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WELCOME TO TAMPERE IN JUNE 2011!

The 13th International Conference organized by Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy at University of Turku will deal with the different dimensions of a sustainable future.

Sustainable development is an important theme in local, regional and global scales and requires multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral cooperation. Environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development can only be achieved by encouraging knowledge sharing and cooperation between various sectors and decision makers. The decisions made today shape our future.

The methods of futures studies include tools for describing possible, probable and desirable variations of the present and drafting possible images of the future. By looking at the variety of different possibilities, we can come closer to shaping the future – rather than predicting it. Future studies offer valuable tools to understand and shape the development of our societies. This conference aims to bring together the best experts from the fields of Futures Studies and Sustainable Development and let the scientific community to interact with policymakers and representatives of companies. By developing images of alternative futures, the goal of the conference is to give new viewpoints and novel ideas to decision-makers to assist them towards more feasible decisions and a sustainable development.

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KEY AUDIENCES

  • Academics and researchers interested in future studies and various aspects of sustainable development
  • Research and Development Managers
  • Representatives of governmental and municipal organizations
  • Strategic planners

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SMILE PROJECT FINAL CONFERENCE

The conference will be the final conference of SMILE-project (Synergies in Multi-scale Inter-Linkages of Eco-social systems) as well. The SMILE has been funded by EU 7th Framework Programme. The consortium of the SMILE project is formed by various research organizations focusing on the different dimensions of sustainability: Finland Futures Research Centre (coordinator)/University of Turku, Parthenope University of Naples (Italy), Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain), Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Institute for Economic Forecasting (Romania), The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (UK) and Statistics Finland.