SARAS Institute has been part of the UNESCO Chairs Programme since 2017 through a UNITWIN Network on the topic of Climate Change and Decision Making. The new Socio-Cultural Anticipation and Resilience Chair has recently been approved after the conclusion of an application process that evaluated different initiatives worldwide.

This new chair is planning to develop different activities of action-research and learning-through-practice with the aim of improving the anticipatory capacities of individuals, communities and organizations while advancing the theory and practice of Futures Literacy and the Discipline of Anticipation.

At the same time, it seeks to explore and contribute to the conditions that may enable societal and individual transformations for sustainable wellbeing through the support and development of capacities within a strategic foresight and responsible anticipatory systems perspective. The development of these skills will enable the discovery and creation of new alternatives where uncertainty is conceived of as an asset rather than a liability.

Anticipation is a key capacity for learning and creativity, and a fundamental aspect in processes of adaptation and resilience, since they require the management of new and changing information, uncertainties and multiples types of knowledge.

It is worth pointing out that the project entitled “Imaginando Futuros en America Latina” (Imagining Futures in Latin America) seeks to consider the whole of Latin America in relation to the transfer and co-creation of knowledge on anticipatory systems and futures literacy, generating links between universities, social institutions and other entities related to development. For this reason, there is a plan to establish a specialized network together with the collaboration with other institutions and networks in Africa, Europe and Asia.

The five central work areas covered by this project include: learning and education, creativity and innovation, sustainable development and inclusion, resilient socio-ecosystems and research policy-nexus for anticipatory governance. This project is led by Lydia Garrido Luzardo (Project leader and Futures Laboratory Network, SARAS Institute Associate) and Cristina Zurbriggen (University of the Republic of Uruguay, SARAS Advisory Board and Executive Team member).

To learn more about the grounds on which this Chair and the Futures Laboratory is based upon, please download the document: “Project Description UNESCO Chair in Socio Cultural Anticipation and Resilience”.
Other titles: “Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación. Una reflexión en Clave de Futuros”, click here to download.