The present special issue hosts contributions that were presented at the International Foresight Academy Seminar that was organised by one of the IFA partners, Zurcher Hochschule Fur Angewandte Wissenschaften I - ZHAW, in Winterthur Switzerland, 16-19 September 2013.This Academic Seminar explored the development and use of foresight approaches aimed at enabling a smarter, more participatory and sustainable future through cross-cultural comparisons. The organisers invited authors to submit contributions which either elaborated on the underpinning theoretical basis or presented a practical national / regional perspective or an individual approach to participatory foresight, relating technological innovation(s) to social impacts. The focus was set on two major themes of interest:• Foresight's role in supporting democracy targeted impacts: this theme examined whether foresight has had and can have an impact in empowering citizens to engage in decision making processes and thus shape participatory governance systems and democratic societies.• Foresight and stakeholder engagement in addressing grand challenges: this theme focused on the role that participation and democracy enabled through foresight approaches can have in designing and implementing sustainable solutions to challenges societies face today and may face in the future.