Tellus Institute - For a Great Transition

The Great Transition Initiative is a global network for elaborating visions and strategies for a future of enriched lives, global solidarity and a healthy planet. GTI’s scholars and activists work to give texture, rigor and direction to the popular slogan “another world is possible.” It builds on the work of the Global Scenario Group (GSG), which for a decade has been at the forefront of envisioning and analyzing alternative global futures. With a distinguished roster of 200 participants from over 40 countries, GTI is uniquely positioned to reach out to those seeking an improved understanding of global challenges and a positive framework for addressing them.

Activities cluster into three broad areas:

  • Scenario Development – GTI’s work rests on a strong research platform of quantitative assessment of alternative scenarios. It also includes thematic studies of key aspects of a Great Transition that are collected in the GTI Paper Series, Frontiers of a Great Transition.
  • Outreach and Dissemination – Participants present GTI ideas in venues throughout the world, conduct radio and TV interviews, consult on films about the global future, and join international assessment teams; essays and papers are distributed both electronically and in hard copy form, and worked into journal articles; presentational resources are developed and disseminated to the general public.
  • Building the Network – The GTI e-dialogue explores global conditions, alternative futures, and priorities for action, building cohesion among participants and developing the intellectual groundwork of the initiative; new participants are added to expand expertise, reach new audiences, and improve regional and gender balance; regional coordinators are developing sub-networks of GTI participants for research, writing, and outreach efforts, a long term capacity-building process launched first in Latin America.

The GTI Coordinating Unit is hosted at Tellus Institute in Boston in partnership with the Stockholm Environment Institute.

*NEW*The Great Transition Today: A Report from the Future*NEW*
Written from the perspective of a historian in 2084, this paper reflects upon life in a Great Transition society.

Program leader: Dr. Paul D. Raskin
Contact: praskin@tellus.org