Before out:look

What awaits us in the 2030s – and beyond? What social, technological and political developments could be coming our way? Possible answers to these questions have been compiled by the Future Office. Using various foresight methods, a total of 80 new topics (50 in 2020 and another 30 in 2021) have been identified, giving us a glimpse of possible futures.

Will we soon be sending an avatar to the office instead of going ourselves?? Will we perhaps live under the sea at some point in the future? Let’s soon test the use of drugs on the computer instead of animal experiments? And how could we counteract insect mortality in the future?

You can explore these and many other exciting questions in our compact topic sheets. Read for yourself!

Note: You can click on the table of contents to jump directly to the relevant topic sheet.

Understanding the future – with strategic foresight

There are many visions of the future, but which of them are plausible?? Can we influence our future? What can we do today to improve the conditions for a good future? What opportunities do we have, what desires guide us, what uncertainties do we want to face?

We cannot predict the future, but we can look for trends and developments that will become important in the future. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s Strategic Foresight process does just that: Identify and describe future trends using scientific methods to get an idea of the future. And these insights are not only open to politics: foresight.de offers guidance for anyone grappling with the future. Read more

How our value worlds could change?

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How our society might develop in the next 10 to 20 years? With the study "The Future of People’s Values in Our Country," futurologists and foresight experts, the Future Circle and the Future Office take a look at the future. In the film, you can learn more about six possible scenarios that give an insight into individual, social and political value concepts of tomorrow and show which developments and trends will play a role in them.

The future of values in our country

Modern societies are characterized not only by different lifestyles, but also by a variety of values. Our actions are embedded in a framework of cultural influences, attitudes and interests – and have a significant impact on technological and social developments.
And also to identify incisive, collectively relevant events – for example, the terrorist attack of 11. September 2001 or the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 – have an impact on the development of a society.
In order to gain a preview of possible future value landscapes, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) commissioned the study "The Future of People’s Value Perceptions in Our Country". Your goal: Show which futures are possible.

The study derives six scenarios based on value propositions – including, for example, the "bonus system", "speed differences" and a "return of blocks". Learn more and click through each item – or view the entire study in the short or long versions.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in the publications do not necessarily reflect those of the BMBF. In addition, the scenarios outlined in the studies are not to be understood as forecasts and do not necessarily represent desirable visions of the future for the German government or the BMBF’s Office for the Future. The work for this study took place in the period between July 2019 and December 2019 and thus lies before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT?

What values might shape our future? And who influences the communication of these values? In order to find out which futures are possible, the Future Office has conducted a study on behalf of the BMBF entitled "The future of human values"

WHAT CAME OUT OF IT?

More willingness to help and less selfishness: Nearly 70 percent of respondents want social and community values to become more important in our society in the future

INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETAL VALUES

Have friends, be successful, live a health-conscious life and discover the world: The relevance of these and other values are often rated as having different importance personally and in society. But how far do these ideas really drift

WISHES FOR HOW THE FUTURE SHOULD BE

Thinking less about yourself, focusing on the common good, being more helpful, narrowing the gap between rich and poor: What should our society look like in the future? Citizens were asked about this as part of the values study. Erg