The World Futures Studies Federation emerged from the ideas and pioneering work of such persons as Igor Bestuzhev-Lada (Russia), Bertrand de Jouvenel (France, 1903-1987), Johan Galtung (Norway), Robert Jungk (Austria 1913-1994), John McHale (UK/USA, 1922-1978) and others who in the 1960s conceived of the concept of futures studies at the global level. This resulted in the organization of the first International Futures Research Conference in Oslo, Norway, in September 1967, for which Mankind 2000 was responsible in cooperation with the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, and the Institut für Zukunftsfragen. A Continuing Committee was created, with headquarters in Paris.
The principal work of this Committee was the convening of the International Futures Research Conference in Kyoto, Japan, in April 1970, in cooperation with the Japanese Association for Future Studies, under the leadership of Hayashi Yujiro and Hidetoshi Kato. During this conference, the Continuing Committee was requested to make preparations for the establishment of a permanent worldwide organization. The draft of a charter was subsequently written and submitted to the Third World Conference, held in Bucharest, Romania, September 1972. The ensuing dialogue resulted in a declaration of the basic aims of the Federation.
The founding conference which created the Federation was held in Paris, France, 26 May 1973. The meeting ratified the charter and registered the WFSF in France, with its official headquarters at the Maison Internationale Futuribles. The Federation has thus legally been in existence since that date, and was hosted at Futuribles until 1974, with Bertrand de Jouvenel as its first President.
The founding members, present at the May 1973 meeting, were:
Serge Antoine (Fondation Claude Nicolas Lédoux, Paris); Pavel Apostol (Romanian National Committee for Futures Studies); André-Clément Découfle (Association Internationale Futuribles, Paris); Paul Hannape (Association Plurilingue de Science Régionales de l'Europe du Nord-Ouest); Bertrand de Jouvenel (Association Internationale Futuribles, Paris); Eleonora Masini (Instituto Richerche Applicato Documentazione e Studi [IRADES], Rome); Peter Menke-Glückert (Federal Ministry of the Interior, Bonn); Pierre Piganiol (Association Internationale Futuribles, Paris); Andrzej Sicinski (Poland 2000)
The fourth conference had Rome as its venue (September 1973) and was organized by IRADES, under the leadership of Eleonora Masini. The first General Assembly of the Federation was convened in Paris with UNESCO assistance in March 1974. The following officers were elected:
Founding President: Bertrand de Jouvenel (France)
President: Johan Galtung (Norway)
Vice President: Pavel Apostol (Romania)
Secretary General: Peter Mencke-Glückert (Germany)
In recognition of their contributions to futures studies, the Federation has two Honorary Members: Igor Bestuzhev-Lada (Russia) and, Bogdan Suchodolski (Poland, 1903-1992).
General Assemblies
To date, WFSF General Assemblies have taken place in:
- Paris, France, 1974
- Berlin, West Germany, May 1975
- Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, March/April 1976
- Jablonna, Warsaw, Poland, April 1977
- Cairo, Egypt, September 1978
- Stockholm, Sweden, June 1982
- San José , Costa Rica, December 1984
- Honolulu, Hawaii, May 1986
- Beijing, China, September 1988
- Budapest, Hungary, May 1990
- Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, September 1991
- Turku, Finland, August 1993
- Nairobi, Kenya 1995
- Brisbane, Australia 1997
- Bacolod, Philippines 1999
- Brasov, Romania 2001
- Kure City, Japan 2002
- Budapest, Hungary 2005
- Trollhattan, Sweden, June-July 2008
- Bollwiller, France, June 2009
Past and Current Officers
Since the origin of WFSF, the Presidents and Secretaries General have been elected by the membership.
Presidents (1973-Present)
- Bertrand de Jouvenel (France), 1973-1974
- Johan Galtung (Norway), 1974-1977;
- Mahdi Elmandjra (Morocco), 1977-1981
- Eleonora Masini (Italy), 1981-1990
- Jim Dator (Hawaii), 1990-1993
- Pentti Malaska (Finland), 1993-1997
- Tony Stevenson (Australia), 1997-2001 [WFSF Website archive, 1997]
- Richard Slaughter (Australia), 2001-2005 [WFSF Website archive, 2002]
- Fabienne Goux-Baudiment (France), 2005-2009
- Jennifer Gidley (Australia), 2009-2013
- Peter Mencke-Glückert (Germany), 1974-1975
- Eleonora Masini (Italy), 1975-1981
- Göran Bäckstrand (Sweden), 1981-1983
- Jim Dator (Hawaii), 1983-1990
- Pentti Malaska (Finland), 1990-1993
- Tony Stevenson (Australia), 1993-1997
- Cesar Villanueva (Philippines), 1997-2001
- Christopher Jones (USA), 2001-2005
- John Ratcliffe (Ireland), 2005-2007
- Marianne Rugård Järvstråt (Acting)(Sweden), 2007-2008
Directors (2008-Present)
In 2008, the elected position of Secretary General was discontinued in a resolution passed at the General Assembly in Trollhattan, Sweden. A new position of Director was created to be appointed by the Executive Board. This is intended to resolve some of the challenges of a mobile secretariat.
- Rakesh Kapoor (India), 2008-Present
