Futures Conference 2027 focuses on the epistemological and ontological foundations of futures knowledge and the different ways these foundations can be understood and approached. It invites us to explore the multiple faces of futures studies and the diverse knowledge claims associated with them. At the heart of these claims lies the human and societal capacity to imagine, anticipate, and engage with futures. Individuals, organizations, and other collective actors continually build expectations, construct images of the future and scenarios, and open new temporal horizons.
This anticipatory capacity is a key characteristic of life and evolution. It is expressed through the expectations, narratives, and future imaginaries that individuals, organizations, and societies construct to engage with possible futures. When such imaginaries and expectations are articulated through narratives, visualizations, arguments, reports, scholarly articles, and other forms of expression, they become explicit forms of futures knowledge. In doing so, they become part of a collectively constructed futures repository: an evolving archive that is continuously renewed and transformed. Because future imaginaries emerge from diverse actors, contexts, and ways of knowing, futures knowledge itself takes multiple forms and embodies diverse knowledge claims. Futures research both examines and produces these diverse forms of knowledge through a wide range of theories, methods, and approaches.
The Futures Conference 2027 invites contributors to explore the following overarching questions:
- What kinds of futures knowledge do we need in the present moment, and how can such knowledge be cultivated?
- What counts as futures knowledge, who can claim authority over it, and how are its credibility, legitimacy, and value established across different knowledge traditions?
- How are futures knowledge and future imaginaries shaped by power, politics, positionality, and questions of inclusion, exclusion, responsibility, and accountability?
- How is futures knowledge mobilised, contested, neglected, or transformed in societies and organisations, and with what consequences?
The “Varieties of Futures Knowledge – Theories and Practices” creates a cross-sectoral platform for participants to meet, share and discuss topical issues. The program includes plenary lectures, parallel paper sessions and participatory workshops.
We aim to foster multidisciplinary, stimulating, and critical discussions that promote networking among people interested in futures research from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Submission of Abstracts
We invite researchers, scholars, practitioners, decision-makers and doctoral students from universities, research institutes, companies, and governmental and non-governmental organisations to share the latest research results, findings and thoughts on these key topics:
- Knowledge claims, epistemologies and ontologies of the future
- Theories and methods combined with practices of futures research
- Narratives, storytelling and future imaginaries
- Power, politics and decision-making in futures processes
- Decolonizing futures and pluralizing knowledge
- Creative futuring, speculative and experimental approaches
- Participation, co-creation and transformation in futures processes
- AI, digital technologies and the future of futures research
- Risks and uncertainty
- Organizational foresight, strategy and implementation
All the conference abstracts are peer reviewed by the Scientific Board of the Conference. Reviewers assess relevance, conceptual novelty, originality, technical or methodological quality, clarity, significance, and fit with the conference scope before an acceptance decision is made.
Submit your abstract (max. 400 words) for a paper presentation or an interactive workshop no later than 25 January 2027 via Webropol form:
Important Dates
- Deadline for the abstracts: 25 January 2027
- Notification of acceptance: 1 March 2027
Conference Organisers
‘’Varieties of Futures Knowledge – Theories and Practices’ is the 27th international Futures Conference of Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy, University of Turku.
Follow the event at futuresconference2027.com and with #futuresconference2027.
Read also about the previous Futures Conferences.
