The first-ever Philippine Futures Summit: Futures of Education, Work, and Technology commenced on November 12, 2021.
This was through the partnership of the Philippine Futures Thinking Society (PFTS) with the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD). commenced
Themed, “Paglalayag Tungo sa Hiraya 2050,” the virtual summit aimed to reveal, reframe, reimagine, and consolidate strategies and insights on the futures centered on human-focused, regenerative, nature-first, and indigenous perspectives.
Prof. Michville Rivera opened the three-day event, followed by remarks from Conference Chair, Prof. Shermon Cruz and PhilFutures President, Dr. Lizan Perante-Calina.
Part of the summit was a panel discussion sponsored by DOST-PCAARRD. Futures thinking-oriented projects of the Socio-Economics Research Division (SERD) of DOST-PCAARRD, were featured in the discussion themed, “Policy, Innovations, and Governance: Prospects for the Philippines’ Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources.”
Meliza Abeleda, Genny Bandoles, Annette Tobias, and Mia Aranas of SERD served as speakers for the Council-sponsored panel discussion.
Abeleda spoke about innovations in the agribusiness community that promote agribusiness potential and how they generate impact, provide support to clients by integration to value chain technologies, and strategize to address social, economic, and environmental issues to shape long-term development.
Bandoles discussed how impact assessment initiatives further improve decision making and planning for the agriculture, aquatic, and natural resources (AANR) sector through determining the value, results, and socio-economic contributions of initiatives, activities, supported programs, and projects of DOST-PCAARRD.
Tobias presented “Gender-Responsiveness in Future Programs and Policies,” wherein she discussed that the concern of men and women is an integral part of the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of all policies in all developmental spheres.
Lastly, Aranas discussed “Foresight for Policy Research and Development in the AANR Sector.” She said that the wealth of knowledge and insights from policy research are integrated into the policy discourse to facilitate a science-informed and foresight-driven policy-making.
Expert speakers from all over the globe also covered other topics such as: the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry's agile governance structure; Millennium Project's Work/Technology 2050: Scenarios and Actions Report; futures-thinking in science and policy, and academic governance, among others..
The strategic partnership of DOST-PCAARRD with PFTS supports the priorities of the Council on socio-economics and policy research agenda under the Harmonized National Research and Development Agenda (HNRDA) for the AANR sector. The Council provides augmentation funds to qualified professional/scientific and academic organizations that pursue activities supporting the Council’s advocacies, banner programs, and goals.