Scotland’s Futures Forum
Scotland’s Futures Forum is the Scottish Parliament’s futures think-tank. It works on a non-party basis to promote research and to stimulate debate on the long-term challenges and opportunities that Scotland faces. It works to inform MSPs and others and enable them to consider the effects of decisions taken today on Scotland’s long-term future.
Scotland’s Futures Forum is the Scottish Parliament’s futures think-tank. It works on a non-party basis to promote research and to stimulate debate on the long-term challenges and opportunities that Scotland faces. It works to inform MSPs and others and enable them to consider the effects of decisions taken today on Scotland’s long-term future.
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Collapse: an introduction
A colleague recently reminded me that to know our future, we must first understand our past, so I’ll start with the Earth system, out of which we evolved. This astonishing collection of matter and energy self-assembled into the wondrous place we inhabit today. Generally, things that self-assemble into interdependent systems, evolve in response to each other, and to their environments. Such systems tend to self-regulate.
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Culture, Democracy and the Future
This blog explores the current and future value of arts and culture in Scotland. While the economic, social, health and wellbeing benefits are well established, culture also plays a key role in supporting democratic life. Participation in culture can strengthen critical thinking, openness and civic engagement, helping counter disinformation and exclusionary narratives. Looking at examples…
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Scottish Biodiversity Policy for the Future
Across the world mass biodiversity loss is being driven by human activities, including climate change, pollution and changing land and sea use. While international agreements and frameworks have been established to tackle this crisis, progress has so far been slow. Scotland, where biodiversity intactness is notably low, is experiencing many of the same challenges as those seen at the global…
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Multifluous
Introducing “Looking Beyond” Welcome to Looking Beyond, Scotland’s Futures Forum’s blog series. This space is for ideas that flow, sometimes together, sometimes apart, towards Scotland’s future. That’s why we’ve chosen the word “Multifluous” to open this series. We’ve combined multi- (many) and -fluous (flowing), because futures thinking is rarely linear. Like the Mississippi River in…
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Honouring Sir George Reid and His Enduring Contributions to Scotland’s Futures Forum
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Sir George Reid, a visionary leader, and the driving force behind the creation of Scotland’s Futures Forum 20 years ago. This month, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are proud to be part of George Reid’s legacy and it is with great sadness that we stop…
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Towards Embedding Responsible AI in the school system – What Next?
This event, held on 19 February 2025 at the Scottish Parliament, brought together educators, policymakers, and researchers to discuss the responsible integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in Scottish schools. The event gave an opportunity for key stakeholders to reflect on current AI policies, young people’s perspectives, and future challenges in education. The first draft of…
