Creating the 21st Century

In June 1993 I attended the World Future Society's (WFS) Seventh General Assembly, "Creating the 21st Century: Rights, Responsibilities, and Action." As a member of both the WFS and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), I wanted to learn what the futurists were predicting that might affect human factors/ ergonomics professionals as we all approach the 21st century. WFS is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization for people who are interested in how social and technological developments are shaping the future. With more than 25,000 members, WFS serves as a nonpartisan clearinghouse for ideas about the future, including forecasts, recommendations, scenarios, and implications for alternative futures. Approximately 2000 people, including business leaders, members of Congress, scientists, scholars, planners, educators, and policymakers, attended the assembly. Attendees represented North America, Europe, Mrica, South America, the Middle East, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, the Russian Confederation, Asia, the Pacific Rim countries, and the Caribbean. The audience and the program participants provided a continuous flow of unique and stimulating discussions. I also found that in this setting, the terms global network and global economy were not merely the abstractions one reads or hears about. Here are highlights from some of the sessions.