Meetup with fellow APF UK members in Oxford

Note: This Post origianlly publihsed on my LinkedIn

Today, I had the pleasure of lunch and an in-person meetup with fellow APF UK members in Oxford.

Our conversation was wide-ranging: we shared stories of how we each got into futures and foresight, discussed the areas we're most excited about, and reflected on the challenges still facing our profession.

I learned a lot from everyone—just to name a few: from Cennydd Bowles, insights into tech ethical and design futures; from Graham Norris, the interplay between psychology and foresight; and from Tom Shorrock , the importance of the "S" and "G" in ESG, as well as the role of Non-formal education in youth engagement.

Thanks to Cennydd for organizing this gathering! Inspired by today, I'm considering hosting another foresight practitioner meetup in London next quarter. Let me know if you're interested!

PS: Fittingly, an exhibition titled "Oracles, Omens and Answers" is currently on display at the hashtag#WestonLibrary The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford. While no serious futurist should claims to predict the future, I think we could acknowledge the role fortune-tellers and diviners once played in grappling with uncertainty—laying the cultural groundwork for how we think about the futures today. Just as astronomy emerged from astrology, and chemistry from alchemy.

PPS: As part of the exhibition, there's a collection of questions people asked fortune-tellers throughout history. Interestingly (though perhaps unsurprisingly), these ancient questions echo our modern concerns: • "If I went abroad, would I do better at my trade?" — 5th century BCE • "Will I get the person I desire?" — c.0–300 CE • "Do I have an evil enemy intending mischief against me?" — 1618

As a tech enthusiast and progressive optimist, it strikes me that despite all our innovation, the questions that troubled our ancestors still feel deeply familiar. Maybe human nature hasn't changed all that much🙃

Note: This was not an official Association of Professional Futurists - APF event—just a community-led, self-organized gathering.

hashtag#FuturesThinking hashtag#Foresight hashtag#Futures hashtag#Meetup hashtag#APFUK hashtag#Networking