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On behalf of the American Council for the United Nations University in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution, The Futures Group International, and this year’s sponsors, we have the honor to invite you to participate on the 1999 Global Lookout Panel.

This activity is a worldwide effort to collect and synthesize judgments about emerging global challenges that may affect the human condition. The Project provides information to decision-makers and educators to add focus to important issues, clarify choices and improve the quality of decisions. It does this by making future opportunities and dangers more explicit and by identifying a range of views from around the world on actions to address them.

Previous Lookout Panels concentrated on global change and action; in this series of questionnaires the focus will be on specific geographic regions. Past Panels have identified developments that may have important future implications. These panels have involved about 300 people who identified and rated almost 300 developments over the past three years. These developments were distilled into sets of issues and opportunities with a range of views from policy makers about actions to address each. The results, together with other work of the Millennium Project, were published in the 1997 and 1998 State of the Future reports.

The 1999 edition, to be available in July, will focus on means to improve decision making and shorten the delay between the discovery of an issue and action. It also further distilled the issues and opportunities into a set of 15 Global Challenges which will be reviewed again in this questionnaire from regional perspectives.

While it is not necessary to examine the previous developments, issues, opportunities, and actions to complete the enclosed questionnaire, you may view them at the Project's web site at: http:\\millennium-project.org.

This year's 3-round Global Lookout Study is designed to build on the Project's previous studies, and add new insights. Participants will be listed in the 2000 State of the Future, but no attributions will be made. Please answer just those questions in your areas of expertise and greatest interest. It is not expected that you answer all the questions.

In parallel to this questionnaire series, a set of interviews will be conducted among policy makers to identify the regional implications and consequences of selected global challenges and actions. The results of these interviews and the enclosed questionnaire will flow into later rounds. In the second round you will be asked to comment on the suggestions made in the first. Please contact us with any questions. We look forward to your views.

Sincerely yours,

Theodore J. Gordon and Jerome C. Glenn
co-directors, AC/UNU Millennium Project

The first round asks four questions about each of the 15 Global Challenges:

1. What unique significance does this challenge have for your region? (What unique perspectives and/or contributions does your region bring to this challenge? Are there unique impacts to be considered?)

 
2. What should be the central focus for your region to answer this challenge? (What should be the top priority to answer this challenge in your region? and/or What has to change in your region to answer this challenge?)

 
3. What indicators should be used to track progress in the challenge in your region? Ideally list quantitative measures for which data can be obtained, although it is not necessary that the data are currently available or easily collected. For example, in the second challenge below, "How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict? " indicators might include per capita water consumption within your region, aquifer reserves, withdrawal rates, agricultural consumption, etc.

 
4. How do you rate your own competence and expertise regarding the challenge. Please use the following scale:

5 = Working in the field; know it well
4 = Have reading knowledge in the field
3 = Generally acquainted with the field; informed layperson
2 = Have some interest in the field
1 = Have heard about this challenge

Those people who respond to this questionnaire will receive results in a complimentary copy of the 2000 State of the Future and be listed as a participant on the Global Lookout Panel.

Please complete the questionnaire and return it by June 21, 1999. Please respond by e-mail to acunu@igc.org with copy to jglenn@igc.org or fax to 202 686 5179 or mail to: American Council for the United Nations University, The Millennium Project, 4421 Garrison St. NW, Washington, DC 20016 USA

Since faxes (that include hand written responses) may be difficult to read, please consider sending your response by email to make sure your views are recorded correctly. You can download this questionnaire, fill it out on your computer off-line and then send it back by email.

You can type your answers without the text of the questions and send an e-mail, fax, or letter, as

Challenge 1:  1.1 ....
                    1.2 ....
                    1.3 ....
                    1.4 ....

Challenge 2: 2.1....etc.

If you have not already done so, please send us an electronic copy of your resume (and whether it can be added to those on the Millennium Project's web site) and any other information about yourself and your work that you feel is relevant.

What region will be your focus as you answer this questionnaire?
 

My region is:________________________________________________________
 

1. How can sustainable development be achieved for all?

1.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

1.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

1.3 Indicators
 

1.4 Expertise:

2. How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict?

2.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

2.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

2.3 Indicators
 
 

2.4 Expertise:

3. How can population growth and resources be brought into balance?

3.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

3.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

3.3 Indicators
 
 

3.4 Expertise:

4. How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes?

4.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 

4.2 Central focus for your region......
 

4.3 Indicators
 

4.4 Expertise:

5. How can policy making be made more sensitive to global long-term perspectives ?

5.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 

5.2 Central focus for your region......
 

5.3 Indicators
 

5.4 Expertise:

6. How can the globalization and convergence of information and communications technologies be shaped in the human interest?

6.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 

6.2 Central focus for your region......
 

6.3 Indicators

6.4 Expertise:

7. How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap between the rich and poor?

7.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 

7.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

7.3 Indicators
 

7.4 Expertise:

8. How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases, and immune micro organisms be reduced?

8.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 

8.2 Central focus for your region......
 

8.3 Indicators
 

8.4 Expertise:

9. How can the capacity to make correct decisions be improved?

9.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

9.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

9.3 Indicators
 
 

9.4 Expertise:

10. How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic conflict and terrorism?

10.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

10.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

10.3 Indicators
 

10.4 Expertise:

11. How can the increasing autonomy of women and other groups be protected and promoted to improve the human condition?

11.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

11.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

11.3 Indicators
 
 

11.4 Expertise:

12. How can organized crime be stopped from becoming more powerful and sophisticated global enterprises?

12.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

12.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

12.3 Indicators
 

12.4 Expertise:

13. How can the growing energy demand be safely and efficiently met?

13.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

13.2 Central focus for your region......
 
 

13.3 Indicators
 

13.4 Expertise:

14 How can scientific and technological breakthroughs be accelerated to improve the human condition?

14.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

14.2 Central focus for your region......
 

14.3 Indicators
 

14.4 Expertise:

15. How can ethical considerations become more routinely incorporated into global decisions?

15.1 Unique significance for your region.....
 
 

15.2 Central focus for your region......
 

15.3 Indicators
 

15.4 Expertise:

Please suggest rewording of any of the 15 Global Challenges to improve and sharpen the statement.
 
 

Other Comments:
 

Thank you for your participation. You should receive a copy of the results in Round 2 in about two months.

AC/UNU Millennium Project home page