A Wellbeing Economy?
With Scotland facing the challenges of a climate and ecological emergency, rising inequality and an ageing population, this seminar in February 2023 explored the idea of a wellbeing economy
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History, literature, language and a sustainable Scotland
After taking part in a 2021 Festival of Politics event on Scotland as a sustainable society in 2045, writer James Robertson shares his reflections on our future
Scotland 2045: A Sustainable Society
Online discussion from September 2021: What does a sustainable Scotland look like? How can we build a society that works for all our citizens? What changes do we need to make as individuals?
Scotland 2030: 10 for 2030
Throughout the Scotland 2030 Programme, our event participants shared their thoughts and ideas on how to approach the future. These are 10 ideas for the Scottish Parliament to consider – with some background information to…
Scotland 2030: What do we want, and how can we get there?
Thursday 19 November 2020, 7pm to 8.30pm, online and free As Scotland’s Futures Forum publishes its report into Scotland in 2030 and beyond, join an expert panel at the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics to…
Scotland 2030: Empathetic, Equitable and Joyful
After her participation in a 2020 Festival of Politics event on Scotland in 2030, chaired by Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP, writer and presenter Tomiwa Folorunso shares her reflections on the next 10 years. Scotland’s Futures…
Scotland 2030: Children’s rights must be at the heart of all that we do
Ahead of his participation in a Festival of Politics panel discussion on Scotland in 2030, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland Bruce Adamson shares his reflections on the next 10 years. Planning ahead would…
Scotland 2030: Gaelic – what would success look like?
What would success look like in for Gaelic in Scotland by 2030? This half-day conference in December 2019 explored the future for one of Scotland’s official languages. Features videos and event report
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?
A blog by Felix Esche, a work experience student in June 2019, on the future of our cities.
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…
In An Enlightened Future by Susie Maguire
A reflection by Susie Maguire on the potential effect of a citizen’s income. Written in 2019, “In An Enlightened Future” charts the dream of someone living in a world with a citizen’s income.
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. Podcast Listen to a…
Scotland 2030: A Citizen’s Income?
Panel discussion at the Scottish Parliament in 2019 on a citizen’s income or universal basic income. How attractive – and affordable – is it as a policy?
The Future of Feminism with Helen Lewis
Short report of event from March 2019 with Helen Lewis on the Future of Feminism with Monica Lennon MSP.
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: Housing and Ageing
How can housing meet the needs of older people in the future? This seminar in January 2019 explored the future for housing with an ageing population. Features podcast of presentation.
International Perspectives on Drug Policy
This seminar in December 2018 brought together experts from Denmark and Norway to share good practice on drugs policy.
Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Social Care for Older People
16 November 2018, at the Scottish Parliament Read the report – A Sustainable Future for Social Care for Older People In conjunction with the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee, the Futures Forum brought together…
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,…
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…
Scotland 2030: Our Food Future
This seminar in September 2018 used Nourish Scotland’s vision of a sustainable food system in 2030 to prompt a discussion on food in Scotland. Features video of presentations and report.
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…
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 Scotland 2030 – Work…
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…
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
Reception in January 2018 to showcase Heriot-Watt University’s academic research behind Social Bite’s ambitious plan to tackle homelessness.
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: 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…
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? This video from 2017 explores what inventions we might see by 2030.
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…
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…
Technology: the driving force of human civilisation?
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 The first line of an article I read this morning proclaimed that: “Technology has driven human civilisation for thousands of years.” [1] Businessman Mukesh Ambani was discussing…
Civilisation: a question of terminology
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 5 April 2017 Before we consider what various stakeholders understand by the notion of a civilised nation or civilisation in the present, and even before we consider…
Scotland 2030: Greetings from another Futures Fellow
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 Whilst the current view from my window is not as symbolic as Eleanore’s (I’m currently working from home rather than the Parliament), I too found my thinking for…
Scotland 2030: Greetings from a Futures Fellow
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger As I write this I can see, to the right of my computer screen, the gorse-covered north-west side of an extinct volcano, a huge slab of rock…
IRISS – Imagining the Future Scenarios
What will community, support and social services mean and look like in 2025? Imagining the Future Scenarios There is absolutely no reason to expect that by 2025 social services in Scotland will look the same…
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…
The Oxfam Humankind Index for Scotland
Report from a conversation café in June 2011 held as part of the development of the Oxfam Humankind Index.
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
Seminar in November 2010 with public, private and voluntary sectors on an innovative way of funding solutions to social problems.
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
A scenario project from 2010 examining what sustainable communities might look like in Scotland in 2030. Features report and scenarios video.
The Future of Edinburgh’s Cultural Sector
In 2010, Scotland’s Futures Forum and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Sport Division engaged in a short-term project to explore the future of the city’s arts and culture sector. The purpose of the…
Scotland’s Public Finances
Project in 2010 looking at challenges to Scotland’s public finances from budget constraints, technological change and shifting relationships.
National Trust for Scotland: a Sustainable Future
A futures discussion paper on the National Trust for Scotland produced in 2010 for the Reid Review.
What might a Scottish welfare system look like in 2020?
Seminar in September 2009 on what might a Scottish welfare system look like in 2020? With Swedish expert Prof Joakim Palme
Poverty and Inequalities in Scotland
Conference in May 2009 on poverty and inequalities in Scotland. A decade after devolution, what has improved and what are the priorities for the future?
Growing Older and Wiser Together
Report from 2007 from a futures project taking a positive approach to an ageing society. Includes key questions and three scenarios for discussion