ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the significance of futures thinking in the heritage sector and how it can be taught to professionals. After a short exploration of how much we can know about the future, I introduce the concept of “futures literacy” and discuss its importance for the heritage sector. To date, explicit considerations of the future and future benefits of heritage are rare. I argue that there is a need for more capacity-building in futures literacy for the heritage sector. After reviewing several initiatives that have taken place to date, I present promising training methods of teaching futures literacy to heritage professionals. In the conclusion, I discuss some important lessons for improving futures literacy in the heritage sector and thus helping ensure that benefits of heritage in society, although subject to change, can be sustained over long time periods.
