Future Challenges affect everyone. They concern all of us, not only a handful of decision-makers. We are highly and widely connected people living in a interdependent world, people of different cultures, religions and political backgrounds. We all share the same common basic values. The internet gives us a face and the opportunity to take part in the global commons debate. Fc-Org invites you to step into this global forum and join the conversation.

“FutureChallenges” is an initiative of the Bertelsmann Foundation. Politically nonpartisan, the Bertelsmann Stiftung is a place where people come together to create forward-looking change. Our project work involves more than just developing compelling ideas. We are committed to ”helpfully improving the way things are,” to quote Reinhard Mohn, the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s founder (read more).

We inhabit an increasingly interconnected world, yet today’s policymakers and advisors view each issue in a vacuum, focusing primarily on the near-term impacts. Efforts to improve this system and broaden the field of vision of our policymakers are critical today, and will be into the 21st century.

The central goal of this project is to help policymakers, communities, and citizens understand how some of today’s most significant issues are likely to interact and to encourage them to act on this information.

All content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License unless otherwise stated.

 

We@FutureChallenges – The Team

 

Ole Wintermann

Ole has studied economics and political science in Gothenburg, Kiel and Greifswald. He joined the Bertelsmann Stiftung in 2002. After having been engaged in demographic issues he initiatied the idea of futurechallenges.org in order to address global interdependencies as a future topic. Ole is also engaged in Google Collaboratory and as a blogger on his personal blog (www.globaler-wandel.eu).

“When developing futurechallenges.org, I became more and more aware of what an amazing environment the Internet is. With its decentralized structure and self-organizing capability, it poses an on-going challenge to existing processes, eternal truths and well-defined structures.”

fc_org-Team Twitter: @futurechall_org

Twitter: @olewin

Blog: Globaler Wandel

 

Jonathan Stevens

Jonathan is based in Washington, DC at Bertelsmann’s North American office since 2008. Prior to work in the public and private sectors, on issues ranging from public health to banking and finance, he came to the foundation to work on exactly the type of issues afforded by futurechallenges.org: long-range, globally-affecting, interconnected trends. When not working long hours fixing all that’s wrong in the world, Jonathan plays rugby and runs triathlons.

“I find my work at the Bertelsmann Foundation, and specifically within the Future Challenges department, to be the culmination of a broad set of career experiences. As a former epidemiologist, recovering federal lobbyist, and still-smarting public school teacher, I understand that the issues and trends that affect us on the global level can be addressed at the local level but only if we take into account their complexity and interconnectedness.”

Twitter: @jes412

Anneliese Guess

Anneliese joined the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Washington, DC office in August 2011.   A lifelong learner, Anneliese has many disparate interests, including: graphic design, food politics, English literature, yoga, global migration, and identity issues. She is thrilled to contribute to Future Challenges and to be working on a project that explores the interactions between megatrends.

“I think that Future Challenges plays a key role in reaching out to global citizens and providing a platform for discussion and debate. As the world becomes more interconnected, it is important for individuals to engage in collective dialogue, make their voices heard, and participate in shaping our shared future.”

Twitter: @DCAnneliese

 

Ting Xu

Ting Xu was born in Sichuan, China. As a Senior Project Manager with the Bertelsmann Foundation North America’s Global Project, she brings Asian perspectives on global governance to transatlantic forums. Her work covers a wide range of global governance topics including: global economic imbalances and the role of China; the evolving Sino-US relations; and the role of the United Nations in climate change governance. Before she joined the Bertelsmann Foundation she worked at the World Bank on sustainable development projects for China. Ting has also worked for the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Washington and the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo. She was a Graduate Fellow of United Nations Association.

 

Tom Fries

Tom has been with the Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington for two years, and will be spending two more years at headquarters in Germany beginning in September 2011. Prior to joining the Bertelsmann Foundation, Tom enjoyed life as a neuroscientist, rowing coach, business student, consultant and cupcake mogul. He loves foreign languages, singing, and playing backgammon.

“Futurechallenges.org has given me the opportunity to use my curiosity both about these central issues for the future and about the new tools which we can use to address them. I can’t overstate the excitement of working with a truly global and multilingual network of partners, and of exploring the capabilities of tools which are new to me. I love the central challenge of making an impact in these critical areas.”

Twitter: @friestm

Blog: Thomas Fries

 

Nicole Kleimann

Nicole joined the Bertelsmann Stiftung in 1998 and is a highly experienced management assistant. She has been with the Futurechallenges project ever since it started in 2010 and she keeps a tight rein on the creative energy of the team. She is the person to turn to when it comes to special events, workshops and administrative issues.

“For me, working for Futurechallenges brings it own special kind of rewards. Discovering the interrelations of our themes and presenting their interdependencies in the way we do is very much moving into new territory and for me personally is a very exciting experience. I also love our decidedly international outlook with the stream of different insights and viewpoints from all four corners of the world that reach us through our steadily growing network of bloggers.”

Twitter: @nk2804

 

We@Futurechallenges – Regional Editors

We@Futurechallenges – Cooperation Partners