The National Futures Course is an initiative of the Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends (STT). STT has been exploring the future since 1968. STT's publications are diverse: books, documentaries, serious games, and now a course. The Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends Foundation is registered with the Tax and Customs Administration as an Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling (Public Benefit Organisation, ANBI/RSIN 3014034).
This course was made possible thanks to various partners who contributed in different ways.
The seed of the idea was planted by the founder of the Brave New World Conference, Alexander Mouret, who suggested the National Futures Course to STT director Rudy van Belkom. Brave New World is an annual Art & Science conference for those who want to know what the future holds and how it will affect their work and lives.
To assess whether a National Futures Course could count on support within the network of futures thinkers, Rudy contacted Dr. Roanne van Voorst, Future Anthropologist & Chair of the Dutch Future Society (DFS). DFS is the Dutch organisation for professional futures thinkers and trend watchers. The support turned out to be considerable! Roanne is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam.
What does a National Futures Course curriculum look like? Rudy and Roanne approached Dr. Tessa Cramer, professor ‘Designing the Future’ at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, with this question. The professorship uses design and future methods to create solutions for the major issues of our time.
Rudy, Roanne, and Tessa formed the core team creating the curriculum. They organised various brainstorming sessions with futures thinkers from across the country to figure out the themes.
A good course needs a good platform. Rudy contacted the Lowercase Foundation, initiators of the National AI Course. A series of courses rated highly by participants for its user-friendliness and, with more than half a million users, a proven solid platform.
In the National Futures Course, guest lecturers introduce you to futures thinking through videos. And a course on futures thinking needs an inspiring filming location. Rudy contacted Koert van Mensvoort from Next Nature, who was instrumental in reopening the Evoluon in Eindhoven to visitors. It's a place where people, nature, and technology intersect.
The Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations) recognises the added value of futures thinking and wants to bring it to the attention of the public. That’s why this Ministry has taken financial responsibility for developing the platform and commissioned STT to carry out the further development.
This course provides you with tools to get started with futures thinking. We show you how you can influence your future and explain why this influence is also important for our collective future.
