PRIVACY POLICY
PRIVACY POLICY

EKKE Foresight Unit

EKKE Foresight Unit - Foresight U

Established: 2025

In today’s environment of multiple, overlapping crises, our well-being is tied to our ability to imagine alternative futures. The vision of the Foresight Unit is to bring futures research and the study of future generations out of Research Centers and Universities and into society as a whole. Addressing major contemporary societal challenges requires deeper understanding of rapid change, as well as greater collective intelligence and resilience among people and institutions. With this in mind, the Foresight Unit conducts interdisciplinary research on a wide range of issues concerning Greek society, combining strategic planning with modern foresight methods and tools.

Objectives

  • Development and application of methodologies and tools for strategic foresight to support public policy design and innovation.
  • Analysis of trends and future scenarios in thematic areas such as labor, demography, new technologies, the green transition, entrepreneurship, the health system, island regions, culture, and more.
  • Promotion of “futures literacy” within Greek society and public administration.
  • Creation of new knowledge and contribution to national and international scientific dialogue.
  • Development of a repository of data and scenarios for use by public and private sector stakeholders.
  • Dissemination of foresight methodologies and skills through educational events and collaboration with other organizations.

Main Research Areas

  • Foresight
  • Futures Studies
  • Strategic Planning
  • Research, Technology, and Innovation Policy
  • Artificial Intelligence and Society
  • Media and Social Networks
  • Public Policy and Social Dynamics
  • Regional and Sustainable Development
  • Demographic Trends and Social Cohesion
  • Digital and Green Transition
  • Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Population Change and Migration
  • Social Policy and the Future of Work, Production & Consumption
  • Political Participation and Governance
  • Public Health and Social Well-being
  • Research Ethics, Technoethics, and Bioethics
  • Polycrisis, Institutions, and Social Resilience
  • Complexity and Dynamic, Nonlinear Systems
  • Social Research Methodology
  • Methodological Approaches
  • Scenario Planning: Co-creation and development of multiple scenarios relating to possible futures—not to predict them, but to manage uncertainty and strengthen participatory resilience.
  • Horizon Scanning: Identification of weak signals, emerging issues, and recognized trends.
  • Backcasting: An approach that starts from a vision of a desirable future and works backwards to identify the steps required to achieve it, unlike traditional forecasting, which extrapolates from current trends.

Other important approaches:
Delphi Method, Quantitative Methods, Qualitative Methods, Computational Methods, Mixed Methods, Field Surveys, Databases.
Director/Coordinator

Charalampos Tsekeris is a Principal Researcher at the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE), specializing in the “Sociology of the Internet.” He also serves as Chair of the National Bioethics & Technoethics Committee (NHBTE), a Regular Member of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), CHS Associate in Technology and Ethics at Harvard University, Member of the OECD “AI Futures” Expert Group, Member of the High-Level Advisory Committee on Artificial Intelligence, and Visiting Professor at the University of Athens.He has served as an External Scientist at ETH Zürich and Professor Extraordinary at the Stellenbosch University School of Public Leadership, and he is a Research Fellow at the Anti-Corruption Education and Research Centre (Stellenbosch). He coordinates the “World Internet Project–Greece,” which focuses on technology use in Greece. He has led multiple foresight research projects and has taught at top universities (Harvard University, ETHZ, LSE, University of Zurich, etc.) as well as numerous programs in Greece and abroad. His work is included in the libraries of leading international universities.

Internal Members

  • Vasiliki Georgiadou, Professor at Panteion University, Director and President of the Board of EKKE
  • Dimitra Kondyli, Research Director, IKΕ–EKKE
  • Apostolos Linardis, Director, IKΕ–EKKE
  • Pavlos Baltas, Principal Researcher, IKΕ–EKKE
  • Giorgos Papadoudis, Principal Researcher, IKΕ–EKKE

External Collaborators

  • Stathis Arapostathis, Professor, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, NKUA
  • Nikos Demertzis, Professor, Department of Communication and Media Studies, NKUA; Emeritus Researcher, EKKE
  • Christos Diou, Associate Professor, Department of Informatics & Telematics, Harokopio University
  • Vaggelis Karkaletsis, President, NCSR “Demokritos”
  • Virginia Kokkiou, Lawyer, HCMC – EU Expert
  • Fai Makantasi, Research Director, diaNEOsis
  • Matthew D. Matsaganis, Associate Professor, School of Communication & Information, Rutgers University
  • Nikos Moustakidis, Data Scientist, HCMC
  • Manolis Patiniotis, Professor, Department of Sociology, NKUA
  • Nikos Stasinopoulos, PhD in Political Science & Communication
  • Epameinondas Christofilopoulos, UNESCO Chairholder on Futures Research & Member of the ESIR Committee

Contact Info: [email protected]