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Are we prepared for the 21st century? There is room for doubt. The future seems increasingly uncertain, hard to decipher, ambiguous in its very indeterminism, sometime frankly illegible. If it is impossible to predict the future, one can at least help to shape it. To respond in a timely manner to the challenges of the 21st century, one must start by posing the right questions so as to identify possible solutions, if any, before it is too late. This is precisely the role of future-oriented studies and forward thinking as represented in this volume. Originating as it does in a UNESCO series of encounters and exchanges between scientists, intellectuals, artists, decision-makers, and leading personalities from public life, it offers a forum for an open debate, in the spirit of a new ethic of discussion, on a wide range of problems, challenges and solutions from a variety of perspectives. In short what this volume strives to achieve is to contribute to an ethic of the future.
Summary
Since September 1997, UNESCO's Analysis and Forecasting Office has been arranging a series of "Twenty-First Century Talks," each of which brings together two or three leading scientists, intellectuals, creators or decision-makers from all parts of the world. The Office also organized the first "Twen
