Why Study the Future?

The world changes so quickly it's hard to keep up. New inventions and innovations alter the way we live. People's values, attitudes, and beliefs are changing. And the pace of change keeps accelerating, making it difficult to prepare for tomorrow. By studying the future, people can better anticipate what lies ahead. More importantly, they can actively decide how they will live in the future, by making choices today and realizing the consequences of their decisions.

The future doesn't just happen: People create it through their action -- or inaction -- today.

What Can We Know about the Future?
No one knows exactly what will happen in the future. But by considering what might happen, people can more rationally decide on the sort of future that would be most desirable and then work to achieve it.
Opportunity as well as danger lies ahead, so people need to make farsighted decisions. The process of change is inevitable; it's up to everyone to make sure that the change is constructive.

What Is the World Future Society?
The World Future Society is an association of people interested in how social and technological developments are shaping the future. The Society was founded in 1966 and is chartered as a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

What Does the Society Do?
The Society strives to serve as a neutral clearinghouse for ideas about the future. Ideas about the future include forecasts, recommendations, and alternative scenarios. These ideas help people to anticipate what may happen in the next 5, 10, or more years ahead. When people can visualize a better future, then they can begin to create it.

Who belongs to the Society? Membership is open to anyone who would like to know more about what the future will hold. The Society includes 25,000 people in more than 80 countries--from Argentina to Zimbabwe. Members come from all walks of life. They include sociologists, scientists, corporate planners, educators, students, and retirees. They are thinking people who seek a better future for themselves and society.

Does the Society Have Local Chapters?
The Society's program of local activities has grown to include local groups of people in more than 100 cities who share the same interest in the future. These local chapters give members a chance to meet other forward-looking people and to discuss various topics of the future.

How Much Does It Cost to Join the Society?
Dues for membership in the World Future Society are $49 per year (in U.S. currency or its equivalent in other currency). Dues are the same throughout the world. Full-time students under age 25 may also join at a discounted rate of $20 per year

What Do Members Receive?
All World Future Society members receive:

• The Futurist, our main bimonthly publication.
• FutureTimes, an online resource for Society members
• Futurist Update, a monthly e-mail newsletter filled with late-breaking stories on important trends and ideas, plus news and announcements from the Society.
• Discounts on conference registration fees and on books published by the Society.
• Outlook. An annual report offering members selected forecasts that can help them anticipate events of the future.
• Future Times, our member electronic networking newsletter.
• Invitations to our Conferences.
• Special New-Member Benefits. In addition to regular member benefits, new World Future Society members will receive the authoritative 30-page report "50 Trends Shaping the Future." New members also receive "The Art of Forecasting," a four-page guide on how to study the future. For more information.

Professional Members of the Society receive:

• All of the above, plus:
• Futures Research Quarterly, a scholarly, refereed journal published four times per year
• Invitations to Professional Members' Forums, held each year just following the annual conference

Comprehensive Professional Members of the Society receive:

• All of the above, plus:
• A subscription to Future Survey. Each month, Future Survey alerts you to the most important futures-relevant literature. Concise, readable, and nontechnical abstracts of recent books, articles, and reports are arranged in topical clusters that enable you to see connections, subtle differences, and clashing opinions.
• All books published by the Society, including a copy of The Futures Research Directory: Organizations and Periodicals. These will be sent free of additional charge immediately upon publication.

DIRECTORS
Clement Bezold, executive director, Institute for Alternative Futures
Arnold Brown, chairman, Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc.
Marvin J. Cetron, president, Forecasting International Ltd.
Edward Cornish, founder and former president of the World Future Society
Hugues de Jouvenel, executive director, Association Internationale Futuribles, Paris, France
Victor Ferkiss, professor of government emeritus, Georgetown University
John Gottsman, president, The Clarity Group
William E. Halal, professor of management science, The George Washington University
Donna Heivilin, former director, Applied Research and Methods, U.S. General Accounting Office
Barbara Marx Hubbard, president, The Foundation for Conscious Evolution
Kenneth W. Hunter, director of professional programs, Institute for Global Chinese Affairs, University of Maryland
Nat Irvin II, president and CEO. FutureFocus 2020, Bacock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University
Eleonora Barbieri Masini, chair, executive council, World Futures Studies Federation, Rome, Italy
Robert S. McNamara, former president, World Bank; former U.S. Secretary of Defense
John Naisbitt, trend analyst and author
Dennis Pirages, chair, Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda, University of Maryland
Maurice F. Strong, secretary general, U.N. Conference on Environment and Development

GLOBAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Raja Ikram Azam, director, Pakistan Futuristics Foundation
Adolfo Castilla, Spanish economist and communications professor
Sir Arthur C. Clarke, science and science fiction writer, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, based in Sri Lanka
Harlan Cleveland, president, World Academy of Art and Science
Yehezkel Dror, professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Sohail Inayatullah, professor, Tamkang University, Taiwan
Graham May, senior lecturer, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, United Kingdom
Michael Michaelis, president, Partners In Enterprise, Inc.
Julio Millán, president, Banco de Tecnologias S.A. de C.V. in Mexico City
J. Ørstrøm Møller, Danish diplomat; currently Danish ambassador to Singapore
Pedro H. Morales, president, CIMA International Group
Burt Nanus, author and professor emeritus of management, University of Southern California
John L. Petersen, president, The Arlington Institute
Sandra L. Postel, director, Global Water Policy Project
Robert Salmon, vice president, L'Oreal Corporation, Paris
Alvin Toffler, author
Heidi Toffler, author

OFFICERS
Timothy C. Mack, president
Susan Echard, vice president membership/conference operations
Kenneth W. Hunter, treasurer
Kenneth W. Harris, secretary

Original Location: http://www.wfs.org/faq.htm