How resilient and well-functioning will Scotland’s environment be?
As part of the Scotland 2030 Programme, and on the basis that a strong society and economy can exist in the long term only if the environment – land, air and water – are functioning…
Session 5
Enlightenment Scotland: a “civilised nation”?
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.” This summary of a quotation from French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire is commonly used by commentators who wish…
Rugged, remote, rocky: Scotland and the Romantic imagination
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger A curious thing happened in Scotland during the Romantic period: vast numbers of tourists from Britain, Europe and elsewhere used new road networks and steam packet routes to access the…
Technology: the driving force of human civilisation?
The first line of an article I read this morning proclaimed that: “Technology has driven human civilisation for thousands of years.” [1] Businessman Mukesh Ambani was discussing the opportunities for India to become a world…
Civilisation: a question of terminology
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 5 April 2017 Before we consider what various stakeholders understand by the notion of a civilised nation or civilisation in the present, and even before we consider…
Scotland’s landscapes: natural or naturalised
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger 13 April 2017 Something has troubled me as I’ve progressed through my internship thinking about Scotland’s relationship to landscape. My research background in the Environmental Humanities has taught me to be…
Scotland 2030 Programme: Launch
Scotland’s Futures Forum – the Scottish Parliament’s in-house think tank – launched its Scotland 2030 programme on Wednesday 29 March 2017. Billed as an exploration of Scotland’s culture and society, the programme will ask what…
News from 2030 by Karine Polwart
As part of the launch of our Scotland 2030 Programme in March 2017, we asked award-winning folk singer, songwriter and essayist Karine Polwart (@IAMKP) to reflect on the cultural implications for our society from technological change. In…
Scotland 2030: The Technological Context
This debate with Karine Polwart and Chris van der Kuyl in March 2017 explored the effect technological innovation would have on life in Scotland.
Betty Bags a Booker by Karine Polwart
An imagined news story from 2030 by Karine Polwart. Written in 2017, “Betty Bags a Booker” reflects on the effect of automation on our society and culture.
A Digital Haven by Karine Polwart
An imagined news story from 2030 by Karine Polwart. Written in 2017, “A Digital Haven” reflects on the mixed effect of technology on Scotland’s rural areas.
Karmic Payback by Karine Polwart
An imagined news story from 2030 by Karine Polwart. Written in 2017, “Karmic Payback” reflects on the role of apps and personal data in our health and wellbeing.
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: Our Aspirations [1]
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate Read the Education in 2030: Our Aspirations – Event Report To kick off its investigation into education and learning in the future, the Goodison Group in Scotland…
Glaciation and imagination
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger I began my last post by describing the view from my Futures Forum desk. Looking past my computer towards Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags, I received what Neal Ascherson describes…
Scotland 2030: Greetings from another Futures Fellow
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 Whilst the current view from my window is not as symbolic as Eleanore’s (I’m currently working from home rather than the Parliament), I too found my thinking for…
Scotland 2030: Greetings from a Futures Fellow
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger As I write this I can see, to the right of my computer screen, the gorse-covered north-west side of an extinct volcano, a huge slab of rock…
New Kid on the Block
By Rob Littlejohn, Head of Business at Scotland’s Futures Forum Although I’ve titled this blogpost “New kid on the block”, I can’t pretend that I’m that new, having been in the privileged position of Head of…
Digital Democracy: Opportunities and Challenges for Scotland
Seminar with Nesta Scotland in February 2017 on what Scotland can learn from digital democracy pioneers throughout Europe.
Automation in the Scottish Economy
The growing level of automation in Scotland’s economy and the implications for our workforce was the subject of a Scotland’s Futures Forum’s Breakfast Seminar in 2017. Hosted by Richard Leonard MSP on behalf of the…
Fostering Cultures of Innovation
Workshop in November 2016 to support the SUII programme on Fostering Cultures of Innovation, featuring video presentations of each project.
Intergenerational Learning
With Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials all sharing the workplace, this forum debate in September 2016 focused on intergenerational learning.