First Call for Papers With Unique Presentations For the 14th International Conference of Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy, University of Turku
To Be Young! Youth and The Future
The aim of the conference is to perceive and create futures through the eyes of today’s youth, adults and decision makers for the young people of the future. The course of a youth’s life, both today and toward the future, covers an entire spectrum of reality. Focusing on faith in young people, their ability and determination to build an inevitably different and in many ways an improved world for us all to live in is the focal point of this conference. The conference is organized in association with the Finland Futures Academy and the Finnish Youth Research Network. The “To Be Young" conference marks Finland Futures Research Centre’s 14th Annual International Conference and its 20th Anniversary celebrating twenty years of quality academic research. The Youth and Futures conference will be unique with additional dimensions; whilst a solid scientific standard of traditional academic conferences will be maintained participants whose papers are accepted will be strongly encouraged to present their papers in a distinctive way.
TOPICS OF INTERESTS
Conference themes include but are not restricted to*:
Power and Impact of Different Age Groups on the Future
- What will the world be like when today´s youth will become adults?
- How do we see the future from different viewpoints (e.g. age, gender, sexual identity and cultural aspects by people living in different life conditions or from different parts of the world)
- Whom do we want to build the future for, and who is the world built by?
Making the Future: Creativity, Continuity and Effect of Marginal Phenomena
“The present always carries the future within it and the future always contains the present and past"
- How do we actually carry the past with us to the future?
- What from our past would we like to take along to the future? Who would we like to build the future with, and who are we?
- What futures images – in relationship to the past and present – do different people from different ages and backgrounds have? Are they guiding or losing our ways to the future?
Theoretical and Methodological Development in Building Futures & Case Studies
- Theories and methods for developing futures methods
- Case studies relating to futures research and conference themes
Effect of Today’s Phenomena in Youth on the Future
- Social media, individuality, sense of community with its different meanings, new social responsibility, virtual communities, new forms of societal structures and civil societies effect on the future
- Challenges; drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, lack of future vision, social exclusion, alienation and loneliness on the future
- Possibilities; such as borderless world, global communication, virtual reality, real-time connections, 24/7 on the youth and future
- Environmental constraints, global warming, energy issues with their consequences for travel, free movement and migration on youth and the future
- What are the upcoming trends of the future?
Young People, Work and Participation in Society
- Weakening or changing commitment to organisations and institutions (enterprises, administration, research, NGOs) in today’s youth
- Career building vs. backpacker culture
- Challanges: learning and education, lifelong learning and global/virtual world of futures learning
- Creativity and Leisure time
KEY AUDIENCE
- Youth Researchers
- Futurists (Practitioners, Professionals and Students)
- Experts and Specialists in Youth Work
- Public Officials (Decision-Makers at Local/National/ International Level)
- Teachers
- Representatives from Youth Organisations
- Journalists (Social media, Bloggers, Trend researchers and Experts)
- Mentors and Coaches Working with Children (Sport, Art, Hobbies etc.)
SUBMITTING YOUR PAPER
In order to submit your abstract, please email the abstract in the relevant format as described below to futuresconference2012@utu.fi by the 31st January 2012 Midnight. The subject of the email should be “Abstract Submission: Conference 2012". Include up to 5 keywords from the theme list presented in the Topics of Interest section.
REVIEW PROCESS
Papers will be reviewed by their abstracts (max. 400 words). Abstracts should contain the paper title and the body of the paper, with author names, affiliations and contact information. Consistent with standard practice, each submitted paper will receive a minimum of two reviews. The abstracts will be evaluated by the scientific board. All papers should concern themselves with aspects of Youth and the Future. They should make clear how the future aspects relate to the paper.
Presentation Outline: The abstract should also include a preliminary idea of how the paper will be presented if accepted. The presentation outline will also be part of the abstract evaluation process.
Final papers should be original, unpublished and not more than ten single-spaced pages with minimum font size of 12 pt. Papers should be submitted in .doc or .rtf format, and should only contain the paper title and the body of the paper, with author names and affiliations. Final papers should be sent to the conference secretariat by 15th May 2012.
All accepted conference papers will be published in the conference proceedings. A selection of these papers will be published as a special issue of Finland Futures Research Centre’s Publishing Series following the publishers usual review procedure. The official language of the conference is English.
REGISTRATION FOR THE CONFERENCE
| Conference Fee | Standard fee until March 31, 2012 | Late fee from April 1, 2012 |
| Full Fee | 400 euros | 500 euros |
| Reduced Fee* | 150 euros | 250 euros |
Registration fee includes: admission to workshops sessions, conference materials, all lectures, lunches and refreshments on both days and the evening event (VAT 0 %).
*Reduced Fee: does not include the evening event. This is an additional cost of 70 euros. Reduced fee applies only to Graduate and Post graduates.
VENUE
The conference will be held at Turku Conservatory, which is approximately a 2,5 km from the railway station. There are regular bus connections from Turku City centre. The Turku Conservatory was formerly operated as a rope factory and shipping yard. The architecture has received numerous awards including the European award for great steel structures; the building provides a great blend of Turku’s history and contemporary design.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Deadline for abstract submission: January 31st, 2012
Notification of Acceptance: February 29th, 2012
Deadline for submission of full papers: May 15th, 2012
FURTHER ENQUIREES
If you have questions concerning the scientific program or any other matter, please send an e-mail to: futuresconference2012@utu.fi
Or visit the conference web pages at:
www.futuresconference.fi/2012