – The Millennium Project today announced the release of its study exploring the feasibility, likelihood and priorities of a global sustainable development platform. The study calls for a “Global Partnership for Development,” similar to the United Nations Millennium Development Goal. The study outlines the motivations for and implementation requirements of such a platform, and identifies the United Nations as the best candidate to coordinate such a program. The Millennium Project is an international think tank comprising more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University. The study is available upon request.
According to the Millennium Project’s 2002 “State of the Future” report, the number one Global Challenge is making sustainable development achievable for all. Another Millennium Project study on countering terrorism also identified partnerships between the rich and poor as a key strategy. The Global Partnership for Development (GPD) study found that the principal motivations to implement such a platform are:
The study answers questions such as why the GPD should be implemented now; identifies targets for the GPD; outlines preconditions for a successful implementation, the most important of which is protecting human rights and international laws in recipient countries; and providing a two-phase framework for how such a program would be implemented, along with proposals for its financing:
- To improve the environment for the benefit of humankind
- To secure global equitable and peaceful development
- To improve development alternatives for developing countries
- To establish global politics and rules in the age of globalization
“There is no better time to consider a Global Partnership for Development than now, with the results of uneven global development, such as extreme poverty, disease, famine and terrorism, staring us in the face,” said Jerry Glenn, Millennium Project director. “While it will certainly not be easy, we cannot afford the consequences of inaction. Our study is intended to provide a thoughtful framework for debate about how to implement such a program.”
- Phase One: Help the country or region (having a GDP below $5,000 per capita per year) emerge out of a state of crisis, and stabilize the country’s situation.
- Phase Two: Assist the country in becoming a “medium” developed country with a GDP of approximately $5,000, where entrepreneurial activities are sufficiently developed and investment, particularly of private capital, can flow into the country.
About the Millennium Project
The Millennium Project is a worldwide think tank comprising more than 1,000 futurists, scholars, business leaders, scientists and policymakers from more than 50 countries, acting under the auspices of the American Council for the United Nations University. The Millennium Project is dedicated to exploring global futures by interviewing and surveying individuals at corporations, universities, NGO's, UN organizations, and governments to understand world change and to identify actions to reach the best possible future for humanity as a whole. In addition to its flagship “State of the Future” report, the Millennium Project also produces studies in other specialized areas, including counter-terrorism strategies, future issues of science and technology, environmental security, United Nations Millennium Summit analysis, early warning and decision making, long-range goals for governance, “African Futures 2025” and “Future Research Methodology.” The Millennium Project's work has been recognized by leading organizations and has been named one of the best foresight organizations by the US Department of Energy, is annually selected among “Top Picks” by the Future S