The Arab Futures Lexicon

The Arab Futures Lexicon is the first regional effort to unify and evolve the language of foresight in Arabic.

For decades, futures terminology has been scattered across translations, institutions, and publications, creating fragmentation and barriers for researchers, policymakers, and educators.

This initiative addresses that gap by creating a living, collaborative, and authoritative reference for Arabic foresight terminology. It serves as both a knowledge base and a community platform, where experts and contributors work together to shape the evolving language of Arab futures.

Why It Matters

Language shapes imagination, and imagination shapes the future.

By developing a shared, contextually rooted lexicon, we are:

  • Enabling regional foresight capacity: Scholars, practitioners, and institutions gain a unified reference, reducing duplication and confusion.
  • Strengthening cultural sovereignty: The Arab world develops its own conceptual vocabulary of futures, independent yet globally connected.
  • Democratizing access to foresight: Translators, students, and emerging futurists gain free access to knowledge once locked in academic silos.
  • Preserving and evolving the Arabic language: Ensuring Arabic remains a language capable of leading global conversations about the future.

What Makes It Different

  • Collaborative design: Experts and contributors across the Arab world can suggest, debate, and refine terminology.
  • Rigorous methodology: Every translation is annotated, sourced, and reviewed for contextual precision.
  • Open access: The platform will remain free and public, embodying our mission to democratize foresight knowledge.
  • Scalable foundation: Future versions will include sectoral lexicons (e.g., climate, AI, governance) and bilingual search capabilities.

Explore the Terms

Search for specific terms, filter by category, and sort by date to find the information you need.

Futures Studies
drive
دوافع

wqr

Futures Studies
yallan rqwe
ياللا نجرب

ewrrk

Foresight Tools
Liquid Democracy
الديمقراطية السائلة

A form of delegative democracy whereby an electorate can delegate their voting power to delegates.

Futures Studies
Edge Computing
الحوسبة الحافية

A distributed computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the sources of data.

Foresight Tools
Circular Economy
الاقتصاد الدائري

An economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources.

Futures Studies
Quantum Computing
الحوسبة الكمومية

A type of computation that uses quantum-mechanical phenomena like superposition and entanglement.

Foresight Tools
Universal Basic Income (UBI)
الدخل الأساسي الشامل

A social security model where all citizens of a country regularly receive an unconditional sum of money.

Futures Studies
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
الذكاء الاصطناعي العام

A hypothetical type of AI that possesses the ability to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can.

Term Details