UN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NEW YORK CITY

Foresight Program Topic List

 

STUDENT                                               TOPIC “The Future of…”

 

Shaan Rao                                    Epidemiology

Frida Perez                                   Role of Women in the Media

Keara Phillips                               Abuse of Medicine

Sarah Jo Dutilloy                           Books and Bookstores

 

Florence McCall                            Education

Clio Burggraeve                            Education

 

Austin Able                                  Climate Change Caused Migration

Sherbano Maqbool                       Genetic Engineering

Spandana Singh                            Stem Cell Research

 

Irene Kwon                                   Advertising

Nikhil Vanderklauw                      Advertising

Fumiya Takashashi                       Advertising

 

Aditi Sundaram                            Artificial Intelligence

Nicolas Shannon                          Artistic mediums

Jakob Silberberg                          Manned Space Travel

 

Frederick McCall                          Stem Cell Research

Alexander Wei Lee                       Stem Cell Research

 

Yannick Stuetz                      Iran’s Relations with the West & Israel

Nicolas Rennau                           GDP In Third World Countries

Joseph Dominicus Lap          Population Change in China & Japan

Adi Safarkhani                      Man-machine Interactive Design

Zara Jamshed                              Commercial Aviation

 

UNICEF LEADER'S STATEMENT (to be read prior to April meeting)

ASSIGNMENT:  INFORMATION FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION

(Disregard the schedule info for LJCDS, you will have your own)

FORESIGHT PROJECT ORAL PRESENTATION RULES, SCHEDULE & CONTENT

 

 

Rules of the game:

 

1. All individual presentations are to be between 5-10 minutes

2.    Team presentations should not exceed 15 minutes (20 if 3 people)

Everyone on a team does not have to use the same amount of time       but everyone does have to present

3. You may have handouts: slide copies &/or other supportive materials.

4. You are to provide me with a reproducible, copy of your presentation.  This should come as an attachment to an e mail, or you may provide a disk or stick with only your presentation

5. You must use graphics (give the source if reproduced), not just text.

6. There will be no student interruptions during the presentation.  However, the teacher may ask questions, in which case your time will be extended!

7.Each presentation may be followed by 5 minutes of student, teacher, or observer questions and comments

8.We may have observers at any of the presentations.  These may be other teachers, administrative staff, parents or invited experts.

 

9.  Everyone MUST be in class on time.  No eating in class. No use of laptops etc.  You are the audience.

 

10. Any request to change the following schedule must come to Ms. Bakhiet no later than Wednesday, March 21.  You will have her decision before you leave for Spring Break on Friday, March 23.

 

11. If you are using a slide projector or a computer to display any part of your presentation, you must let Ms. Bakhiet know in advance, come with your equipment and knowing exactly what you need to do to get hooked-up.  You may use the computer that is in the regular classroom, but this too must be arranged in advance and you must know how to load and work the machine.

 

12. It is 100% encouraged that you practice at least one time in the classroom before your presentation day.  This is especially important for teams who have to have a coordinated presentation.

 

13. Many if not all of the presentations will be filmed.  These videos may be shown to the UN School Foresight class (as their may be shown to you), and to the State Department teacher-training program in Washington this June. The videos will become part of the library archive of the Foresight program’s development.  We will assume that you give your consent to have the video taken and used as indicated.  IF you do not wish to give consent, you must write a letter explaining your position.

 

14. Do NOT have a lot of text on each slide and read it! Remember to design slides so they are easily read and understood from the back of the room.

 

Content

 

Caution—these are short presentations and you have a lot to cover.  The focus needs to be on the 2020, 2030 and 2040 scenarios reflecting trends.

 

You do not need to present the history, but you may do so if it helps your presentation.  You do need to connect trends from Current Conditions to the three future scenarios. Remember, the trends relate to:

 

• Politics
• Economics
• Technology
• Environment
• Demographics (population)
• Culture/social media

 

The trends do not have to be presented in any set order, just as suits your topic.

 

The majority of your presentation should be the scenarios for 2030.  You need to show a logical flow from now through 2020.  And then your best estimates out to 2040.

 

You should include your (revised if need be) aspiration statement.

 

Do not assume your audience (including the teachers) knows your topic.  You need to make a brief statement telling what your topic is, indicating the trends and presenting the scenarios…then providing your aspiration statement and stipulating which of your scenarios has the best chance of achieving your aspiration.

 

WG

FUTURE OF BOOKS...RESOURCES

FILM, ART & ARCHITECTURE SOURCE

Your good thing today. View this newsletter in your browser →    In Washington, D.C., a Museum Gets a Cinematic Makeover TODAY'S GOOD 25% drive-in movie 25% video art 50% inside-out  #eyes4u  This spring, millions of people strolling at night near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. will be able to see a museum turned inside-out. The Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is giving its trademark circular cement exterior a glowing, 360-degree makeover this spring. Between March 22 and May 13, from sundown to midnight, artist Doug Aitken’s "SONG 1" installation will use 11 high-definition video projectors to seamlessly blend moving images around the entire building to the tune of the pop song “I Only Have Eyes for You.” The film will include more than 15 covers of the song from a diverse group of artists including Beck and The Flamingos.  According to Hirshhorn deputy director and chief curator Kerry Brougher, "SONG 1" toys with the concept of "liquid architecture"—a constant shifting that transforms museum architect Gordon Bunshaft's heavy, cement mass into a light, ethereal work of art. The public installation is designed to challenge the boundaries of architecture and redefine the concepts of cinematic and urban space.  Aitken’s project is the first-ever work of 360-degree cinema to be presented in a continuous, cylindrical format. Its sequences will be presented in myriad ways: sometimes seamless, other times in pieces, reflected from each other, or in a cubist style. The multimedia presentation separates itself from traditional movies, Brougher says, because it is a public, interactive piece. Rather than the screen creating a stagnant space for viewers to sit still and enter the fictional world presented, the outdoor exhibition becomes a part of the urban environment and demands audience participation, requiring the viewer to move around the building to fully experience the installation. "It’s not so much the building being used as a cinema screen; the architecture itself is being turned into music and given a tempo which has been derived from the architecture, flowing out through images and sound into the spaces around the museum," Brougher says. "This may be one of the most major uses of architecture as cinema. It’s architecture, cinema, music, public art—all together into one piece.” View more images of the museum on GOOD.is

ASSIGNMENT DUE MARCH 9

The European Union has a program called Horizon 2020.  You to look it up and learn if it includes information that relates to your Foresight topic.  By March 9, you need to report by e mail to me and Mr. Birk what you found.  If there is nothing, say so.  Otherwise, briefly explain what you found that will be helpful for your topic.

Willis Goldbeck, Feb 29

RESOURCES FOR THE ADVERTISING TEAM

 

 

 

 

CONTEST! AND FINANCIAL LITERACY INFORMATION/RESOURCES

 

 

 

 

 

ETHICAL ISSUE WE DISCUSSED: A REAL EXAMPLE

Sierra Club took natural-gas cash By: Dan Berman February 2, 2012 08:18 PM EST

The Sierra Club took $26 million from one of the nation's largest natural gas companies for three years while at the same time hawking natural gas as a clean, green energy source, the group admitted Thursday. The natural gas cash came between 2007 and 2010 as the Sierra Club was increasing its efforts to fight coal-fired powered plants, the group's executive director, Michael Brune, wrote in a blog post. At the time, the Sierra Club, "working with the best science at the time and with extensive input from staff and volunteers, determined that natural gas, while far from ideal as a fuel source, might play a necessary role in helping us reach the clean energy future our children deserve," Brune wrote. Meanwhile, the gas industry was working to position itself as a cleaner alternative to coal, especially as Congress debated climate change legislation. "The idea was that we shared at least one common purpose — to move our country away from dirty coal," Brune wrote. Time Magazine, which first reported the news Thursday afternoon, said most of the donations came from Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon. Former Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope often spoke warmly about gas as an alternative to coal in power plants. But now, the group is considering calling for natural gas to be phased out by 2050 — about 20 years after it wants coal eliminated. Now, Brune says the group definitely isn't a fan of natural gas, due to concerns over hydraulic fracturing. "It's time to stop thinking of natural gas as a 'kinder, gentler' energy source," Brune wrote. "What's more, we do not have an effective regulatory system in this country to address the risks that gas drilling poses on our health and communities. The scope of the problems from under-regulated drilling, as well as a clearer understanding of the total carbon pollution that results from both drilling and burning gas, have made it plain that, as we phase out coal, we need to leapfrog over gas whenever possible in favor of truly clean energy." Chesapeake spokesman Jim Gipson told Time the decision to end the funding in 2010 was mutual. "Over the years, Chesapeake has been proud to support a number of organizations that share our interest in clean air and agree that America’s abundant supplies of clean natural gas represent the most affordable, available and scalable fuel to power a more prosperous and environmentally responsible future for our country," Gipson said. This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 8:13 p.m. on February 2, 2012.

ASSIGNMENT CHANGE, FEB 13

In class on Feb 13, we made the following two assignment changes:

 

1.  Aspiration Statements.  Due by email to Mr. B and me on this Friday, Feb 17.

2.  History and Current Conditions chapters:  you no longer have to do two separate chapters.  Do one well organized outline with appropriate source references.  This is due by  e mail by Sunday night, March 4...after UN-UNIS.

 

The three trends we focused upon in class were demographics, technology and culture.  So, in our next class, we will focus on government/politics, economics and environment.

Futurists:  try to find futurists who have done work in  your topic areas.

 

Check the Resources area every day or so for new items.  You are also welcome to add items you think may be helpful to all or to specific subjects that are the topics of your classmates.

 

wg

FEB 10 MEMO FROM MR. BIRK WITH LINKS

I’m excited to see the full list of topics being explored. I’ve cataloged the topics in a google spreadsheet:

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0At0Va89-Uk2adEFkUlpNS0wwZ2dhd2pjUUpKUHZ4eEE

 

Please take a look and edit your topics as appropriate. 

 

As a reminder, our next meeting is MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12 from 4:00-5:30.  You may want to take a look at Five Principles of Futuring as Applied History.  This provides some useful insights into what we’ll be discussing next.   

 

I’m also excited to share with you some of the visionary leaders that we’ll have the opportunity to meet with in March:

 

Media:                                                  Henry Schleiff, President and GM, Discovery Communications

http://corporate.discovery.com/leadership/henry-schleiff/

 

International Development:       Carolyn Stern, CEO, US Fund for UNICEF

http://www.unicefusa.org/about/leadership/management/caryl-stern.html

Ed Lloyd, Exec VP and CFO, US Fund for UNICEF

http://www.unicefusa.org/about/leadership/management/edward-lloyd.html

 

Education:                                           Michael Levine, Executive Director, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop

http://www.sesameworkshop.org/about-us/leadership-team/michael-levine.html#

 

Based on the topics that you’ve chosen, I’ve also begun to search for visionary leaders in the area of health and medicine.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Jeremy Birk

Tutorial House Assistant Principal

Introduction

WELCOME TO FORESIGHT!

It was a great pleasure to meet you last Friday and begin our exploration of (your) futures.

The Resources tab (click on Futures Studies) has a broad collection of documents and links.  Some relate to specific topics, others to the field of futures, and others are actual examples of futures studies, trends analyses and scenarios.  They are not in any specific order.  After today, all new postings will be at the top of the list.  The list can be printed.

 

The last item on the Futures Studies Resource list is one you may wish to review immediately.  It is from the Institute for Alternative Futures (a major source) and gives you the opportunity to see the scenarios from a new study (I left a copy of the full study with you on Friday) on television and lets you "vote" on what you would prefer.  Future Studies in action!

 

Thanks to those who have responded to my test e mail yesterday...and I look forward to hearing from the rest of you shortly!

 

Willis Goldbeck

 

UNIS Assignments

 

Top Priority:  select your topic and inform me and Mr. Birk.

 

This should be a topic you will enjoy exploring.  Each topic needs to fit "The Future of......"  In other words, you cannot select a topic of something that is totally concluded, an historical event, or an industry that no longer exists.  Your topic needs to have a possible future of at least 2040.

You are welcome to send me an  email of your idea, if you want comments before making a final decision.  A topic can also be expressed as a problem.  Must be major, preferably with global implications.  Child hunger and sexual exploitation are problems.  Agriculture is an industry. Nutrition via pharmaceuticals (or drugs via foods) are technologies.

Topic selections should be submitted by Monday, Feb 6.

To review what we discussed in class, over the next few weeks, you will need to:

• draft an Aspiration Statement for you topic for 2040:  can be a sentence up to 1/2 page.  This is your opinion, so you cannot be wrong...so be bold.
• identify at least three sources for your topic
• write a history chapter, 2-3 pages.
• write a current conditions chapter, 2-3 pages

WG

January 31