Summit presenters warn of unprecedented rate of change
TIME is running out for businessmen and women to secure their seats at the highly anticipated inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay Futures Summit, which takes place at the NMMU Business School on Monday and Tuesday next week.
One of the leading global minds in the field, Professor Sohail Inayatullah – who is the Unesco Chair for Futures Studies – will present his research at the two-day summit. Joining him from abroad will be academic peers Professor Luke van der Laan and Professor André Roux.
Acclaimed South African futurist Tanja Hichert will also present at the summit, along with the Bay’s Professor Chris Adendorff.
Adendorff is the NMMU Business School futurist and initiated the Futures Summit, which is being hosted by NMMU in association with official media partner The Herald.
According to the event organisers, there is still time to book, although seats are being snapped up fast.
Inayatullah said his presentation would draw from case studies around the world “to explore city and community futures”.
“It concludes that it is not enough to be engaged in traditional strategy, nor are scenarios sufficient. Rather, new narratives – grounded in metaphors that can transform – are required,” he said.
Inayatullah, who is based in Australia, has conducted foresight workshops for the likes of the Thailand government, the European Commission, Unesco, the Office of the Prime Minister in Canada, and the Office of the Prime Minister in Singapore.
“Given changes in the nature of change – from 3D printing, to climate change, to automated cars, to jobless futures, to the rise of youth in Africa and the rights of women throughout the world – can business as usual continue?” he said.
Inayatullah said a recent report by the Foundation for Young Australians provided dramatic forecasts for 2030, including that 44% of jobs would be automated over the next 10 years and 60% of students were chasing careers that would no longer exist.
“In a similar vein, the World Economic Forum forecasts in its report, The Future of Jobs, that five million jobs will disappear because of automation,” he said.
“Not just factory jobs, but office workers as well as professionals in law and accounting will also be hit.
“McKinsey & Company asserts that 45% of today’s workplace activities could be done by robots.”
Adendorff agreed, saying: “The unprecedented rate of change in technology alone will cause disruption in industry after industry, because most industries are not ready for the change.”
This underscored the need for Bay businesses to attend the summit, he said.
Visit www.nmbfuturessummit.co.za for information or to register.