Welcome to the new-look WFC newsletter!
While we gear up to the launch of our first campaign, we are also making preparations for the upcoming Founding Congress meeting in Hamburg, Germany, in May ? the first full meeting of the World Future Council. With the launch of the new website, and the imminent release of two new books and a film for the BBC, the WFC is a hive of activity!
In this issue:

• The new website
• The new WFC book
• The Founding Congress
• The Climate Campaign
• New staff join the WFC

New website launched
As many of you will have already realised, we have a new website! Thanks to Sebastian Sauer and his colleagues at ion2s, the WFC now has a site that it can be proud of. Of course there is still much to be done, and the site will continue to grow and develop. We are currently working on the ?Projects and Campaigns? and ?WFC Community? pages.
We welcome feedback, so let us know what you think!
Email: dan@worldfuturecouncil.org

New WFC book!
The release of Zukunft ist möglich: Wege aus dem Klima-Chaos, the German translation of Surviving the Century: facing climate chaos and other challenges, was accompanied by several public events in Germany.
From May 20-22nd the WFC and its German Publishers Europäische Verlagsanstalt hosted 3 panel discussions and a reception in Hamburg and Leipzig. Broad public attendance and extensive media coverage (see the press section on our website) have shown that we hit the right cord: climate chaos and its threat to our common future needs to be addressed with concrete proposals for timely action. We thank everyone that has been part of these inspiring evenings and look forward to welcome you back in upcoming events and actions!

About the book:
The first major book published by the World Future Council, Surviving the Century focuses primarily on environmental issues. Above all else its eight chapters are concerned with making new choices about dealing with climate change. As Ross Gelbspan notes in his chapter, ?a meaningful solution to the climate crisis could potentially be the beginning of a much larger transformation of our social and economic dynamics?. This book offers a contribution to this transformation. Looking in turn at issues relating to energy, agriculture, forests, cities, industrial processes, international trade, and the democratic system, this books contributors consider the gaps between where we are and where we need to be, and point to ways of bridging these.

Order your copy in German here.
Pre-order your copy in English here.

The Founding Congress
The inaugural meeting of the full World Future Council is going to be held in Hamburg, the WFC?s secretarial city, from the 10th to the 13th May. Aside from bringing everyone together for the first time ? the Councillors, staff and advisors ? this meeting will be where the Council agrees the WFC constitution and sets the agenda for the coming year. The Councillors will also agree the business plan and budget, and elect the Executive Committee and its chair for the coming year.
As well as the more formal elements, the Founding Congress is also about creating community among the Councillors, drawing together their collective knowledge and expertise, and bringing it to bear on the challenges we currently face.
For further information about the Founding Congress, visit our website.

The Climate Campaign
Our first campaign, to be launched on 13th May with the Council?s support, will promote concrete policies and successful strategies to face climate chaos. Since our dependence on fossil fuels is responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions, the first part pushes for a significantly accelerated uptake of renewable forms of energy. The most effective tool for this is feed-in tariffs and our researcher Miguel Mendonca has done in-depth research on success stories and the path to get there. His book ? Feed-in Tariffs: Accelerating the development of renewable energy ? is available for pre-order and on the market by mid May.
We have also supported the production of a TVE film ? Pay-Back Time ? that will be broadcasted on BBC World on the 5th and 6th May as part of their Earth Report series (check the BBC World website for local broadcasting times). This film will then appear on our website as well, along with many more materials on the energy of the future!

WFC grows
We have welcomed some new members of staff recently.

• Stefan Schurig has joined us as the Climate and Energy Director. Based in the Hamburg office, Stefan now heads up the climate team.
• Caspar Henderson will be joining us as the new Research Manager on the 1st May. Based in the London office, Caspar will head up the research team.
• Rob Turner will also be joining us on the 1st of May as Media and Communications Manager. Based in the Hamburg office, Rob will be in charge of our international media work and the website.
• Holger Güssefeld and Petra Achterfeld have joined the WFC in Hamburg, developing Future Kids as part of the Climate Campaign.
• Niko Schäpke and Mariana Ivanova have both started internships with the WFC. Niko is working with our staff in the Hamburg office, while Mariana is based in London.

To see their bios visit the staff section of our website.