Spring 2020: Upcoming Events
Scotland’s Futures Forum continues its exploration of our future with a series of events in spring 2020. Covering the future of education, the impact of innovation and sustainability on the jobs we do, and the…
Articles by Futures Forum Staff
UPCOMING EVENT – Scotland 2030: Carbon Positive Jobs
Wednesday 5 February, 6pm to 7.30pm, at the Scottish Parliament What jobs will there be in a net zero Scotland? With a climate emergency to respond to while new technology pushes at boundaries and disrupts…
UPCOMING EVENT – Scotland 2030: Leadership in Education
Thursday 30 January 2020, 6pm, at the Scottish Parliament Join Scotland’s Futures Forum and the Goodison Group in Scotland as they continue their exploration of education in the future with the second of two events…
UPCOMING EVENT – Scotland 2030: Ethics and Values
Wednesday 1 April, 6pm, at the Scottish Parliament Although always diverse, Scotland is more secular and multicultural than ever before, and likely to continue diversifying over the coming decades. Questions of ethics and values will…
UPCOMING EVENT – Scotland 2030: Future Schooling, Education and Learning
Tuesday 10 March 2020, 6pm to 8pm, at the Scottish Parliament Over the past three years, the Goodison Group in Scotland and Scotland’s Futures Forum have been exploring the future of education in Scotland. As…
Scotland 2030: Future Schooling, Education and Learning Overview
What are our aspirations for education and learning in 2030 and beyond? What could become a reality? What are the implications for education and learning if the future is uncertain and/or continues to change rapidly? What…
Scotland 2030: Future Education Scenario
With the Goodison Group in Scotland, the Futures Forum has been investigating the future for schooling, education and learning in Scotland, looking to 2030 and beyond. In a series of interactive seminars, participants from a…
Scotland 2030 Programme: Writing Competition
As part of the Futures Forum’s Scotland 2030 Programme – our aspirational exploration of Scotland’s culture and society in 2030 and beyond – we are delighted to be supporting a short story competition to help…
Review of the year: 2019
2019 has been a busy year for Scotland’s Futures Forum. We’ve explored our shared future in urban and rural communities, hosted discussions on transformative ideas like a citizen’s income and a wellbeing economy, and welcomed…
Alba 2030: A’ Ghàidhlig – Buaidh is Piseach
Scotland 2030: Gaelic – what would success look like? Friday 6 December 2019, at the Scottish Parliament What should the future be for Gaelic in Scotland? What would success look like in 2030? Featuring expert…
Alba 2030: A’ Ghàidhlig – Buaidh is Piseach
A’ Ghàidhlig – cò ris a bhiodh soirbheachadh coltach? Dè a bu chòir a bhith an dàn don Ghàidhlig ann an Alba? Cò ris a bhiodh soirbheachadh coltach ann an 2030? Blog Post-bloga: Geàrr-chunntas air…
EVENT POSTPONED: Our Future Scotland – South-West Scotland
We hope to run this event in 2020. What hopes and aspirations do we have for the future? In conjunction with the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Futures Forum is hosting a debate in Dumfries…
Artificial Intelligence: A Misunderstood Revolution
Wednesday 11 September 2019, at the Scottish Parliament In conjunction with Reform Scotland, the Futures Forum held a seminar with writer and journalist Tom Chivers to discuss how artificial intelligence is developing and changing our…
Our Future Scotland @ the Scottish Parliament’s 20th Birthday Party
Saturday 29 June 2019, at the Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament opened its doors to the people of Scotland for an afternoon of celebration to mark its 20th birthday. As part of the celebrations the…
Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Urban Scotland
Wednesday 26 June 2019, at the Scottish Parliament Life in Scotland’s towns and cities is forecast to change significantly in the coming decades. Cities are set to continue to grow, facing the challenge of providing…
Scotland’s cities: retrofitting or new urban developments?
Scotland’s Futures Forum hosted Felix Esche, a fourth year student at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh, for work experience in June 2019. After his time with us, and ahead of our Scotland 2030 event on…
A Nordic Rethink: Where Next for Nordic Horizons?
Thursday 20 June 2019, at the Scottish Parliament Since 2010, Nordic Horizons has brought six Nordic experts a year to Scotland to share their experience and expertise from some of the world’s most successful countries….
Scotland 2030: Leadership in Education
Tuesday 11 June 2019, at the Scottish Parliament This seminar, chaired by Sir Andrew Cubie, was the second in a series of debates focusing on leadership in education, particularly leadership of change. It featured a…
Leaders in Sport & Physical Activity: Judy Murray
On Wednesday 5 June 2019, former Fed Cup Captain Judy Murray spoke at the Scottish Parliament as part of the seminar series with Leaders in Sport and Physical Activity hosted by the Futures Forum and…
Leaders in Sport & Physical Activity: David Duke
On Wednesday 29 May 2019, the founder and chief executive of Street Soccer, David Duke, spoke at the Scottish Parliament about his journey through sport and the lessons he has learned along the way. Organised…
Digital Democracy: Engagement and Parliament
In conjunction with the Scottish Parliament’s Digital Engagement Tools Team, the Futures Forum held a seminar on 22 May 2019 to explore how the Scottish Parliament can best engage with citizens in a digital age….
A Citizen’s Income: A Creative Response
Susie Maguire, the writer and performer, was unable to take part as planned in the Futures Forum’s event on “Scotland 2030: A Citizen’s Income?” on Tuesday 2 April 2019. We therefore asked her to contribute…
Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Rural Scotland
Scotland’s sparsely-populated areas are predicted to lose a quarter of their population by 2046, with the working age population likely to shrink by 33%. At the same time, the challenge of enabling the development that…
Leaders in Sport & Physical Activity: Shelley Kerr
On Wednesday 8 May 2019, the Head Coach of the Scotland Women’s National Team, Shelley Kerr, spoke at the Parliament in a seminar chaired by the Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP. Listen to a podcast…
Climate Change with the IPCC
On Wednesday 3 April 2019, the Futures Forum and the Scottish Parliament Information Centre hosted a breakfast seminar with speakers from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on science, policy and solutions on a…
Scotland 2030: A Citizen’s Income?
Tuesday 2 April at the Scottish Parliament. With predictions of social and economic upheaval brought about by technological and environmental changes, could a citizen’s income reduce poverty and increase people’s control over their lives? How…
Scotland 2030 Programme: Upcoming Events
Scotland’s Futures Forum continues its exploration of life, society and culture in Scotland in the future through a series of events tackling subjects from the potential for a citizen’s income, the future for rural Scotland…
Scotland 2030: Leadership in Education
On Tuesday 12 March 2019, the Futures Forum and the Goodison Group in Scotland continued their exploration of schooling and learning in the future. Bringing together representatives from business, government and education, this event focused…
Can Scotland be a world leader in wellbeing?
Jennifer Wallace, Carnegie UK Trust, @Jen_CarnegieUK Earlier this month I attended a Scotland’s Futures Forum seminar on a wellbeing economy at the Scottish Parliament. The event, a collaboration between the Futures Forum, the Economy, Jobs…
Scotland 2030: A Wellbeing Economy?
Tuesday 5 February 2019, at the Scottish Parliament In conjunction with the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee, the Futures Forum held a seminar on the idea of Scotland as a wellbeing economy….
Scotland 2030: Housing and Ageing
Wednesday 23 January 2019, at the Scottish Parliament How can housing meet the needs of older people in the future? In conjunction with the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Groups on Housing and on Older People, Age…
Leaders in Sport & Physical Activity: Seminar Series
In 2019, the Futures Forum and the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) hosted a series of seminars hearing from leaders in sport and physical activity. Each was asked to share the lessons they’ve learned in…
Spring 2019: Events Programme
Scotland’s Futures Forum is delighted to announce our Spring 2019 Programme of Events. As part of our Scotland 2030 Programme, we’ll be hosting discussions looking at the future for housing with an ageing population, and…
*** Winter Bulletin and Review of the Year 2018 ***
Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Social Care for Older People
16 November 2018, at the Scottish Parliament In conjunction with the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee, the Futures Forum brought together a diverse range of people to consider the future for social care for…
Scotland 2030: Secondary Education
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate Tuesday 13 November 2018, at the Scottish Parliament The Goodison Group in Scotland and the Futures Forum continued their exploration of schooling and learning…
Scotland 2030: Death and Dying
Tuesday 6 November 2018, at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum concluded its investigation into life in the future with a discussion on death and dying in 2030 and beyond. Chaired by the Parliament’s Presiding Officer,…
Post-Brexit Common Frameworks
In November 2018, the Futures Forum collaborated with the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee and the Royal Society of Edinburgh to consider the arrangements for governing the United Kingdom after the UK leaves the…
Scotland 2030: Growing Older in Future Scotland
Wednesday 3 October 2018, at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum continued its investigation into life in the future with a discussion on growing older in 2030 and beyond. Chaired by Ross Greer MSP, this…
Smart Justice: The Center for Court Innovation
Wednesday 26 September 2018, at the Scottish Parliament Hosted jointly with Community Justice Scotland and the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee, this Futures Forum seminar featured a presentation by Greg Berman, Director of the Center for…
Futures Forum Bulletin: Autumn 2018
Hello and welcome to the Futures Forum’s bulletin for autumn 2018! With the Scottish Parliament having returned from the summer recess, we look back on a busy summer for us and forward to an exciting…
Scotland 2030: Our Food Future
Food is central to our lives in Scotland – from what we eat and drink as individuals, to the number of jobs in the growing food and drink sector, and the links between its production and…
Scotland 2030: Autonomous Vehicles
Are autonomous vehicles the future? How well developed are they already, what is likely to happen next, and how can Scotland exploit the opportunities they present? Scotland’s Futures Forum was delighted to work with Ivan…
Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities for Glasgow
On 4 July 2018, the Futures Forum held a seminar on the opportunities for Glasgow from the development of autonomous vehicles. Hosted by Glasgow City Council and produced in conjunction with Jacobs and Glasgow Chambers…
Autonomous Vehicles: Challenges and Opportunities for the Future
On 21 June 2018, Scotland’s Futures Forum hosted a seminar on the opportunities and challenges presented by the development of autonomous vehicles. A panel discussion chaired by Gail Ross MSP, Deputy Convener of the Rural…
Scotland 2030: Primary School
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate Click the image to read the event report On Tuesday 19 June 2018, the Goodison Group in Scotland and the Futures Forum continued their…
A Sustainable Future for Scotland’s Public Finances
On Friday 15 June 2018, the Futures Forum, the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee and the Royal Society of Edinburgh brought together a group of experts from throughout Scotland to consider the long-term sustainability…
Scotland 2030: Work in a Gender Equal Country
Tuesday 5 June 2018 at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum’s investigation into Scotland’s culture and society in the future continued with a discussion of our working lives in 2030. Read the full event report…
Our Future Scotland: Aberdeen and the North East
In partnership with the University of Aberdeen, on 25 May 2018, the Futures Forum held an event on the aspirations for our future in Aberdeen and the North East. Using the Our Future Scotland video…
Our Future Scotland: Film Premiere
“Our Future Scotland” challenges everyone – from the First Minister and other party leaders, to leading business and technology figures, and award-winning authors and artists – to share their aspirations for the kind of country…
Spring 2018 Bulletin
Click below to find out what we’ve been up to – and what’s coming next!
Drugs in Scotland: Seminar
Ten years on from its ground-breaking report into reducing harm caused by alcohol and drugs, Scotland’s Futures Forum returned to the subject with an event to consider drug use in Scotland. Following a request from…
Summer 2018: Events Programme
Scotland’s Futures Forum is delighted to announce our Summer Programme of Events. In the Scottish Parliament, we’ll be hosting a panel discussion including author Christopher Brookmyre and robotics expert Professor Sethu Vijayakumar on our aspirations…
Drugs in Scotland: MSPs Request Review
Ten years on from its ground-breaking report into reducing harm caused by alcohol and drugs, Scotland’s Futures Forum will return to the subject with an event to consider drug use in Scotland. Following a request…
Scotland 2030: the Early Years
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate On 14 March 2018, the Goodison Group in association with Scotland’s Futures Form held the first debate of the year as part of its…
Scotland 2030: Growing Up In Future Scotland
In 2018, Scotland’s Futures Forum’s Scotland 2030 Programme is looking at different stages of life in future Scotland. The first event in the series considered what growing up in Scotland in 2030 could and should…
An Action Plan for Homelessness – Briefing and Reception
On 31 January 2018, the Futures Forum held a reception to showcase Heriot-Watt University’s academic research behind Social Bite’s ambitious plan to tackle homelessness, along with the social enterprise’s work with others to tackle this…
Future Schooling, Learning and Education: Future Skills and Qualifications
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate The Goodison Group in Scotland continued its on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 14 November…
Scotland 2030: Technology and Society
On Friday 10 November, in conjunction with the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Futures Forum held a Scotland 2030 Programme discussion on technology and society in Inverness. Chaired by the Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP,…
Scotland 2030: Fitter or Fatter?
On Monday 30 October 2017, Scotland’s Futures Forum and the Scottish Parliament Information Centre brought together MSPs, academics and other stakeholders to look to 2030 and beyond and explore the policies that will make the…
Scotland 2030: Young People and Technology
On 27 October 2017, the Futures Forum held a joint consultation event with the Scottish Youth Parliament on the question of technology. Chaired by Maree Todd MSP as a Futures Forum director, the debate covered…
The Drugs Don’t Work: Reducing Drugs Damage in Scotland 10 Years On – Event Report
A decade after the Scotland’s Futures Forum published its recommendations to reduce the damage of drugs on our population with plans to tax cannabis, prescribe heroin and provide consumption rooms, the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of…
Scotland 2030: Our Economy
Having explored the challenges provided by the technological revolution and climate change in its first two events in 2017, the Futures Forum heard from Jamie Coleman, chair and co-founder of Codebase and Dr Katherine Trebeck,…
A Civilised Nation? Project Overview
The French philosopher Voltaire is quoted as saying in the 1760s that “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation”. What did that mean then, and what might it mean today and in the…
The Future and Me: Living in Tomorrow’s World
What does the future hold for young people? What do they think will happen? As part of a BBC Scotland Learning project “The Future and Me”, pupils from the Glasgow Gaelic School and St Andrew’s…
Fit Home: the Future of Housing and Health
This informal reception introduced guests to the main concepts behind Fit Home, a unique partnership between housing, NHS Highland and social enterprise, which, supported by academic research, showcases a collaborative solution to wellness in the…
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: The Economic Context
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate On 5 September 2017, the Goodison Group in Scotland and the Futures Forum continued their on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate…
Bananas, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Scotland’s Environment
By Dr Steph Smith, Scotland’s Rural College and @ScienceSeaweed Humans are curious creatures. Not in the sense that we are random assemblages of cells which share about 50% of our DNA with a banana; but curious…
Our Environment in 2030
A healthy society and culture depends on a healthy environment. This project explores how Scotland’s environment might change over the coming years and how our relationship with it will and should change at the same…
Data and Politics: Comparative Agendas Project 10th Anniversary Conference
Data and Politics: Comparative Agendas Project 10th Anniversary Conference Reception This reception marked the 10th anniversary of the Comparative Agendas Project, a worldwide network of political and data scientists working to investigate trends in government,…
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: Our Aspirations [2]
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate The Goodison Group in Scotland continued its on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate in the Scottish Parliament on 13 June 2017….
Economy, ecology, aesthetics: competing interests in the land
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @Nell Widger Earlier this year the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) and Mountaineering Scotland made an unlikely alliance in opposition to government plans to plant thousands of new trees. According to the…
How resilient and well-functioning will Scotland’s environment be?
As part of the Scotland 2030 Programme, and on the basis that a strong society and economy can exist in the long term only if the environment – land, air and water – are functioning…
Enlightenment Scotland: a “civilised nation”?
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.” This summary of a quotation from French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire is commonly used by commentators who wish…
Rugged, remote, rocky: Scotland and the Romantic imagination
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger A curious thing happened in Scotland during the Romantic period: vast numbers of tourists from Britain, Europe and elsewhere used new road networks and steam packet routes to access the…
News from 2030 by Karine Polwart
As part of the launch of our Scotland 2030 Programme in March 2017, we asked award-winning folk singer, songwriter and essayist Karine Polwart to reflect on the cultural implications for our society from technological change. In response,…
Scotland 2030: The Technological Context
Iain Banks, the great Scottish author, once said, “Technology determines the possibilities of society.” This has been true since humans developed basic tools, and it remains the case today, although those possibilities and the rate that…
Betty Bags a Booker by Karine Polwart
To launch the Scotland 2030 Programme in 2017, we invited folk singer and writer Karine Polwart to reflect on how technology might change our society. In response, she brought three imagined news stories from 2030….
A Digital Haven by Karine Polwart
To launch the Scotland 2030 Programme in 2017, we invited folk singer and writer Karine Polwart to reflect on how technology might change our society. In response, she brought three imagined news stories from 2030….
Karmic Payback by Karine Polwart
To launch the Scotland 2030 Programme in 2017, we invited folk singer and writer Karine Polwart to reflect on how technology might change our society. In response, she brought three imagined news stories from 2030. This is…
Digital Democracy: Opportunities and Challenges for Scotland
The best in European democratic innovation was presented at a seminar in the Scottish Parliament hosted jointly by Scotland’s Futures Forum and Nesta. Pioneers from across the continent brought their experience of how digital tools…
Automation in the Scottish Economy
The growing level of automation in Scotland’s economy and the implications for our workforce was the subject of a Scotland’s Futures Forum’s Breakfast Seminar in 2017. Hosted by Richard Leonard MSP on behalf of the…
Business Succession: the sustainability of family businesses and SMEs
New research reveals up to £1.23 billion tax gain by increasing the number of successfully transferred SMEs and Family Businesses in Scotland Research demonstrates how SMEs and Family Businesses can significantly grow the Scottish economy….
By 2025, Scotland will be regarded as a world-leading learning nation
As part of Scotland’s Futures Forum strategic link with the Goodison Group in Scotland in the area of learning and skills, our organisations undertook a project on Scotland as a world-leading learning nation. This ambitious…
Realising the Potential of Engaged Universities
The Edinburgh Beltane Beacon for Public Engagement held an event on 15 June 2011, focusing on ‘Realising the Potential of Engaged Universities’. The event, part of the ‘Big Ideas for Society’ day of UK Universities…
Facing up to Climate Change
In early March 2011, Scotland’s Futures Forum along with Edinburgh Beltane hosted two seminars to consider the findings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s report ‘Facing up to climate change: breaking the barriers to a…
Women in Prison
Increasing numbers of women are being imprisoned in Scotland (and other comparable jurisdictions), and this cannot be explained by rates of offending or changes in the nature of offences. The Scottish Universities Insight Institute recently…
Social Impact Bonds
In an era of financial austerity, governments need to consider innovative new ways of funding the solutions to a variety of social problems. At a Futures Forum seminar attended by over 100 individuals from the…
The Future of British Sign Language in an Inclusive Scotland
As part of the 2010-11 seminar series, in partnership with Edinburgh Beltane, a Futures Forum was held on 15 November 2010 bringing together around 70 delegates to explore what is understood by ‘an inclusive Scotland…
Scotland: Sustainable Communities in 2030
Sustainable Communities in Scotland is a scenario project looking at what sustainable communities might look like, in Scotland, in 2030. Our main report describes three scenarios for the future: opportunities missed opportunities taken opportunities uninvited…