World Goodwill Newsletter 2024 #1
Illuminations of UN Buildings, New York, 2014. UN Photo: Mark Garten
Thinking the Future into Existence
Wise thinkers have, throughout the ages suggested that the substance of the world, and the essential dynamic of time, are imbued with a purposeful force, often understood as a divine impulse, driving the cycles and rounds of evolution. From this perspective our time is infused with the tension of transformation. Thoughts about what is possible shape the will in the present to bring about transformation in the future, aligning that will with a higher spirit of purpose. Focused imaginative thought about a world in which the natural quality of goodwill radiates through all the structures and systems of relationship makes initiatory transformation of human affairs a practical possibility.
In September the United Nations will assemble leaders of governments for a Summit of the Future. As part of preparations underway for the drafting of what will hopefully be a visionary Pact for the Future, networks and concentrated movements of intelligent goodwill are thinking deeply about paradigms, myths, strategies, and policies to lead us towards transformational possibilities.
This issue of Goodwill in World Affairs introduces the Summit of the Future and explores some key networks focused on thoughts about shaping the future. The next issue will continue this theme, with a deeper dive into some of these thoughts and ideas.
Articles are adapted from websites of featured groups
Download the Newsletter in PDF
Summit of the Future - Our Common Agenda
On the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, member states pledged to strengthen global governance for present and future generations. They requested that the Secretary-General report back with recommendations to respond to current and future challenges. That report, Our Common Agenda, issued a wake-up call to speed up the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and address gaps in global governance.
Read MoreWorld Future Council
The World Future Council is convinced that ideas, policies and practices to solve current problems already exist. As these solutions are implemented an environment is being fostered “where future generations can thrive, free from the burdens of environmental degradation, social injustice, and economic inequality.”
Read MoreWorld Futures Studies Federation
The World Futures Studies Federation has members in over 60 countries and is the principal global organization for academics, professionals and institutions engaged in Futures Studies.
Read MoreThe International Bateson Institute
The International Bateson Institute (IBI) supports and engages in research that increases our ability to take into account the many relationships that coexist in any context of living things. Its aim is to produce a more diverse “ecology of knowing” so that things can be understood in their fullness.
Read MoreFoundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS)
The Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS) is a “think-and-do tank” based in Belgium. Projects aim to generate ideas, thought, discussion and advocacy towards a “Grand Narrative of hope, for a people-centred, planet-friendly, inclusive and sustainable globalization in a digital world”.
Read MoreOthering & Belonging Institute
The Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, advances groundbreaking research, policy, and ideas that examine and remediate the processes of exclusion, marginalization, and structural inequality (“othering”) in order to build a world based on inclusion, fairness, justice, and care for the earth (“belonging”).
The Consilience Project
The Consilience Project is a publication of the Civilization Research Institute (CRI), a charitable think tank focused on reducing systemic fragility and advancing new forms of governance and coordination. CRI seeks to inform the next era of human collaboration and collective intelligence to ensure human and ecological thriving.
Read MoreJournal of Awareness-Based Systems Change
The Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change serves as a dynamic focal point for the growing community of researchers and practitioners in awareness or consciousness-based approaches to social transformation.
Read MoreWHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre
The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre has recently been established in Gujarat, India. It will gather evidence-based information and support research into the contribution that traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) play in global health and sustainable development. Respect for local heritage, resources and rights is a guiding principle for the Centre’s work.
Read More