Saturday, October 1, 2022 - 09:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Global megatrends such as climate change pose enormous challenges for international and national politics. Fields of foreign, security and development policy are not exempt, but are also affected by the consequences of climatic changes and their uncertainties. How does climate change affect global power relations? Do regional weather extremes lead to large-scale flight waves? Do wars and instability increase when local livelihoods are destroyed?

It is the task of sustainably successful politics to meet such challenges effectively, contain crises and develop opportunities. Strategic foresight is a practical method of doing this. Instead of indulging in fixed forecasts or wishful thinking about the future and thus constantly experiencing surprises, strategic foresight should help to think about possible futures (sic!) in different, alternative scenarios and to do it politically and economically with this broadly diversified view ahead enabling decision-makers to act in a crisis-proof manner in the interests of resilient institutions.

Strategic foresight has found its way into the general tool box in numerous examples in the private sector and in politics. Various federal ministries as well as the Chancellery maintain their own departments for precisely this purpose. But can this project be translated into the spheres of political decision-makers and the public, which demand edgy statements and definitive forecasts, and thus actually be used? On behalf of the federal government, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI examined the application of strategic foresight in German political practice. The co-author of the study, Dr. Philine Warnke will present the results to the participants of the Strategic Foresight Workshop of the Bonn Future Lab 2022 and the general public and will discuss current and future problems and potential.

No registration is required to attend in person.

Presentation:

Dr. Philine Warnke
Fraunhofer-Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung (ISI)

Moderation:

Prof. JD Bindenagel
Senior Professor CASSIS