About
Arthur C. Clarke was a visionary and a world-renowned writer who believed we could combine science, technology, and imagination to create a better future. His work and his humanity shaped the 20th Century and continues to influence how we see the world.
The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation builds on Sir Arthur’s legacy by:
- Unleashing imagination by integrating science and technology with the arts and literature
- Honoring the visionaries of today
- Promoting “future thinking” among the next generation
- Highlighting how new scientific and engineering advances will shape our future.
To further its mission: “Unleashing imagination to shape the future,” the Foundation has established an annual awards program, educational programs, and lectures. In addition, it partners with university, museums, and other institutions involved in interdisciplinary work like that of Sir Arthur.
Sir Arthur’s Worldview
Arthur C. Clarke was prescient about technological and scientific developments twenty, thirty, or even fifty years in the future. He was fascinated by the exploration of the universe. He cared profoundly about planet Earth. He shared with a global audience his hope for the future of humanity. He believed that imagination–combined with science, technology and the arts–was essential to our future survival. He used writing and the visual arts to bring science and technology to the curious and the young.
The Clarke Foundation believes, like Sir Arthur, that we need big, fresh ideas to address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. Doing this requires “future thinking” in our schools, companies, governments, and other institutions and on the part of our leaders.
The Foundation’s History
The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation was established in 1983 in Washington, D.C., as part of World Communications Year celebrations, an international event sponsored by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU). That year, Clarke agreed to serve as honorary chairman of the Clarke Foundation of the United States. He served in this capacity until his death in March 2008.
The Foundation was created to recognize and promote the extraordinary contributions of Arthur C. Clarke to the world, and to promote the use of space and telecommunications technology for the benefit of humankind. Our work promotes the seminal works and ideas of one of the leading thinkers of the 20th Century’s and one of the most widely-read writers of science fiction whose books included “Childhood’s End” and “2001: A Space Odyssey.” He imagined the future, but he also helped design it. As a 28-year-old physicist, Clarke envisioned a future where geosynchronous satellites—”extra-terrestrial relays”—could be used for global communication. While Arthur C. Clarke is not longer alive, his cautious optimism and his charge to all of us to take care of each other–and our planet–inspires the work of the Foundation.