The UNESCO Chair in Anticipatory Systems, together with WAAS-World Academy of Art and Science, ISSS-International Society for the Systems Sciences, the Advanced Design Network, and the Department of Sociology and Social Sciences of the University of Trento, is organizing the First International Conference on ANTICIPATION.

Anticipation is coming to the fore as an emerging field of study that is influencing a wide variety of disciplines. This international conference will explore the interaction among anticipation, uncertainty and complexity. Some questions that we intend to raise are these: When does anticipation occur in behavior and life? What types of anticipation can be distinguished? What structures and processes are necessary for anticipatory action? How can anticipation be modeled? A better and more complete understanding of anticipation and its effects will improve theories and models of individual and collective human behavior and its consequences. The ability to anticipate in complex environments may improve the resilience of societies facing threats from a global proliferation of agents and forces by articulating uncertainties through anticipatory processes.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to

  • Anticipation in the human and social sciences
  • Anticipation and decision-making
  • Anticipation and global social challenges 
  • Anticipatory governance and resilience of societies
  • Anticipation and Futures Studies
  • Anticipation in fiction, the arts, design and gaming
  • Modeling anticipation.

Invited Speakers: Arjun Appaduray, Jens Beckert, Julian Bleecker, Riel Miller, Martin Seligman, and Olin Wright.

Program Committee: Roberto Poli (chair), Flaviano Celaschi, Keri Facer, Garry Jacobs, John Kineman, and Giuseppe Sciortino.

The Program Committee of the 1st Conference on Anticipation invites proposals for contributions to be held within the main conference or within thematic sessions.

Proposed contributions should be coherent with the themes of the conference as described on the conference’s main webpage; they may be focused on already proposed sessions or on other emerging topics of interest, such as approaches, methods, and new concepts related to anticipation.

The Program committee welcomes proposals from either scholars or associations. Particularly welcome are proposals that highlight interdisciplinary work.

To contribute please send a one-page abstract to anticipation.trento2015[at]gmail.com

Abstracts should specify:

  • Name and email address of proponent(s)
  • Title, issue presentation, description of potential added value for theoretical or operational developments in anticipation practices.
  • The specific session targeted (if applicable).

Special Issues of the Journals Axiomathes, Cadmus, European Journal of Futures Research, and Futures will be published from peer reviewed conference contributions.