Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University and UNESCO sign a Partnership Agreement to develop Futures Literacy
The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) and UNESCO signed an innovative Futures Literacy Partnership Agreement, to develop Futures Literacy at PMU and in the Gulf region. This marks the launch of an ambitious joint effort to advance Futures Literacy (FL) at local, regional and global levels. Futures Literacy is a critical competency for the 21st Century that enables people to “use-the-future for different reasons, using different methods, in different contexts”.
The Partnership Agreement, which spans 4 years and nearly 1 million dollars, was signed on 25 June 2020 by Dr Faisal Yousif Al Anezi, Vice-President of PMU, and Xing Qu, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO.
11 leading scholars and practitioners from the Global Futures Literacy Network (GFLN), hailing from Austria, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, and Uruguay, joined the ceremony via telepresence. They underscored the fundamental role of anticipatory systems and processes in shaping the imaginary futures that play a decisive role in what people see and do, in forming their hopes and fears. These prominent members of the GFLN also confirmed that in their view greater Futures Literacy is needed if humanity is to effectively address the threats of climate extinction, societal fragmentation, and the fragilities brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic.