1. The Pact for the Future & The Declaration on Future Generations - were agreed and signed by 147 countries at a big UN meeting about the future on 22 September, 2024.
The two agreements commit to making it easier for young people to be involved in important decisions that affect everyone, a process known as intergenerational dialogue.
They also ensure that the needs of future generations are considered when creating new rules and laws. This approach often leads to more sustainable choices that benefit both people and the planet.
2.School of International Futures (SOIF) handbook for Declaration on Future Generations - was launched at the Summit.
The handbook helps leaders, like governments, the EU, and the UN, understand how to include young people in making big decisions and planning for the future.
It also has a checklist to make sure these plans think about what future generations will need.
3.The First Ever European Union (EU) Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness - was appointed on 17th September, 2024. This person’s job is to make sure that when the EU is making decisions, they are thinking about the impact the plans will have on future generations - ensuring ‘intergenerational-equity.’
4.Wales is Leading by Example - in 2015, Wales passed a law called the Well-being of Future Generations Act and even hired a Future Generations Commissioner — the first in the world. This law makes sure the needs of future generations are always a part of decisions in Wales, and now other countries are looking at Wales as a leader in how to do this.
The Organisations Preparing Young People to Take Part in Big Decisions About the Future
5.Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies and 6.Teach the Future - I was fortunate to work with people from these two amazing organisations.They teach students and teachers around the world how to think about the future. These “futures-thinking” skills help young people learn what to consider and look out for when making big plans and decisions about their futures.
7.Teach the Future- Young Voices Network - is a global community of 12-17-year-olds who have completed Teach the Future’s training. Their responses to the Young Voices for Fairer Futures project were impressive and showed how much learning futures-thinking can help young people make a difference.
I was also lucky to work with Amna Habiba, their Director of Youth, Innovation, and Technology. She not only helped organise and present the Young Voices for Fairer Futures submissions, but also played an important role in the youth-led opening sessions at the UN Summit.
8.UNICEF’s Innocenti Youth-Led Foresight Programme - this youth led programme is also teaching young people futures thinking skills. As part of this work the young people involved have gathered input from over 800 young people from 12 countries. Their insights explore future challenges and propose valuable recommendations for the next 10 to 25 years - all summarised in the Young Visionary - Child Rights Youth Foresight Report. Highlights of which can be found in this UNICEF Innocenti video
9. Matthew Persky - an inspiring young person who is part of the UN YOUTH VOICE, is a UNESCO Learning Planet Youth Fellow & a member of Teach the Future Youth Council. We met at the Festival and I highly recommend you check out this video summary he made with his brother about the UN Summit of the Future.
10. Building Hopeful Futures Festival - created by the fantastic organisations Futures Friends and SOIF was a rare opportunity to showcase and celebrate organisations and countries already using futures thinking and working with young people to shape decisions about their future.
Over 150 people attended the festival in person, with 650 plus joining online from 60 countries.
At the festival, I co- presented the submissions from the Young Voices for Fairer Futures project - where we asked young people what they would do if they were in charge - stay tuned to hear their responses!
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