Transcultural Sessions and Thematic Issues

Which present-day cultures will profoundly impact YOUR workday, YOUR disposable time, and YOUR everyday life in the coming years – those of Europe, those of Asia, those of the US, or those of other peoples – and why?

Which present-day lifestyle options will continue to be possible, and what new ones will emerge? Which ones are headed toward marginalization or extinction?

During the next decade, which peoples and cultures will most influence what YOU value, and why?

Which peoples and cultures will have the most pervasive worldwide impact on notions of fulfillment, gratification, and happiness?

Which peoples and cultures will have the greatest impact on tomorrow’s structuring institutions – the family, the workplace, communities, institutions of governance, educational institutions, religions, etc., or the structuring institutions that follow?

With increasing interaction among the world’s cultures and peoples, which professions – and personality types – will be most highly valued in YOUR part of the world a decade from now?

What culture-based hidden assumptions limit your thinking and your notion of personal identity?

To meet the challenges of the future, what can be learned from various nations, peoples, and cultures of the present and past?

In what ways do different peoples view “the future”?

What new countercultures may arise in your part of the world, or elsewhere, and what will they value?

And, what is the future of cultural diversity itself?

These are among the topics explored in the FUTUREtakes transcultural thematic issue series and in “Transnational Roundtable 2010,” a first-ever session of its kind at an annual World Future Society conference. Inspired by increasing cross-cultural interaction and the need to explore its possible implications to the prevailing lifestyles and value systems, the series has several additional objectives:

• facilitate thinking beyond cultural "event horizons"
• help leaders, policy analysts, planners, and others identify hidden culture-based assumptions that limit foresight thinking – including values, lifestyles, and notions of identity taken for granted
• share knowledge and wisdom that can be useful for meeting the complex challenges presented by the future – knowledge and wisdom drawn from various nations, peoples, and cultures of the present and past
• extend constructive dialog on the future to more peoples and cultures
• support the next frontier in interdisciplinary and liberal education – specifically, cross-cultural learning among students of diverse backgrounds

Distribution of prior FUTUREtakes transcultural thematic issues has included embassies, selected educational institutions, think tanks, professional societies, and various other international, ethnic, and cultural organizations, and World Future Society chapters.

• Spring 2011 Transcultural Thematic Issue
• Spring-Summer 2009 Transcultural Thematic Issue
• Spring-Summer 2008 Transcultural Thematic Issue
• Spring 2007 Transcultural Thematic Issue
• Presentations from 2010, 2011 and 2012 Transcultural Roundtables
• Transcultural Topics
• Cultural Descriptors
• Cultural Impacts and Perspective Blog