As the second component of the annual International Security Forum Bonn (ISFB) organized by CASSIS, the Bonn Future Lab on Strategic Foresight (BFL) was conceived as a knowledge-transfer platform bridging academia, practice, and the broader public. Together with our partners, we dedicate focused attention to global megatrends alongside issues that decisively shape the transatlantic agenda, which are traditionally addressed in the preceding Main Days of the ISFB. In 2025, the BFL convened under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space, Dorothee Bär.
Within the BFL framework, Bonn’s academic strengths in security, strategy, development, and sustainability research are coupled with the insights derived from the application of strategic foresight methodologies. To this end, the BFL integrates an international, transdisciplinary conference day dedicated to strategic sustainability issues with a two-day Strategic Foresight Workshop. In this workshop, 30 to 40 emerging experts—referred to as the “leaders of tomorrow”—are introduced to techniques and methods of strategic foresight, which they subsequently apply to the thematic focus of the BFL conference day, thereby facilitating the exploration of multiple potential futures. In 2025 alone, this format brought together over 100 participants from all continents.
The previous BFL dealt with the topic of “Securing a Sustainable Space.” It is clear that the strategic challenges, risks, and opportunities already arising from the accelerated competition for civil and military use of space make the study of astropolitics an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field. In addition to an overview of the various discussion topics covered during our conference, the BFL report also includes reflections from various participants on this important strategic topic, as well as a detailed presentation of the analyses of possible future scenarios developed during the workshop. The four high-level keynotes of the BFL by Matthias Wachter (Federation of German Industries), Major General Michael Traut (German Armed Forces Space Command), Dr. Gerald Braun (German Aerospace Center), and Paul Höller (State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia) served as a thematic introduction and basis for the following workshop days and can also be found in the Bonn Future Lab Report. Video recordings of all specialist presentations are also available on the YouTube channel and via the CASSIS website.
We are delighted that the roster of BFL partners continues to grow, and in 2025, the format was realized in close collaboration with both long-standing and new partners: the Stiftung Internationaler Dialog der Sparkasse Bonn, the Academy for International Affairs North Rhine-Westphalia, the German Armed Forces Space Command, the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung, the Gesellschaft für Sicherheitspolitik, Institut français Deutschland, the Institute for International Cooperation, Technological Diplomacy and Communication, the AmerikaHaus North Rhine-Westphalia, and the EPIS Thinktank. Through their individual support, these partners enabled the successful execution of this complex international format at the University of Bonn, an institution of excellence. We extend our deepest gratitude to all cooperating partners and to all individuals who contributed to BFL 2025.
