Join us for an engaging event with two lectures exploring how future thinking and anticipatory governance help organizations respond to global challenges and shape future scenarios in a rapidly changing world.

10 December, 09:30-10:30 a.m..
Reaching for the Moon? How to Move Distant and Unknown Futures
Tor Hernes External link, opens in new window., Professor of Organization Theory at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). Adjunct Professor at University of South-Eastern Norway

ABSTRACT:
We know little about how organizations move towards distant and unknown futures. However, it is imperative to understand how, for example, actors can work towards CO2-neutral futures, which lie far beyond their strategic time horizons. The field has relied either on goal- or strategy-driven models or processes of imagining distant futures on the other. Neither of these seems satisfactory to understanding this crucially important conundrum of present-day organizations. I will discuss one way of
addressing the problem, based on a recent paper co-authored with Miriam Feuls and Majken Schultz, in which I propose the concept of path enactment. Path enactment is a way to understand how future solutions act as “placeholders” that constitute multiple possible paths towards the future. While enacting paths of solutions, actors draw upon various mechanisms to select or validate alternative paths. I conclude the presentation by suggesting further research.

11 December, 09:30-10:30 a.m..
Centres of Temporalization: The Tarfala Experiment
Anders Ekström External link, opens in new window., Professor of History of Science and Ideas, Uppsala University

ABSTRACT:
This lecture argues for the importance of understanding Anthropocene temporalities from the places of their making. Drawing on the history of Arctic fieldwork, and its legacy of knowledge in the intersection of natural and cultural history, the lecture will focus on the Tarfala valley in the high-alpine area of Kebnekaise in northern Sweden as a 'centre of temporalization' in the context of rapid Arctic warming. The lecture also aims to explore the ongoing convergence of temporalities between different scientific fields in the study of Anthropocene history, and the possibilities it brings for collaborative research in the future.

To register for in-person attendance, please contact Ellen Werner at ellen.werner@swedishcollegium.se and include any dietary preferences. Physical space is limited; however, online participation via Zoom will be available for those who cannot attend in person.

This event is part of the research project Global Foresight: Anticipatory Governance and the Making of Geocultural Scenarios, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.