By: Alireza Hejazi 

People live with their dreams. Dreaming (not day-dreaming) builds our visions for future. In fact, we will confront with the future through our dreams. One of the greatest arts of human beings is realizing their own dreams. The dream of flight, the dream of walking in the bottom of an ocean, the dream of watching inside of an ant's head and many other dreams have brought us to the point that we are standing on now.

From a very past time I had intended publish my personal dreams, dreams that may be common among a number of futurists who are living in developing countries and are eager to bring their countries at the edge of scientific and technological progress. I really don't know how many of these dreams may come true, but I'm working with all my strength to realize them as far as I can.

Please take a look at these dreams. You may find some of them as yours. If it is so, then share your comments with me and let's realize them through joint cooperation. I'm not confident about the realization of these dreams, but I'm sure with the possibility of our cooperation if we decide to do so.

1. A Tuition Free Online Foresight Program

As a futurist I'm sure that you have ever seen MIT free courseware (if not, please take a look at: www.mit.edu to find out what I'm talking about) or Arizona State University's Program of Anticipating the Future (available at: http://ag.arizona.edu/futures/). One of my dreams is that in the near future a suitable combination may be made between these two kinds of educational services, shaping a new shape of online education on Foresight. If I find myself at the poison of managing this endeavor, I'll offer the final output of this effort to all interested guys especially young futurists who live in developing countries and can not afford of their academic education fees. I'll arrange the program in 3 levels of BA, MA and PhD degrees and build post-graduate online forums to share their knowledge and experience with each other after their graduation.

2. Futures Studies Online Answering Service

It's about 5 years that I'm working on Futures Studies personally & professionally in Iran. I have designed and launched a personal website named FuturesDiscovery.com" since 3 years ago. A selection of my works including articles and e-books can be found there. During this period many of Iranian students and youngsters who are interested in futures studies have shared their questions and views with me. I have found that many of them are unaware of basic rules and principles of futures studies. One of my dreams is arranging an online answering service by which the students may be able post their answers and receive related responses automatically. I thing an agent-based system just as what is being seen on Amazon.com can be a good solution. My problem is that how can I design such a system for Persian speaking users?!

3. Futurists Qualifying System

As a futurist I like to be entitled to the measurement of a qualifying system. The system will rank me and my activities among other futurists. It will produce a competitive atmosphere and will encourage many of futurists to be active more than before. Highly prestigious academic qualifications are usually considered for evaluating distinguished futurists. Number of published books, articles (and articles citations), seminars, workshops and … can be good determinants of quantity, but what about the quality? At present time total analyzing of a futurist's works can be a solution that is usually done by human factors. An automatic system of grading can facilitate the job. Different kinds of outputs including colorful diagrams will make the system more attractive.

4. Changing National Futurism into a Universal One

From the very moment that I got familiar with futures studies, I have been always asking myself this question: "Is this really the right thing that I should do to serve my country and nation?". This has been my criteria in life and education. At this stage of my futuristic life I fill that the mentioned above question should be changed into this one: "Is this really the right thing that I should do to serve my universe and human fellows?" I have found universal concerns more important than national or regional ones, so I think that all of developing and advanced countries should encourage their nations to change their national futurism into a universal one. Global friendship and brotherhood is a real need in our contemporary world. Perhaps this may not be a dream, but a must.

5. 24-7 Futuring

I usually work 8-10 hours each day busy with my translations and projects such as preparing the Iranian Society of Futures Studies E-monthly, updating my website and blogs, replying e-mails and writing my articles and e-books. I take Fridays for my personal rest and vocations. Sometimes I wish I could work for more hours within 24 hours a day. I know that rest and sport are necessary for my health. In fact, without being healthy I can no more continue my scientific activities, but I feel that I can be more active. This is that I never quit my evening biking at any cost. I'm dreaming a day that I will be utilized with controlled and tested microchips in my body changing me into a trans-human with more body and mind capabilities. In this way I may be capable of 24-7 futuring!

6. Authoring the Future

Since 2007 I have been working as the author and manager at FututresDiscovery.com. Besides, I have been writing voluntarily for Fernweb.org, GlobalForesight.org & ShapingTomorrow.com. My practical experience has shown me that writing sentences such as: "Surely an informal opportunity for scientific cooperation with other futurists specially the open minded ones would be more valuable than attending a formal study program." makes the people react and think of new possibilities. It never hurts to have a presence on other websites rather than your own site or blog. But it depends on how much traffic it gets, to determine how much time you should invest there. For example, your presence at ShapingTomorrow.com should can be much more valuable, so you should devote twice the time to that, than to another, less active site. After a period of time you will find that the future is almost shaping within the lines of your writing and even the comments of comentators. In fact, you are authoring the future. My dream is for a day that the futurists' writings become as the most similar as the future they meet.  

7. Writing the Most Needed Books

After publishing my second English e-book "ATLAS of futures links", many futurists contacted me via e-mail and thanked for the e-book. It was designed so that it could be run on Windows operating system, so many asked for other versions of the e-book such as PDF or HTML ones. Since it could not be used for MAC OS users, I decided to make it online and now this has been done.

This is the second and revised edition of ATLAS of futures links (2010). The first edition was published earlier as a free e-book available at: http://www.futuresdiscovery.com/newsletter/ATLAS.zip

ATLAS of futures links is the most comprehensive directory of futures URLs ever designed & compiled by an Iranian futurist to help everyone who is interested in futures studies find his / her desired destinations on the Internet immediately and easily. It is being optimized and up-to-dated by adding more links every month.

Up to now 636 links (URLs) are classified in STEEP mode alphabetically within 10 chapters of an e-book.

Unfortunately, Futures Studies are being played with as new words and concepts by students and professors in some of countries' universities. Within recent months I have published up to 9 Persian free e-books on Futures Studies available at: http://www.futuresdiscovery.com/Ebooks.htm . Many students are asking me for help and guidance within their studies. They usually receive more information and knowledge from me than their own professors who are practicing FS teaching. I have no claim on teaching FS, but just the second issue of ISFS e-monthly that I published 2 months ago is so useful that has been printed so many times by students. FS in many countries is passing its evolutionary process and there is a long way to blossom as a new field of profession.

My dream is that all of the futurists may produce books and articles that can be read enthusiastically by readers.

However, I personally seek for new skills and experience. All we need is to be in an environment practicing and experiencing real Foresight activities trough cooperation with real professionals. We may find such a place in our own countries. But, how can we develop our practical foresight experience in countries that are preoccupied with basic and introductory definitions and concepts of FS? My aim with education or work on Futures Studies is serving the humanity. So I have not fixed my life just on FS. Perhaps there are other alternatives for this objective.