Arab Futures Society celebrates World Futures Day 2026 with its first public event
- On 31 March 2026
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Inspired by the multiple parallel events of World Futures Day coordinated by the Millennium Project and in collaboration with the WFD 2026 organizing committee, the Arab Futures Society organized a three-hour event in Arabic on March 1, 2026, to celebrate the occasion.
The Arab Futures Society (AFS) was established to build the foresight ecosystem in the Arab world and to empower Arabs to imagine futures that represent them. Over the past year, the Society has focused on building its community and connecting with individuals across the region who are interested in or actively working in foresight.
World Futures Day 2026 marked a significant milestone for AFS. It was both their first participation in World Futures Day and their first public event. The event was structured into three sessions:
Session 1: Panel Discussion: The first session explored futures and foresight in the Arab region. Dr. Nisreen Lahham delivered an insightful presentation on the roots of futures and strategic thinking in the Qur’an, drawing on the works of Ibn Khaldun and Al-Farabi. Muhammad Alaraby discussed two major waves in the evolution of foresight, explaining how it initially emerged from regional perspectives before evolving into the nation-specific approaches seen today.
Session 2: Workshop: The second session was an interactive workshop exploring the factors that shape how individuals think about the future. It was facilitated by Soha Rashed and Rawan Elbendary.
Session 3: Project Update: In the third session, moderated by Mohamed Mkayes, participants shared an update on our flagship project: a lexicon of foresight and futures terminology in Arabic. This open-source platform aims to compile and compare different Arabic translations of key terms in one place.
The event took place at a challenging time for the region, given ongoing developments and the fact that it coincided with Ramadan. The organizers were uncertain about attendance, but the event was well attended. This signals a growing appetite for futures thinking in the region, particularly in Arabic.
For more information, you can contact the Arab Futures Society on LinkedIn.
