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, hosted by the Henry Kissinger Chair. In 2025, the ISFB once again convened under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space, Dorothee Bär, reaffirming its status as the largest security policy event in North Rhine-Westphalia and the surrounding federal states.
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 2023 alone, this format brought together over 100 participants from all continents.
The most recent BFL focused on the theme “Securing a Sustainable Space.” It is evident that the strategic challenges, risks, and opportunities emerging from the accelerating competition for civilian and military use of outer space render space policy a field necessitating inter- and transdisciplinary inquiry. Beyond providing a comprehensive overview of the diverse discussion focal points addressed during the expert conference day, the BFL report also includes reflections from various participants on this critical strategic sustainability topic, as well as detailed accounts of the workshop analyses concerning potential futures. The three high-level BFL keynotes—delivered by Matthias Wachter (Federal Association of German Industry), Major General Michael Traut (German Armed Forces Space Command), and Dr. Gerald Braun (German Aerospace Center)—were made accessible to the International Days of the University of Bonn. Video recordings of all expert lectures are additionally available on the CASSIS YouTube channel and 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.
