News
Update: September 2012
Frederick S. Pardee Celebrates 80th Birthday
Frederick S. Pardee celebrated his 80th birthday at a party on September 15, organized by his sisters and held on the terrace of Rand in Santa Monica. Barry Hughes attended the gathering of Fred's relatives, friends, and business associates. All of us at the Pardee IFs Center have been greatly privileged to have both the financial support for and the participation of Fred in our activities. He not only conceptualized the series on Patterns of Potential Human Progress, but he has been the driving force behind the extensive forecasts that accompany every volume. His efforts have made possible the creation of (what we immodestly believe to be) a quite incredible long-term global forecasting capability, one that increasingly helps people and organizations around the world better understand alternative possible futures and how to improve the global human condition. Happy Birthday to Fred and all of our best wishes for many more of them!
BuzzChurn expanding, moved to DU servers
The Pardee Center is expanding BuzzChurn, its online interactive news-tracking tool, to include global news coverage related to International Governmental Organizations (IGOs). This additional tool, which will operate separately from the original BuzzChurn state instability tracker, supplements the Pardee Center’s newly constructed database of country membership in IGOs. As an integrated part of the International Futures model, the data—which spans from 1945 to 2010—will be used to inform policymakers and institutions such as the U.S. National Intelligence Council. The new IGO-focused BuzzChurn tool is still in development but can be found online at buzzchurn.du.edu/igo. Likewise, the original BuzzChurn tool, which displays hourly, country-by-country aggregation of news related to state instability, has been moved to a new home on the University of Denver servers. This site is also under development and can be found at buzzchurn.du.edu.
For real-time updates on state instability around the world, make sure to follow @buzz_churn on Twitter.
International Futures at the 2012 International Career Advancement Program
On September 24, Dale Rothman used the International Futures model to present “Forecasting the Future” at the 2012 International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) held in Aspen, Colorado. ICAP, which is co-sponsored by the University of Denver, invites mid-career professionals from underrepresented groups to the Aspen Institute to meet with senior officials, faculty and its staff. The goal of the nine-day program is to advance talented professionals from minority groups to more senior positions in international affairs.
Pardee Center graduate assistant news
Research Assistant Carey Neill spent the summer in Cape Town, South Africa interning at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the Pardee Center’s African partner, helping to gather data on the Western Cape provinces of South Africa for inclusion in the International Futures model. He is now in Bangkok, Thailand, working as an intern for UNESCO.
Research Assistant Graham Emde spent the summer in Pretoria, South Africa, interning at the ISS Pretoria branch. Graham split his time in Pretoria conducting IFs trainings for ISS staff and supporting the Western Cape project. He returned earlier this month and will continue to work with the Pardee Center from Denver.
Research Assistant Kate McGrath has returned to Denver after spending three months in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, as an Agricultural Extension Services Intern through MercyCorp. She worked directly with Kompanion Financial Group, a micro-finance company that promotes sustainable development and natural resource conservation, to design training modules and informational materials for local farmers.
Research Assistant Mickey Rafa is spending his fall quarter in Cape Town, continuing Neill’s work on the Western Cape project. He will help the ISS prepare the provincial model for a local IFs training in Cape Town in December. He is also working to promote the Africa Futures Project through social media outreach. Please follow the project @africanfutures.
Research Assistant Hanna Camp is in Washington, DC, participating in an internship at the Strategic Foresight Initiative at The Atlantic Council. She is also taking classes as part of the Josef Korbel School’s Global Security and Development Program.
Former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff visits Pardee Center
Andrew Romanoff, a former U.S. Senate candidate and former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, visited the Pardee Center on Sept. 21. He discussed ways in which the center might become more involved in his recent efforts to promote the city of Denver as a hub for international development and the NGO community.
The Pardee Center on Twitter
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