Sri Lanka Foresight Initiative: SL is the 60th Node of The Millennium Project

The magnitude of the challenges that Sri Lanka is already facing with recent natural disaster and economic situation it is a crucial indicator of the need to provide the population with meaningful knowledge skill-sets that would create an environment for policymakers, legislatures and political groups to realign the decision-making process. 

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, Founder and Chairman Dirisaviya Foundation said that “the ‘Sri Lanka Foresight Initiative’ creates a great opportunity for Sri Lankan’s to contribute to the global information system across 15 challenges such as: Sustainable development and climate change, Clean water, Population and resources, Democratization, Global Foresight and Decision-making, Global convergence of IT, Rich-poor gap, Health issues, Education, Peace and Conflict, State of Women, Transnational organized crime, Energy, Science and technology, Global ethics. Dirisaviya Foundation will partner at national and regional levels with experts, scholars and organizations based on their contributions, expertise and knowledge for producing specific futures studies”

The lead responsibility as a country Node for The Millennium Project in Sri Lanka to help improve humanity’s future prospects. Jerome Glenn, co-Founder and Director of The Millennium Project said that “humanity needs to think together in a systematic research-based common platform about our planetary future; The Millennium Project’s annual “State of the Future” reports and the Global Futures Intelligence System has begun to address that need.” On behalf of The Millennium Project with its 60 Nodes around the world, Glenn welcomed the Sri Lanka Node to connect the views of Sri Lanka’s future-oriented institutions and individuals with others around the world to help build a better future for humanity as a whole.

Dirisaviya Foundation in its independent capacity will develop alliances with key stakeholders at the academic, business and government tiers, with individual experts and civil society organisations in order to advance the purposes of foresight thinking in policymaking and strategic planning in the country.

The Millennium Project is currently exploring future of work and technologies (such as artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, 3D/4D printing, nanotech, and their synergies). Over 350 futurists, AI experts, and other related experts from over 45 countries have provided inputs used to create three Future Work/Technology Global 2050 Scenarios. These detailed scenarios (totaling 33 pages) and analysis are being given to The Millennium Project Node Chairs around the world as input to national planning workshops. The results of these national workshops will be put together with some analysis and given to all participating countries so that each can see how their strategies relate to other nations’ strategies. The objective is to stimulate a global, systematic, research-based discussion on how to make the transition to a world economy changed by foreseeable future technologies.

The Millennium Project is a global participatory think tank connecting 60 Nodes around the world that identify important long-range challenges and strategies, and initiate and conduct fore-sight studies, workshops, symposiums, and advanced training. Its mission is to improve thinking about the future and make it available through a variety of media for feedback to accumulate wisdom about the future for better decisions today. It produces the annual “State of the Future” reports, the “Futures Research Methodology” series, the Global Futures Intelligence System (GFIS), and special studies.

Dirisaviya Foundation is a Non-Governmental, Not-For-Profit foundation which was founded by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera who is a Young Global Leader(WEF) in Sri Lanka. Its vision is to create a harmonious society with dignity and to empower individual citizens with the right tools. It started off with the launch of the powerful crowdsourced anti corruption platform (ipaidabribe.lk) and global dignity(globaldignity.org) program for school children. Interested individuals who wish to join could contact on [email protected] Subject: Millennium Project. For more information: http://www.millennium-project.org