About Cecilia
With decades of experience working in the intersection of entrepreneurship, technology, science and design, and an award-winning entrepreneur, Cecilia is currently founder and CEO of Futurity Systems, providing futures-as-a-service to help companies and organizations to build better futures faster, together. Cecilia is currently a PhD researcher at Illinois Institute of Technology on her thesis on Algorithmic Futuring.
Cecilia Tham is a Harvard-trained designer, formerly a Social Technologist at Alpha Telefonica, Europe’s first moonshot factory, and a serial entrepreneur, founded multiple companies such as Makers of Barcelona, FabCafe and allWomen.tech. She served previously as advisor to UN World Food Program X, SXSW, as well as for the City Government of Barcelona and other private companies.
The Talk
How to design the future
As futurists, we are often tasked with envisioning, preparing, prototyping and even rehearsing for the future, even when much of it remains uncertain. In this talk, we will explore how combining the rigor of science with the imagination of design can help us navigate the unknown and create a better future. From understanding emerging technologies and their impact on society, to using Synthesizing Futures (future based design thinking) to imagine new solutions to complex problems, we will examine how a combination of scientific analysis and creative thinking can inform our futurist perspective and we will share examples of how we tackle futuring. The discussion will also address the importance of diversity and inclusiveness in futurist forecasting, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure that future scenarios are grounded in reality and reflect the values and needs of all members of society.