“The fabric of society is woven with emotional threads, from empathy to outrage, and it is these feelings that shape both harmony and conflict in the world.” — Dalai Lama

Emotion Ecosystems 2040 — the foresight workshop hosted by Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) within the Eye of Europe project — was an inspiring, mind-expanding experience! The co-creation workshop was held on 📅24-25 June 2025 at 📌Conacul Cozieni, near Bucharest, Romania.

💡The event explored the concept of emotion ecosystems — the dynamic, interwoven emotional currents that shape our collectives, whether in communities, institutions, or digital spaces.
To capture this complexity, the event brought together voices from across disciplines and from across Europe: social psychology, psychotherapy, anthropology, philosophy, cultural history, spirituality, political science, art and the creative industries, journalism, media studies, science and technology studies, and robotics.

One portion of the workshop was dedicated to surfacing emotional tensions that mark our time:
🌀 Hyperconnection vs Isolation; 🌍Craving for unity vs Tribal polarization; 🩹 Healing collective traumas vs Solitary coping ...and many more. Using Causal Layered Analysis, participants unpacked these tensions through multiple layers — from surface narratives and systemic structures to the deeper worldviews and metaphors/myths that sustain them.

From there, each working group leaned into the future:
💡 by exploring drivers of change relevant for the tension discussed in their group, and then
💡 by discussing and proposing new metaphors, worldviews, beliefs, and systems that could soften or transform these tensions. Ultimately, the goal was to imagine what more desirable emotional futures might look like.

The stages of the implemented process were as follows:

1. Shared understanding of the current situation in the mountain areas
The discussions within the working groups started from a set of summarized information from the extensive analyses previously conducted, structured by strengths and weaknesses, along with additional synthetic data on the tourism, agriculture, forestry, and wood industry sectors.

2. Selection of the drivers of change
The working groups explored and enriched a list of factors/trends that influence the contextual change toward the 2035 horizon, across various dimensions: social, technological, economic, ecological, geopolitical, and values-based factors.

3. Scenario projection for 2035
Based on thematically grouped change drivers, the working groups envisioned and described the state of mountain areas in 2035 under the influence of these drivers, in the absence of strategic corrective interventions.

4. Identification of aspirations – key values, opportunities, best practices
The groups proposed and debated a series of values and aspirations for the future of mountain areas by 2035, including inspiration from best practices in other countries.

5. Consolidation of aspirations into clear directions for transforming mountain areas
This stage involved grouping aspirations by thematic areas, more clearly articulating the transformation vector, and partially exploring concrete actions that would enable these transformations. The sum of these transformation directions forms the **Vision for mountain areas by 2035**.

6. Roadmapping - includes the set of actions that support progress toward the desirable transformation of the mountain areas, across multiple levels.

7. Priority directions
Participants in the workshops identified the actions perceived as the most impactful and/or urgent in transforming mountain areas.

The project relies on a foresight methodology that involves a number of co-creation workshops with stakeholders in the sector. The workshops engaged participants in a step-by-step process, as follows:

1. Building a common understanding of the current societal/consumer behaviors and attitudes (level of fish and seafood consumption, types of products consumed, preference for local products, expectations regarding traceability, environmental concerns etc.);
2. Assessing the evolution of societal/consumer expectations by 2035 (on the same parameters as above);
3. Mapping the current fishing and aquaculture system, in terms if strengths and weaknesses;
4. Sketching the inertial future scenario of the fishing and aquaculture sector in Romania, meaning the likely scenario for 2035 in the absence of corrective policy interventions;
5. Identifying future opportunities that would allow the system to progress towards more desirable scenarios than the inertial scenario;
6. Collaboratively developing normative scenarios, capitalizing on selected opportunities;
7. Based on the normative scenarios, extracting the main pillars of a future vision for 2035;
8. Describing, in more depth, the vision components;
9. Identifying the areas of transformation that enble achieving the vision;
10. Calibrating strategic objectives for 2030, taking into account the pace of transformation;
11. Identifying governance principles.
    

The third Mutual Learning Event (MLE) of project Eye of Europe took place online on January 21st, 2025. As a Coordination and Support Action, project Eye of Europe aims to enhance the integration of foresight practices into the Research and Innovation (R&I) policy-making across Europe and to nurture a vibrant, cohesive R&I foresight community that contributes significantly, as a collective intelligence, to shaping and guiding policy decisions.

Over forty participants from diverse stakeholder groups joined the event: Eye of Europe partner organizations, representatives from the European Commission, R&I funding agencies, representatives of governmental bodies. Expert presentations of two European and one national foresight exercises showcased diverse practices for integrating foresight results into the R&I policy cycle and formed the basis for vivid discussions in three interactive sessions.

Presentations:

• Project coordinator Radu Gheorghiu (UEFISCDI, Romania) introduced the Eye of Europe project as a social infrastructure supporting the strenghtening of the European foresight community. To this end, Eye of Europe hosts a series of activities: five mutual learning events, eleven pilot foresight activities and two conferences - highlighting the upcoming Futures4Europe conference to be held in Vienna on May 15-16, 2025. Moreover, the project enabled the upgrade of the platform futures4europe.eu to better serve its role as the online home of a vibrant and inclusive European foresight community. Multiple new improvements of the platform were shared in the closing section of the event.
• Moderator of the event Lenka Hebáková (TC Prague, Czech Republic) followed up with an introduction on the event´s aims and agenda.
• Nikos Kastrinos (former EC) shared about the Foresight on Demand project "Foresight towards the Second Strategic Plan of Horizon Europe”, providing insights into how foresight was employed and linked with the policy cycle in the period of HE strategies setting.
• “Megatrends 2050 in a Changing World and their Impact on Portugal” presented by Monica Isfan (PlanAPP, Portugal) showcased Portugal's experience with embedding foresight in the context of strategic planning.
• Klaus Kubeczko (AIT, Austria) and Jürgen Wengel (former EC) shared about the Foresight on Demand project “S&T&I 2050: Science, technology and innovation for ecosystem performance : accelerating sustainability transitions“ on mapping the relationship between emerging trends in science, technology and innovation and ecosystem performance in the context of the European Green Deal. Moreover, the presentation highlighted the project's engagement of a wide range of STI experts in a Dynamic Argumentative Delphi survey.

This event is the third in a series of five MLEs planned in the project; the following event will be held beginning April 2025 in Budapest. All Eye of Europe MLEs are organized by Technology Centre Prague (TC), Eye of Europe partner and key Czech national think tank and academia based NGO with a rich experience with knowledge-based policy making support and (participatory as well as expert based) foresight activities.

The general objective of the project was of strengthening the anticipatory capacity for the development of evidence-based public policies in the field of Research, development and Innovation (RDI) in Romania.

A considerable part of the project consisted in the elaboration of the National Strategy for Research, Innovation and Smart Specialization 2022-2027 and the key implementation instrument, namely The National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation 2022-2027.

The foresight components of the project included:

- A Vision building process for setting the sistemic transformations by 2030

- The foresight based entrepreneurial discovery process for selecting national smart specializations

- The priority setting for the National Research Agenda, which is focused on societal challanges.

The foresight results have been integrated in the final documents (e.g. national strategy and plan) and adopted by Governmental decision.

The National Strategy for Research, Innovation, and Smart Specialisation (SNCISI) 2022–2027 represents Romania’s comprehensive approach to fostering a modern, sustainable, and impactful research and innovation ecosystem. Coordinated by the Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization (MCID), this strategy aligns with Romania’s national development goals and its commitments under the European Research Area (ERA). SNCISI is designed to address pressing societal challenges, stimulate economic transformation, and elevate Romania’s global standing in research and innovation.

This strategy highlights the pivotal role of research, development, and innovation (RDI) in driving sustainable growth, advancing scientific discovery, and creating new technologies that directly enhance quality of life, productivity, and economic competitiveness. At its core, the SNCISI aims to integrate the principles of open science, ensure inclusivity in research priorities, and align Romania’s efforts with global and European benchmarks.

Through SNCISI, Romania emphasises a dual commitment: first, to support foundational and applied research excellence by creating favourable conditions for researchers, institutions, and private stakeholders; second, to catalyse public-private collaboration that addresses challenges like climate change, digitalization, and health crises. The strategy views science and innovation not merely as tools for economic growth but as vital contributors to societal well-being and global problem-solving.

SNCISI’s development is rooted in an extensive consultative process involving regional and national stakeholders, ensuring that the strategy is representative of Romania’s diverse socioeconomic landscape. It integrates input from academia, government, industry, and civil society to outline actionable pathways that connect research activities with tangible societal and economic outcomes.

The strategy is framed around four major objectives (OGs) and five smart specialisation domains that align with regional and national strengths. These axes ensure a coherent alignment of resources, infrastructure, and expertise to drive both regional and national priorities forward.

Objectives include:

OG1: Developing the research, development, and innovation system.
OG2: Supporting innovation ecosystems tied to smart specialisations.
OG3: Mobilising towards innovation by enhancing collaboration with the private sector.
OG4: Increasing European and international collaboration.
The SNCISI underscores a commitment to modernising infrastructure, attracting and retaining talented researchers, and fostering an innovation-driven economy. Through its structured framework, it also ensures that public funds are allocated effectively to stimulate high-impact, sustainable outcomes.

We will give you a short introduction to Futures4All and explain how you can use this platform to connect, create, inspire, and be inspired. At the end of the event, you will also have the opportunity to ask questions.

Every month we discuss a different emerging topic and invite experts to start the discussion. Afterwards, the community has the opportunity to engage in the discussion.

Topic in April: AI and Transhumanism - How machines will change our lives in the future?

Speakers: 

• Fabian J. G. Westerheide (Founder & CEO of Rise of AI)
• Ana Chubinidze (AI Governance, AI Policy Advisor, CEO @AdalanAI & Founder @AIGI)
• Samira Khan ( Director, Citizenship + Market Dev, AI & Sustainability at Microsoft)
• Elisa Czerski (Founder and CEO at N Robotics )

Each month we discuss a different emerging topic and invite experts to open the discussion in a panel setup. Afterwards, the community has the opportunity to engage in the discussion via a QnA or Fishbowl session, depending on the topic and the number of participants.

If you're interested in becoming a speaker for one of our other events, please send us an email at info@futures4europe.org

The Futures Wheel is a form of structured brainstorming that helps participants visualize the impact of trends or emerging signals.
Registration is closed

In this workshop, we will use the method Futures Wheel to explore the following futures topics:

• Smart Spaces
• Climate Change
• Global Commons
• Social Confrontation
• Criminal and Lawful Activities
• Transhumanist Revolution
• General AI
• Alternative Energy Sources

The participants can decide between different breakout rooms to discuss the impacts of the topics on the near and far future.

Purpose of the method
The Futures Wheel is a form of structured brainstorming that helps participants visualize how and to what extent trends or events might impact the organization, society or strategy area in question. It is particularly useful for identifying and mapping connections and causalities. It also helps us think far into the future as it is a very flexible, yet powerful tool.

Read more: https://millennium-project.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/06-Futures-Wheel.pdf

During this event, we will shortly introduce new platform features and how to participate before we open the conversation and provide the opportunity for 1:1 networking. We believe that in current times of social distancing and uncertainty, these human connections inspire our thinking.

During this event, we will shortly introduce new platform features and how to participate before we open the conversation and provide the opportunity for 1:1 networking. We believe that in current times of social distancing and uncertainty, these human connections inspire our thinking.

The 1:1 networking sessions enable all participants to simply exchange their field of expertise or start an interesting discussion around one of the topics of our future. We will provide some stimulating questions during the sessions and encourage you to join our Open Space group afterwards to continue growing your network.

To RSVP become a member of our community, so you can interact with others on the platform.

This event has a group. You’re welcome to join the group once you register for the event.

Todays topic will be in alignment of the #EUGreenWeek 2022: EU GREEN DEAL - MAKE IT REAL. Together with DIGIPRIME and EFPF, we will take a closer look at digital technology to boost a more resillient economy!
DIGIPRIME and EFPF are two Horizon 2020 projects focused on developing digital platforms.

As the Horizon 2020 research program becomes Horizon Europe, what better time to witness how great ideas turned into real projects? LOOPS will be the opportunity to show what cutting-edge research has been produced, and which changes it can bring to our communities. For those who are not familiar with it, LOOPS is a live webinar series committed to spotlighting innovation in the field of circular economy and sustainability.

Todays topic will be in alignment of the #EUGreenWeek 2022: EU GREEN DEAL - MAKE IT REAL. Together with DIGIPRIME and EFPF, we will take a closer look at digital technology to boost a more resillient economy!

DIGIPRIME and EFPF, are two Horizon 2020 projects focused on developing digital platforms.

Speakers of today will be Marcello Colledani from DIGIPRIME and Alexandros Nizamis from EFPF.

The Secretary General of Veltha, Luca Polidory will be the host of todays episode.

Check out DIGIPRIME here: https://www.digiprime.eu/

Check out EFPF here: https://www.efpf.org/

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9AK7SpmR34 

This conference brings twenty industry leaders and experts together to spotlight the current and future best business practices propelled by AI and other cognitive technologies. Register here: https://swisscognitive.ch/ai-events/ai-the-global-green-deal/#1625664318088-c59c36f9-fdd4

In Brief

There are no organisations and industries which should not put green business practices on the top of their agenda. This conference brings twenty industry leaders and experts together to spotlight the current and future best business practices propelled by AI and other cognitive technologies, paving our path to a future with a societal welfare and blooming economies on a healthy planet.

In Detail

Stemming out from the idea of the European Green Deal initiated by the European Commission, this conference escalates the challenge to the global agenda. In our globalized world where everything is interconnected, best practices have no boarders – neither geographically nor in time. How we run our businesses has a crucial impact not only on immediate business performance but also on people, societies, and economies worldwide, as well as on our fragile planet, both today and in the future.

It is our top responsibility today to find the most innovative practices and applications that pave our ways into a sustainable future. Emerging technologies play a fundamental role in this – making processes more effective and products greener while minimizing waste and lowering the use & costs of resources.

Main Focus Points – Insights into best business practices featured by AI – Technological Social Responsibility – The need and potentials of cognitive technology innovations – Challenges, successes, failures, solutions, potentials.

Register here: https://swisscognitive.ch/ai-events/ai-the-global-green-deal/#1625664318088-c59c36f9-fdd4 

For 2022 Rise of AI will return to its roots. On two stages and various interactive formats, our 30+ speakers will cover the following topics which are stated below. Register here: https://hopin.com/events/riseofai-conference-2022/registration

Since 2015, the annual Rise of AI conference connects AI experts, decision-makers, opinion leaders and game changers to discuss Artificial Intelligence for society, politics and economy.

For 2022 Rise of AI will return to its roots. On two stages and various interactive formats, our 30+ speakers will cover the following topics and more:

• Is AI evil?
• Can AI heal the World?
• AI is happening now, deal with it or die
• Large AI Models from a Global Perspective
• Challenges of the European AI ecosystem
• Social responsibility of media in times of AI
• Trust in AI - is your AI compliant and explainable?
• The new AI - how we make AI social, creative and climate-friendly
• 25-year anniversary: the fastest way of computing all possible metaverses and its consequences for physics and philosophy.

Attendance live in person in Berlin only by invitation (use this Typeform to apply for an invite).

Register online via this link: https://hopin.com/events/riseofai-conference-2022/registration 

FREE Webinar and Networking Event
EU Missions provide new funding opportunities for impact oriented research and innovation projects in Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research and innovation programme.

EU Missions provide new funding opportunities for impact oriented research and innovation projects in Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research and innovation programme. They

• address grand societal challenges by applying new forms of governance and collaboration, 
• aim to mobilise and activate public and private actors to create real and lasting impact, 
• engage with citizens to boost societal uptake of new solutions and make it easier for them to understand the value of investments in research and innovation.

A broad variety of tools allow for the co-creation of solutions, technologies and products together with different societal groups and individual citizens. In the EU funded project LIVING INNOVATION [https://www.living-innovation.net/explore], we further developed, tested and documented several of them. Now, we would like to share our insights and initiate new partnerships.  

Attend our Webinar and Networking event and 

• exchange experiences on how co-creation, responsible and inclusive innovation can be integrated in research and innovation projects, 
• gain insights into the pros and cons of individual tools, such as Responsible Design Thinking, 
• initiate new collaborations for your next project and be part of a powerful network.  

Meet our experts:

🔶 Andre Martinuzzi, Head of the Institute for Managing Sustainability and Coordinator of the LIVING INNOVATION project: "Responsible Innovation means to co-develop solutions with and for the people."

🔶 Florian Findler, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Managing Sustainability: "Co-creation needs a clear compass to gain socially desirable outcomes."

🔶 Ursula Kopp, Design Thinking expert and facilitator of national and international stakeholder dialogues: "We integrated key aspects of responsibility and sustainability into design-thinking with a sound scientific basis."

🔶 Anja Grüll, PhD candidate at Vienna University of Economics and Business: "We developed a toolbox for inclusive innovation that allows blind and visually impaired people to participate fully in innovation."

Learn more about the event and sign up on Linkedin .

During this event, we will shortly introduce new platform features and how to participate before we open the conversation and provide the opportunity for 1:1 networking. We believe that in current times of social distancing and uncertainty, these human connections inspire our thinking.

During this event, we will shortly introduce new platform features and how to participate before we open the conversation and provide the opportunity for 1:1 networking. We believe that in current times of social distancing and uncertainty, these human connections inspire our thinking.

The 1:1 networking sessions enable all participants to simply exchange their field of expertise or start an interesting discussion around one of the topics of our future. We will provide some stimulating questions during the sessions and encourage you to join our Open Space group afterwards to continue growing your network.

To RSVP become a member of our community, so you can interact with others on the platform.

This event has a group. You’re welcome to join the group once you register for the event.

We focus on alternative futures of Europe, on regimes of stewardship of land and sea and address the role of ownership, access and use rights in rural areas (cities excluded), multiple uses of spaces (both land and sea), biodiversity, food (both aquaculture, fisheries and agriculture), energy (use of renewables), raw materials (mining etc.), carbon removal and storage, adaptation to climate change. While the challenges are global, they are addressed especially from the European research and innovation policy perspective.

Background and aim

The European Commission, DG RTD, has commissioned foresight projects to serve as a source of inspiration for the adjustment of existing and the identification of novel directions that Horizon Europe may want to take from 2025 onwards through its 2nd Strategic Plan.

This workshop brings together work from different projects on topics associated with potential disruptions and will aim to tease out implications for R&I policy and its contributions to important emerging challenges and opportunity spaces.

The aim of the workshop is to discuss the explorations of the future in a number of dynamic fields within a community of R&I foresight experts and representatives from European and national R&I policy organisations. The discussion will aim to prepare and strengthen a broader engagement effort through the online platform futures4europe.eu.

Participants:

• Experts from the European Commission and the Member States and Associated Countries’ R&I policy agencies
• Research and subject matter experts
• Members of Futures4Europe.eu
• Public who is interested in sharing insights and shaping Europe's future

You're invited to participate in the event - simply click on the RSVP button below and add your details to save your spot. The details for the event link will be sent approximately one week before the event via email.

We focus on alternative futures of Europe, on regimes of stewardship of land and sea and address the role of ownership, access and use rights in rural areas (cities excluded), multiple uses of spaces (both land and sea), biodiversity, food (both aquaculture, fisheries and agriculture), energy (use of renewables), raw materials (mining etc.), carbon removal and storage, adaptation to climate change. While the challenges are global, they are addressed especially from the European research and innovation policy perspective.

We focus on alternative futures of Europe, on regimes of stewardship of land and sea and address the role of ownership, access and use rights in rural areas (cities excluded), multiple uses of spaces (both land and sea), biodiversity, food (both aquaculture, fisheries and agriculture), energy (use of renewables), raw materials (mining etc.), carbon removal and storage, adaptation to climate change. While the challenges are global, they are addressed especially from the European research and innovation policy perspective.

Join us on May 24, 2023 at 10 am for the online relaunch of Futures4Europe.eu and find out what's new! Together with members from our community, we will take a look at exciting new features and ways to interact on futures4europe.eu.

Check out our program for more details!

Root causes and structural conditions of social confrontations (ideological divisions, discrimination, inequalities in access to resources, environmental issues, etc.) both online and offline.

The evolving complexity of global challenges is increasingly affecting the steering of European Research and Innovation which aims at addressing important present and future societal concerns. The idea of ‘watching futures’ to anticipate future possibilities and analyse the consequences of current choices to inform and shape a forward-looking EU R&I policy is continuously gaining ground.

In this light, as part of the ‘European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe’ study launched by the European Commission in connection to the Horizon Europe Foresight Network, a series of online workshops will take place during the Spring and early Summer of 2023.

These workshops, which will run for two hours each, will discuss insights stemming from thematic policy briefs compiled by expert panels, addressing possible future scenarios for critical issues (i.e., social confrontations, use and management of land and sea, science for policy, etc.). Each workshop will feature experts from the panels who developed the policy brief, guest speakers from relevant EU R&I projects and policy-makers, and will involve extensive engagement with participants.

We organise a series of three workshops: the first two are devoted to devise scenarios, while the third one will derive policy implications.

On behalf of the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation, the “Foresight on Demand” consortium is conducting a foresight-like project “European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe”. Eight deep-dive studies are to be conducted in 2023, leading to policy briefs to support European Union and national policy-makers. One of these topics is the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” with a time horizon of 2040.

Please express your interest to contribute to building scenarios on the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” by filling in the form below. This Deep Dive project considers – among other issues – the possibility of identifying, differentiating, and controlling criminal and lawful economic activities, the relevant trend and drivers shaping the possible futures for the interpenetration of these activities, the level of control technically feasible and socially and economically desirable to fight the interpenetration of criminal economic activities. The policy brief will highlight the major implications for EU and national policy-makers, with an emphasis on research and innovation policies.

We organise a series of three workshops: the first two of those are devoted to devise scenarios, while the third one would derive policy implications:

- the 1st scenario WS is to be held from 10:00 to 13:00 on 12 June 2023,

- the 2nd scenario WS is to be held from 16:30 to 19:30 on 26 June 2023,

- the policy implications WS is to be held in September (tba).

Stewardship of land and sea, including access and usage rights in rural regions, use of land and sea space, preservation of biodiversity, and sourcing of energy and raw materials.

The evolving complexity of global challenges is increasingly affecting the steering of European Research and Innovation which aims at addressing important present and future societal concerns. The idea of ‘watching futures’ to anticipate future possibilities and analyse the consequences of current choices to inform and shape a forward-looking EU R&I policy is continuously gaining ground.

In this light, as part of the ‘European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe’ study launched by the European Commission in connection to the Horizon Europe Foresight Network, a series of online workshops will take place during the Spring and early Summer of 2023.

These workshops, which will run for two hours each, will discuss insights stemming from thematic policy briefs compiled by expert panels, addressing possible future scenarios for critical issues (i.e., social confrontations, use and management of land and sea, science for policy, etc.). Each workshop will feature experts from the panels who developed the policy brief, guest speakers from relevant EU R&I projects and policy-makers, and will involve extensive engagement with participants.

Trends that are likely to shape the ecosystem of science advice to policy in Europe in the future and their impacts

The evolving complexity of global challenges is increasingly affecting the steering of European Research and Innovation which aims at addressing important present and future societal concerns. The idea of ‘watching futures’ to anticipate future possibilities and analyse the consequences of current choices to inform and shape a forward-looking EU R&I policy is continuously gaining ground.

In this light, as part of the ‘European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe’ study launched by the European Commission in connection to the Horizon Europe Foresight Network, a series of online workshops will take place during the Spring and early Summer of 2023.

These workshops, which will run for two hours each, will discuss insights stemming from thematic policy briefs compiled by expert panels, addressing possible future scenarios for critical issues (i.e., social confrontations, use and management of land and sea, science for policy, etc.). Each workshop will feature experts from the panels who developed the policy brief, guest speakers from relevant EU R&I projects and policy-makers, and will involve extensive engagement with participants. 

We organise a series of three workshops: the first two are devoted to devise scenarios, while the third one will derive policy implications.

On behalf of the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation, the “Foresight on Demand” consortium is conducting a foresight-like project “European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe”. Eight deep-dive studies are to be conducted in 2023, leading to policy briefs to support European Union and national policy-makers. One of these topics is the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” with a time horizon of 2040.

Please express your interest to contribute to building scenarios on the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” by filling in the form below. This Deep Dive project considers – among other issues – the possibility of identifying, differentiating, and controlling criminal and lawful economic activities, the relevant trend and drivers shaping the possible futures for the interpenetration of these activities, the level of control technically feasible and socially and economically desirable to fight the interpenetration of criminal economic activities. The policy brief will highlight the major implications for EU and national policy-makers, with an emphasis on research and innovation policies.

We organise a series of three workshops: the first two of those are devoted to devise scenarios, while the third one will derive policy implications:

• the 1st scenario WS is to be held from 10:00 to 13:00 on 12 June 2023,
• the 2nd scenario WS is to be held from 16:30 to 19:30 on 26 June 2023,
• the policy implications WS is to be held in September (tba).

We organise a series of four workshops: the first three are devoted to devise scenarios, while the fourth one will derive policy implications.

On behalf of the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation, the “Foresight on Demand” consortium is conducting a foresight-like project “European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe”. Eight deep-dive studies are to be conducted in 2023, leading to policy briefs to support European Union and national policy-makers. One of these topics is the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” with a time horizon of 2040.

Please express your interest to contribute to building scenarios on the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” by filling in the form below. This Deep Dive project considers – among other issues – the possibility of identifying, differentiating, and controlling criminal and lawful economic activities, the relevant trend and drivers shaping the possible futures for the interpenetration of these activities, the level of control technically feasible and socially and economically desirable to fight the interpenetration of criminal economic activities. The policy brief will highlight the major implications for EU and national policy-makers, with an emphasis on research and innovation policies.

We organise a series of four workshops: the first three of those are devoted to devise scenarios, while the fourth one will derive policy implications:

• the 1st scenario WS is to be held from 10:00 to 13:00 on 12 June 2023,
• the 2nd scenario WS is to be held from 16:30 to 19:30 on 26 June 2023,
• the 3rd scenario WS is to be held from 16:00 to 18:00 on 31 July 2023,
• the policy implications WS is to be held from 16:00 to 18:00 on 4 September 2023.

We organise a series of four workshops: the first three are devoted to devise scenarios, while the fourth one will derive policy implications.

On behalf of the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation, the “Foresight on Demand” consortium is conducting a foresight-like project “European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe”. Eight deep-dive studies are to be conducted in 2023, leading to policy briefs to support European Union and national policy-makers. One of these topics is the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” with a time horizon of 2040.

Please express your interest to contribute to building scenarios on the “Futures of interpenetration of criminal and lawful economic activities” by filling in the form below. This Deep Dive project considers – among other issues – the possibility of identifying, differentiating, and controlling criminal and lawful economic activities, the relevant trend and drivers shaping the possible futures for the interpenetration of these activities, the level of control technically feasible and socially and economically desirable to fight the interpenetration of criminal economic activities. The policy brief will highlight the major implications for EU and national policy-makers, with an emphasis on research and innovation policies.

We organise a series of four workshops: the first three of those are devoted to devise scenarios, while the fourth one will derive policy implications:

• the 1st scenario WS is to be held from 10:00 to 13:00 on 12 June 2023,
• the 2nd scenario WS is to be held from 16:30 to 19:30 on 26 June 2023,
• the 3rd scenario WS is to be held from 16:00 to 18:00 on 31 July 2023,
• the policy implications WS is to be held from 16:00 to 18:00 on 4 September 2023.

We organise a series of three workshops: the first two are devoted to devise scenarios, while the third one will derive policy implications.

Alongside digitalisation and automation trends, the shift towards greener and more sustainable economies is a game changer in EU labour markets. Grounded in long-term transformative trends spanning several decades, the green transitions are picking up speed. The resulting changes in skill1 needs will have impacts far beyond the key occupations driving them, affecting all economic sectors. An important challenge for the coming years is accelerating up- and reskilling so that people have the green skills to thrive in greener jobs.
In this workshop, we seek to develop scenarios for the future of green skills and jobs. The series is part of the "European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe" project. It supports the work of the Horizon Europe Foresight Network and provides intelligence and supports the development of a European R&I foresight community.

The evolving complexity of global challenges is increasingly affecting the steering of European Research and Innovation which aims at addressing important present and future societal concerns. The idea of ‘watching futures’ to anticipate future possibilities and analyse the consequences of current choices to inform and shape a forward-looking EU R&I policy is continuously gaining ground. 

In this light, as part of the ‘European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe’ study launched by the European Commission in connection to the Horizon Europe Foresight Network, a second series of online workshops will take place during October – November 2023.

The workshops, which will run for two hours each, will discuss insights stemming from thematic policy briefs compiled by expert panels, addressing possible future scenarios for critical issues (i.e., Interpretation of Criminal and Lawful Activities, Green Skills and Jobs, Big Tech, etc.). Following the presentation of each policy brief, each workshop will feature two focus groups: one involving the group of experts from the panel who developed the policy brief and one including representatives from topic-relevant EU-funded R&I projects. All events will foster extensive engagement with participants, including policymakers.

This event will bring together participants from a Mutual Learning Exercise on R&I Foresight supported by the European Commission, with other policymakers, experts and interested stakeholders to discuss the lessons and takeaways from the year long process.

The Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) on R&I Foresight was launched in July 2022 at the request of Member States supported by DG Research and Innovation of the European Commission. Nine countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia), the European Commission and a team of foresight experts, have been actively involved.

The aim of the MLE was to facilitate the exchange of information, experiences and lessons from the practice of R&I foresight across EU and Associated Countries, in order to contribute to the development of an impactful R&I foresight community as an important element of the European Research Area.

Location: Estonian Permanent Representation , Rue Guimard 11, 1040 Bruxelles, Belgium

We organise a series of three workshops: the first two were devoted to devising scenarios, while the third one was meant to derive policy implications.

Alongside digitalisation and automation trends, the shift towards greener and more sustainable economies is a game changer in EU labour markets. Grounded in long-term transformative trends spanning several decades, the green transitions are picking up speed. The resulting changes in skill1 needs will have impacts far beyond the key occupations driving them, affecting all economic sectors. An important challenge for the coming years is accelerating up- and reskilling so that people have the green skills to thrive in greener jobs.

In this workshop, we seek to develop policy implications based on the scenarios which were devloped in the previous workshops. The series is part of the "European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe" project. It supports the work of the Horizon Europe Foresight Network and provides intelligence and supports the development of a European R&I foresight community.

JRC hosted a panel discussion at the UN Summit of the Future on September 21st 2024 on how foresight can complement classical risk assessment methods.

The United Nations will publish its first Global Risk Report in Autumn 2024. This follows the UNDRR UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission published in June 2024 its report "Risks on the Horizon". In addition, the World Economic Forum published its Global Risk Report in January 2024 . The panel gathered together experts behind these reports and speakers highlight how existing foresight methods can help to identify future risks, many of which were inter-generational, by using methods which do not rely on a risk already being known.

The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) is a public institution with legal personality subordinate to the Ministry of National Education in Romania.

Attributions:

• we assist the National Council for the Financing of Higher Education (CNFIS) in the elaboration of proposals for methodologies and documentation related to the financing of higher education;
• we coordinate, under the scientific guidance of the advisory councils of the Ministry of Education with responsibilities in R&I, programs within the National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation;
• we carry out and implement institutional and system development projects, related to higher education, research, development or innovation, with national and international funding, with the approval of the Ministry of Education;
• we offer consultancy and technical assistance for the development and management of projects within the domestic and international programs of scientific research, technological development and stimulation of innovation.

The second Mutual Learning Event (MLE) took place online on September 26, 2024, as part of Eye of Europe, a Horizon Europe project  which aims to enhance the integration of foresight practices into Research and Innovation (R&I) policy-making across Europe and to nurture a vibrant, cohesive R&I foresight community that contributes significantly, as a collective intelligence, to shaping and guiding policy decisions.

The online MLE brought together fifty participants from diverse stakeholder groups: Eye of Europe partner organizations, the European Commission, R&I funding agencies, representatives of governmental bodies. The event, organized by Technology Centre Prague (TC), focused on the topic of policy oriented communication of foresight results. Group and plenary discussions in three interactive sessions were framed by expert presentations showcasing diverse practices in the application and communication of foresight.

Presentations:

• Michal Pazour (TC Prague, Czech Republic) introduced the Eye of Europe project and the context of this second Mutual Learning Event.
• Moderator of the event Lenka Hebáková (TC Prague, Czech Republic) followed up with an introduction to the event’s aims and agenda.
• Mikko Dufva (SITRA, Finland) – “Communicating foresight. From knowing it all to empowering change”. The presentation included three case studies: SITRA’s decade long experience with megatrends as a platform for dialogue, their work on weak signals as an invitation to broaden futures thinking in a “what if?” spirit and, finally, their efforts to empower others to define futures bottom-up, through small funding to diverse teams across Finland.
• “Communicating foresight in the European Commission” presented by Maia Knutti and Teodora Garbovan (EU Policy Lab, European Commission) brought insights into how, in the European Commission context, foresight is employed and linked with the policy cycle. Examples covered foresight content (e.g. Strategic Foresight Reports) and engagement tools (e.g. megatrends hub, scenario exploration system) that are serving different stakeholder groups across multiple channels.
• Bianca Dragomir (Institutul de Prospectiva, Romania) discussed a case study on embedding foresight into policy making in the context of developing the Strategy for Fishing and Aquaculture 2035 in Romania. Moreover, she shared about embedding foresight into both policy making and societal conversation, discussing two Foresight on Demand projects: Scenarios on “Transhumanist Revolutions” and foresight-meets-speculative-design project “Futures Garden”.
• Totti Könnölä (Insight Foresight Institute, Spain) shared about the Foresight on Demand project "European R&I foresight and public engagement for Horizon Europe" that advanced several objectives: generating foresight intelligence, i.e. through forward-looking policy briefs; monitoring of foresight activities and providing support for exploitation (Horizon Futures Watch); laying the building blocks for a European foresight community supported by an online platform. 
• Marie Ségur (Futuribles, France) presented a case study on “Future of social work in France to 2035-2050” and the methods employed throughout the process: using surveys to motivate engagement with futures thinking, scenario building that may inform strategic choices and guide towards a vision and, finally, communicating outcomes in a synthetic manner, that may contribute to a wider discussion around the topic.
• Eye of Europe project coordinator Radu Gheorghiu (UEFISCDI, Romania) shared previews of the upcoming upgrade of the futures4europe.eu platform, with its new look and extended features.
  
  This event is the second in a series of five MLEs planned in the project; the following event will be held on January 21st 2025 also in an online format. All Eye of Europe MLEs are organized by Technology Centre Prague (TC), Eye of Europe partner and key Czech national think tank and academia based NGO with a rich experience with knowledge-based policy making support and (participatory as well as expert based) foresight activities.

As a Coordination and Support Action, project “Eye of Europe” aims to enhance the integration of foresight practices into Research and Innovation (R&I) policy making across Europe. Ultimately, the project envisions a more cohesive and influential R&I foresight community that contributes significantly, as a collective intelligence, to shaping and guiding policy decisions.

To this end, Eye of Europe builds on existing initiatives and experiences to foster knowledge-sharing between foresight practitioners and policy makers, attract domain experts in foresight endeavours, and engage a broader audience in futures thinking. Nurturing futures4europe.eu as the online home for the community and running various face-to-face events with different stakeholders will underpin these ambitions.
Methodologically, the project relies on the following building blocks:

• futures4europe.eu as the online hub for the R&I foresight community in Europe: The platform accommodates the interests of various stakeholders such as foresight experts, beneficiaries, domain experts, and an active audience. It operates on multiple integration levels, from mapping organizations and experts to sharing foresight results and capabilities. Moreover, it acts as the communication gateway for ongoing foresight activities, events, educational and inspirational materials.
  
  
• Sharing of practices: This entails mapping institutions engaged in R&I foresight activities, promoting mutual learning through interactive formats, developing shared visions for the future of foresight in R&I policy within the European Research Area (ERA), fostering exchanges among the foresight in R&I policy community through conferences, encouraging dialogues between futurist/expert communities, academics and policy practitioners.
  Key figures: 5 mutual learning events (MLE): 2 online, 3 face-to-face events; 1 vision building event for the Future of R&I Foresight in ERA; 2 conferences
  
  
• Running foresight pilots: Conducting a series of pilot workshops and online consultations with diverse formats, methodologies, and participants. This involves identifying topics of common interest within the European Research Area (ERA), where foresight perspectives offer added value, designing and implementing tailored pilot foresight activities involving various stakeholders, harnessing lessons learnt and feeding them into the platform and other dissemination channels.
  Key figures: 11 Foresight pilot processes: 3 exclusively with citizens, 4 mainly with experts and researchers tackling specific R&I topics, 4 involving a bespoke group of participants. Out of the 11 events, 8 will be face-to-face events, and 3 pilots will take place online
  
  
• Boosting futures literacy: The project encourages meaningful engagement with diverse audiences, from foresight professionals, researchers, policy-makers to various futures sensitive profiles (e.g. entrepreneurs, journalists, artists) and the wider civil society. The project will provide guides, methodology toolboxes, and training modules for R&I foresight and futures literacy, incorporating written and multimedia content.
  Key figures: 5-10 short training sets for participants in foresight exercises; 1 training module for foresight beneficiaries; 1 foresight training for early career researchers, 1 Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on R&I foresight; 12 conversational podcasts; 6-8 Short videos and/or animated materials showcasing foresight processes and outcomes
  
  
• Fueling the public discourse around futures: Promoting the project and fostering the foresight community via the online platform futures4europe.eu and complementary channels such as social media and a dedicated newsletter. In addition to highlighting the project's own initiatives, Eye of Europe will also aim to promote foresight content developed in other projects, showcasing a diverse range of perspectives and insights within the foresight field. The quarterly newsletter will feature various content types like interviews, project updates, and foresight-related articles. Social media, particularly Futures4Europe's LinkedIn page, will be used to engage professional communities and wider audiences, with a focus on sharing project activities and fostering discussions.

Institutul de Prospectiva is a research organisation (NGO) with the mission to stimulate future-awareness aimed at addressing the challenges of contemporary societies. To this end, we implement tailored foresight exercises supporting strategic orientation in the public sector, with a focus on foresight for R&I policy at European and national level.

Prospectiva is part of the Foresight-on-Demand (FOD) consortium, tasked with advising the European Commission and fourteen other EU organisations on science and technology policy programming for a period of four years (April 2024 – March 2028).
This is an extension of the previous successful cooperation within the Foresight on Demand framework contract (2019-2023); during this period Prospectiva has contributed to numerous projects, on components related to horizon scanning, large scale Delphi consultations, scenario building, co-creation workshops, speculative design, and the elaboration of various briefs, in-depth case studies and reports. These projects addressed a range of themes, among which the future of food, of retail, of ecosystems’ flourishing, and even of the human condition.