UN Futures Lab

Young people are imagining bold futures — and showing us how to get there. In preparation for the #YouthLead Festival and the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY30), the United Nations Youth Office mobilised partners and allies to convene #YouthLead Dialogues across 182 countries, engaging more than 75,000 young people. Supported by UNICEF Innocenti and the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub, the dialogues used strategic foresight tools such as the Three Horizons Framework and Back Casting to surface insights on today’s realities, tomorrow’s aspirations, and the seeds of change already taking root. 🔎 Key highlights from the report: ✨ Top youth priorities: employment, education, health, technology, and leadership. ✨ Preferred futures: education that equips learners, well-being as a collective responsibility, sustainability embedded in everyday life, inclusive collaboration, and intergenerational solidarity. ✨ Seeds of change: community hubs, transformative climate innovations, harnessing technology for good, and mechanisms for meaningful youth participation.   ➡️ Why does youth foresight matter? The #YouthLead Dialogues Summary Report demonstrates that youth foresight is not only a space for imagination — it is a process for action. By integrating youth perspectives into decision-making and strengthening institutions’ anticipatory capacity, we can move beyond envisioning the future to actively building it. Learn more and download the report 👉 https://lnkd.in/dt83s6zq United Nations #UNYouthOffice #UNICEFInnocenti #UNFuturesLab #StrategicForesight #FuturesThinking #ThreeHorizons #BaskCasting #FutureGenerations #YouthForesight #WPAY30 ##YouthLeadDialogues #PreferredFutures #SeedsofChange #UNGA80 #PactForTheFuture #Youth2030

✨ Reflecting on Foresight Day at UN 2.0 Week 2025 Convened by the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub, Foresight Day was held on Thursday 12 June 2025 and spotlighted how futures thinking is being embedded across the UN to drive transformation and deliver real-world impact. From a high-level opening panel to nine side events and a practical “Solutions Expo”, the day brought together diverse actors from across the system to showcase foresight in action. 🗣️ The high-level opening panel discussion, “From Signals to Systems: Embedding Foresight Across the UN,” explored how anticipatory governance can make the UN more inclusive, adaptive, and future-ready—moving foresight from isolated projects to institutional capacity. Speakers included Ms. Celeste Saulo (Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), H.E. Dr. Burak Akçapar and Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Türkiye to the United Nations at Geneva), Mr. Kim Stanley Robinson (Author of the best-selling The Ministry for the Future trilogy), Ms. Karima El Korri (Director, Sustainable Development Unit, Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG)), and Ms. Fisayo Oyewale (Youth Foresight Community and Partnerships Specialist, UNICEF). Facilitated by: Mr. Chris Earney, Head, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub 💡 9 side events: ✨Towards foresight and system-based approaches in UN country work – United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) Mauritius and Seychelles, Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) Cameroon ✨Signals that Save: Human Rights, Data, and Anticipatory Action in Crises – Office of the United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR) ✨Future of Programming – United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ✨Feminist Foresight for an Inclusive Future – UN Women, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub ✨Decolonial feminist praxis for transformative and equitable foresight – United Nations University (UNU) ✨Youth Foresight: Reimagining Decision-Making Spaces – UNICEF, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub ✨Navigating Uncertainty, Shaping Futures: Driver-Based Scenario Building – @United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Peacekeeping-Intelligence Coordination Team ✨Seeing Beyond: Why Foresight Matters Now More Than Ever – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), University of Houston   🚀 The Solutions Expo featured use cases from: ✨FAO: Shifting Livestock Policy from Reactive to Proactive ✨UNDP: Future Trends and Signals System These sessions demonstrated how foresight is enabling the UN to shift from reacting to shaping the future. 📘 Read more about Foresight Day and explore event highlights and recordings here: https://lnkd.in/guehfQsF UN 2.0 | United Nations UNICEF Innocenti #UN2Point0 #Foresight #FuturesThinking #SDGs #StrategicForesight #SustainableDevelopment

🆕 REPORT LAUNCH We are living in an era of increasingly complex and interconnected global risks. Multilateral institutions are not sufficiently prepared. The inaugural UN Global Risk Report 2024, developed by the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, shines a light on the most pressing global vulnerabilities: the risks considered highly important, yet where institutions are underprepared.   The UN Futures Lab/Global Hub was a key partner in the report production process, including the development of the four foresight scenarios featured in the report. The scenarios connect perceptions, actions, and possible outcomes to help decision-makers explore how the future may evolve and prepare not for one but multiple possibilities. 🔎 Four foresight scenarios – from Breakdown to Breakthrough: Built on the global survey, the report’s findings and modelling data from University of Denver - Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, the four scenarios - Breakdown, Status Quo, Progress, and Breakthrough - illustrate how more or less joint multilateral action could impact each of the Global Vulnerabilities by 2050. Each scenario prominently features a risk from the Global Vulnerability clusters (natural hazard risks, mis- and disinformation, new pandemic, and cybersecurity incident) and shows how one risk can positively or negatively cascade across others. ✨ Breakdown scenario: Fragmented joint action exacerbates the cascading effects of natural hazard risks. ✨ Status quo scenario: Uncoordinated joint action leads to uneven consequences after a global disinformation attack. ✨ Progress scenario: Improved joint action mitigates the impacts of a new pandemic outbreak. ✨ Breakthrough scenario: Strong joint action overcomes an acute global cybersecurity incident. ➡️ Why do these four scenarios matter? The stark differences between these possible futures highlights a critical choice: Will the world choose breakdown, maintain the status quo, or break through to a more prosperous, greener and safer world for current and future generations? Learn more about this project, explore the report, and dive into the scenarios 👉 https://lnkd.in/dpEP5eCS Alongside the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG), our fantastic partners in the process included: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) (UNDRR), LRF Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk at the National University of Singapore, Frederick S. Pardee Institute for International Futures at the University of Denver, and the Governments of Finland, Germany, Norway, Portugal and Singapore. United Nations #UNFuturesLab #StrategicForesight #UNGlobalRiskReport #FuturesThinking #Multilateralism #ScenarioThinking #ForesightScenario #GlobalRiskReport #GlobalRisks #RiskReadiness #GlobalPreparedness #Multilateralism #FutureScenarios #RiskToResilience #AnticipatoryGovernance #FutureGenerations

🗓️ As the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) kicks off today, Monday, 14 July 2025, we’re reflecting on the insights and recommendations that emerged from our side event at the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2025 - contributions that helped shape the lead-up to this global moment for sustainable development. In April 2025, the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG) co-hosted a dynamic side event guided by the 2025 theme of ECOSOC and the High-level Political Forum (HLPF): 👉 “Youth at the Forefront: Leveraging Science and Social Inclusion for Sustainable Development.” This interactive session brought together youth, policymakers, and changemakers to co-create a future that is truly fit for generations to come. Our speakers, H.E. Brian Wallace (Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the UN), Mr. Chris Earney (Head, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub), Mr. Themba Kalua (Director, Pact for the Future Implementation, Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG)), Ms. Shurabe Mercado Guido (YOUNGO Representative for the Youth Taskforce on the Implementation of the Pact for the Future), and Dr. Felipe Paullier Olivera (Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs United Nations Youth Office), shared diverse perspectives on the importance of youth participation, intergenerational collaboration, and the role of foresight in advancing the Pact for the Future. 📍 Participants engaged in a participatory foresight exercise using the “Headlines of Tomorrow” methodology across 10 SDGs, contributing actionable insights toward the High-Level Political Forum. 🔎 Recommendations focused on: ✨ Advancing intersectional, context-specific solutions ✨ Integrating Indigenous knowledge with science and technology ✨ Centering reparative justice and regenerative economic models ✨ Elevating youth leadership in multilateral processes ✨ Scaling intergenerational platforms for inclusive policymaking   Youth aren’t just the future—they are shaping the present. 👉 Explore the full summary, recommendations, and event recording on our project page https://lnkd.in/dDMqqNYx United Nations #ECOSOCYouth #UNFuturesLab #StrategicForesight #FutureGenerations #ParticipatoryForesight #ECOSOCYouthForum #HeadlinesOfTomorrow #SDGs #IntergenerationalLeadership #2024UNCSC #SummitOfTheFuture #PactForTheFuture #UNTwoZero #HighLevelPoliticalForum #HLPF2025

⏳ Starting soon! UN 2.0 Week 2025 Foresight Day side event ➡️ Youth Foresight: Reimagining Decision-Making Spaces with UNICEF Innocenti and the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub. What does it mean to place youth at the center of long-term global decision-making? This side event will share concrete examples of the work happening at the intersection of #MeaningfulYouthEngagement, #StrategicForesight, and #YouthForesight. 🕙 Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM ET 🔗 You can still register here: https://lnkd.in/g28aRaYv UNICEF Alana Poole Shai Naides, Mamadou DOUCOURE, Mina Naseem Niazi, Adam Sharpe, APF

⏳ Starting soon! Don’t miss this session on "Feminist Foresight for an Inclusive Future" with UN Women and the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub. Join the UN 2.0 Week 2025 side event to explore inclusive futures and leave with tools to spark gender-equitable change. 🔗 You can still register: https://lnkd.in/dUrWMvUK UN Women UN Women Europe and Central Asia Alana Poole Navin Haram Nurgul Asylbekova Alana Foley Pradhan Hannah-Sophie Wahle Jimena Califa UN 2.0 | United Nations #FeministForesight #StrategicForesight #UN2point0

🌍 UN 2.0 Week 2025: Spotlighting foresight to drive transformation across the UN system On Thursday, 12 June 2025 foresight takes centre stage on Day 4 of UN 2.0 Week, showcasing how futures thinking is shaping transformation across the UN system. Convened by the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub, the day will spotlight strategic foresight in a high-level opening panel, 9 curated side events, and a practical solutions expo session. Foresight Day is a dedicated moment within UN 2.0 Week to explore how strategic foresight is enabling the UN system to navigate complexity, anticipate risks, and shape more resilient futures. 🟣 High-Level Opening Panel | From Signals to Systems: Embedding Foresight Across the UN 🕘 Thursday 12 June from 9 – 10am ET / 3 – 4pm CET Panelists representing a range of institutional, regional, and disciplinary perspectives will share practical insights on how foresight is informing decision-making, strategic planning, and institutional transformation across the UN and beyond. 👉 Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 👉 H.E. Dr. Burak Akçapar, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Türkiye to the United Nations at Geneva 👉 Kim Stanley Robinson, Author of the best-selling The Ministry for the Future trilogy 👉 Karima El Korri, Director, Sustainable Development Unit, Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG) 👉 Fisayo Oyewale, Youth Foresight Community and Partnerships Specialist, UNICEF 👉 Facilitated by: Chris Earney, Head, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub Register for the high-level opening panel here: https://lnkd.in/eMn3v6s5 🔹 Also on the agenda: 🟣 9 side events led by UN entities and partners 🟣 An interactive Solutions Expo featuring 3 pitch-style presentations 📍 Learn more about the Foresight Day at UN 2.0 Week and find registration links for the events here: https://lnkd.in/gtnc44SS UN 2.0 | United Nations United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations Human Rights United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) UN Women United Nations University UNICEF UNICEF Innocenti UNDP UNDP Egypt Egyptian Food Bank IOM - UN Migration Knowledge Economy Foundation: KEF/Bashaier Agribusiness Platform Canal Sugar FAO #UN2Point0 #Foresight #FuturesThinking #SDGs #UNFuturesLab #StrategicForesight #FuturesThinking #SustainableDevelopment

NEW REPORT LAUNCH 🌍 "Futures Thinking and Strategic Foresight in Action: Insights from the Global South". We’re thrilled to share our new joint report by the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub and the International Science Council (ISC) that highlights how countries across the Global South are applying futures thinking and strategic foresight in real-world contexts. The report was officially launched at the #STIForum Action Day side event on 6 May 2025, where panelists and participants joined the conversation on how foresight can inform inclusive, long-term approaches to sustainable development. Acknowledging that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, the report offers: ✨14 diverse case studies, ranging from hyperlocal women’s participation in climate action in India to national policy design in Nigeria, from using alternative futures for organizational development in the United Arab Emirates to climate adaptation led by Indigenous communities in Bolivia ✨ 8 practical typologies of foresight impacts, from local and indigenous knowledge, sources, and practices to multistakeholder partnerships and collaboration, organizational development and policy innovation ✨ 6 key recommendations for inclusive foresight - from exercising bold leadership to shifting mindsets, challenging the status quo and leveraging contextual insights and behavioural science, to embedding inclusive participation and long-term thinking at all levels, building systematic foresight capacity, and ensuring impact measurement ✨Key foresight tools and approaches applied across the case studies, including, horizon scanning, scenario development, Causal Layered Analysis (CLA), six pillars, and back casting Curious about what inclusive foresight looks like beyond theory? 📘 Read more and download the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dxYi8F-Z We extend our sincere thanks to all the case study contributors who generously shared their insights, experiences, and lessons learned to shape this collective resource. Report team: Alana Poole, Anne-Sophie Stevance, Ayaka Suzuki, Chris Earney, Hema Sridhar, Joolokeni Vesikko, Lucía Soriano Irigaray 苏颜, Salvatore Aricò Case study contributors: Ben Holt, Claudia Sáenz Zulueta, Dawnelle Clyne, Einstein Henry Tejada Velez, Rovenskaya Elena, Foluke Ojelabi, Karen Folkes, Dr. Katindi Sivi, linh pham, Nancy Muigei, Repaul Kanji, Sohail Inayatullah, Zurab Elzarov #UNFuturesLab #ISC #StrategicForesight #FuturesThinking #GlobalSouth #SustainableDevelopment #2030Agenda #PolicyInnovation #ParticipatoryForesight #STIForum #UNTwoZero #HorizonScanning #BackCasting #CasualLayeredAnalysis #ScenarioDevelopment #SixPillars #Bangladesh #Bolivia #Colombia #India #Kenya #Kyrgyzstan #Malawi #NewZealand #Nigeria #Rwanda #SouthAfrica #Sudan #Tunisia #UnitedArabEmirates #Vietnam #Zambia #Zimbabwe

📣 Rescheduled #STIForum side event update   Due to unexpected connection issues, our virtual side event originally scheduled for 7 May could not take place as planned. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.   🗓️ New date: Thursday, 15 May 2025 🕘 09:00–10:15 AM ET / 15:00–16:15 PM CET   If you haven't already, you can still register here: https://lnkd.in/eS7np3Ai   We’re grateful for your interest in this important conversation and hope you’ll join us for the rescheduled session!