The College of Education, funded by the "Tamkang Clament and Carrie Chair" (the Panda Lecture), has invited Dr. Riel S. Miller, who served as the Head of Foresight and Strategic Planning at UNESCO from 2012 to 2022. He will deliver a lecture titled "Escaping Certainty: Humanity, the Universe, and Anticipation as Liberation" on September 22nd at 10:10 AM at the Chang Yeo Lan International Conference Hall, Hsu Shou-Chien International Conference Center. The entire lecture will be delivered in English, with real-time English and Chinese subtitles available. All are welcome to register for the event. The registration deadline for this lecture is September 19th at 22:00. Please visit our university's event registration system (https://enroll.tku.edu.tw/course.aspx?cid=TD1120922) to provide your registration information.
Dr. Miller is one of the world's leading futurists and practitioners, renowned as an innovative and globally experienced project initiator, designer, and manager. His publications in academic journals and the media cover topics ranging from the future of the internet to strategic transformation, making him an influential figure in contemporary thought. His work, "Transforming the Future: Anticipation in the 21st Century," has become a classic in the field of futures studies.
Dr. Kuo-Hua Chen, Dean of the College of Education, stated that Dr. Miller has a packed global schedule, and he initially accepted the invitation to deliver a Panda Lecture at our university. Subsequently, he agreed to participate in the "9th Asia-Pacific Futures Annual Conference" (APFN9) taking place in Malaysia from September 18th to 19th, as he aims to strengthen the promotion of futures literacy in the Asia-Pacific region. This conference, initiated by our university, was hosted by Tamkang University for the first two years and later taken over by member countries within the alliance. Its primary focus is to discuss global futures from an Asian perspective. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, the College of Education will also invite Dr. Miller to conduct a "Futures Literacy Experimental Workshop" with prospective research scholars from the National Science and Technology Council on the 23rd, and on the 25th, he will engage in a "Future Thinking Forum" with members of our university's Futures Committee and faculty members specializing in futures studies. Teachers interested in interdisciplinary self-directed learning are welcome to register for these events through the event registration system.
The theme of this event, "Escaping Certainty," was formulated by Dr. Miller and has a strong philosophical flavor, making it somewhat challenging to interpret literally. From the perspective of futures literacy, Dr. Chen explained, "People tend to focus too much on certainty and minimizing expected risks, thereby forsaking imagination, creativity, and losing their vision and values." This topic addresses a deeper future value, emphasizing that we should not solely prioritize "certainty" when facing the future and avoid being colonized by the future itself.
Dr. Miller began his career at the Paris-based OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) in 1982. In 1987, he earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the New School for Social Research in New York. In 1985, he worked for the government of Ontario, Canada, and held high-level management positions in the province's public service sector. In 1995, he returned to the OECD in Paris, where he worked on international futures projects and at the Center for Educational Research and Innovation. In 2005, he founded an independent consulting company called Xperidox, providing advice on how to utilize the future more effectively to clients from both the public and private sectors worldwide. From 2012 to 2022, he served as the Chief of Foresight and Strategic Planning at UNESCO.
