by Ariella Shalev | Dec 8, 2021
The Wellbeing for Future Generations (Wales) Act became law in 2015. A previous FDSD blog reflected on development of the Act from my perspective as Sustainable Futures Commissioner for Wales from 2011-16, setting out its genesis in the devolution process. This is now...
by Peter Davies | Dec 8, 2021 | Blog, News and Comment
The Wellbeing for Future Generations (Wales) Act became law in 2015. A previous FDSD blog reflected on development of the Act from my perspective as Sustainable Futures Commissioner for Wales from 2011-16, setting out its genesis in the devolution process. This is now...
by kultur.work | Feb 13, 2020 | News and Comment
FDSD is playing a leading role in developing the campaign for a UK Future Generations Act in partnership with Lord Bird and the Big Issue. On Tuesday 12 February, a standing room-only meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Future Generations considered the...
by Graham Smith | Nov 13, 2019 | News and Comment
FDSD was delighted to host a workshop at the University of Westminster to develop the campaign for the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act being led by Lord Bird. The event attracted representatives from around 30 organisations, including UK Student Climate Network,...
by kultur.work | Dec 22, 2018 | News and Comment
Delivering the inaugural Well-being of Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ Annual Lecture, The Big Issue founder and crossbench peer, John Bird, called for the approach to long-term thinking pioneered in Wales to be rolled out across the rest of...
by Ariella Shalev | Mar 9, 2022
The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act places obligations on 44 public bodies in Wales to meet Well-being goals while maintaining the sustainable development principle. The Act also establishes a Future Generations Commissioner for Wales as a new institution...
by kultur.work | Aug 10, 2018 | News and Comment
A new paper by the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, authored by FDSD associate Victor Anderson, considers possible reforms to UK constitutional and political arrangements intended to help overcome the problem of a lack of representation of...
by kultur.work | Oct 27, 2016 | News and Comment
From May 2008 to August 2012 Dr. Sándor Fülöp was the first Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations in Hungary. He is president of the Hungarian Environmental Management and Law Association (EMLA), works on public interest environmental cases as a private...
by kultur.work | Oct 27, 2016 | News and Comment
Peter Davies has a wide range of roles working in support of communities, citizens and consumers. These include chairing the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Welsh Water’s Customer Challenge Group and the Size of Wales charity, Director of Pembrokeshire Community...
by kultur.work | Dec 13, 2022 | News and Comment
FDSD update: Quiet but busy… FDSD has been quiet during COVID, but not inactive. We have been rethinking how we can best contribute to the profound challenges facing democracies today. We are planning an event in 2023 to bring together the diverse and fragmented...
by Ariella Shalev | Mar 10, 2022
As part of Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, national indicators for measuring progress towards the achievement of the Well-being goals must be published by Welsh ministers. A national indicator must “be expressed as a value or...
by Ariella Shalev | Mar 10, 2022
In April 2016 the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales was appointed as part of the legal obligations built into The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. The Commissioner’s role is to promote sustainable development, to act as the guardian of...
by Ariella Shalev | Mar 9, 2022 | News and Comment
The Future Trends Report Wales 2021 brings together possible future trends, drivers of change and potential risks across all sectors comprising the wellbeing of Wales. The report highlights intergenerational challenges to which Wales needs to respond and identifies...
by Ariella Shalev | Mar 9, 2022
On 4th May 2020 the first Future Generations Report was published by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe, as part of her statutory duties. The report was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government and marked 5 years...
by Ariella Shalev | Feb 17, 2022 | News and Comment
On the 4th February 2022 The Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill passed its final reading in the House of Lords. Lord Bird led the third and final reading of the Bill, which will now move to the House of Commons co-sponsored by Simon Fell MP, bringing it a...
by Ariella Shalev | Feb 17, 2022
#Todayfortomorrow is a campaign promoting The Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill. The campaign, founded by Lord Bird, is led by The Big Issue. The campaign aims to put long-term thinking at the centre of UK policymaking to protect the wellbeing of current and...
by Ariella Shalev | Feb 10, 2022
The Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill is a private members’ bill ensuring that public bodies consider future generations when making decisions and creating new policies. The Bill, led by Lord Bird and co-sponsored by Simon Fell MP, will protect the wellbeing of...
by John Lotherington | Feb 2, 2022 | Blog, News and Comment
Regional disparities have haunted policy makers in the UK for generations – regional economic agencies have come and gone, motorways were built to reconnect economic centres, subsidies were tried and then more market forces. But, as we emerge from the pandemic,...
by Ariella Shalev | Feb 2, 2022
Regional disparities have haunted policy makers in the UK for generations – regional economic agencies have come and gone, motorways were built to reconnect economic centres, subsidies were tried and then more market forces. But, as we emerge from the pandemic,...
by Ariella Shalev | Dec 15, 2021
Japan’s Future Design movement offers a unique model for overcoming short-termism in democratic decision-making. Drawing on traditional culture, Future Design is inspired by the principle of seventh-generation decision making, with the aim of strengthening...
by kultur.work | Apr 23, 2021
On May 20th 2021 FDSD held a launch event for a new book by Prof Graham Smith, Chair of FDSD and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster. In Can Democracy Safeguard the Future? Graham asks why democracies repeatedly...
by Andrea Westall | Aug 17, 2020 | Blog, News and Comment
One positive outcome of our current situation, is probably a greater awareness of the importance of the places in which we live, FDSD trustee Andrea Westall writes. For three areas in Wales, this reconnection started back in summer 2018 when Friends Provident...
by kultur.work | Jul 7, 2020
In #futuregen, Jane Davidson explains how, as Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, she proposed what became the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 – the first piece of legislation in history to place regenerative and...
by kultur.work | Apr 28, 2020
The Three Horizons Toolkit is a usefully accessible framework that helps people to think and plan for the longer term; rather than being trapped in the here and now—and thereby potentially missing opportunities or not spotting risks. The toolkit was developed by...
by kultur.work | Mar 25, 2020 | News and Comment
On 24 March 2020, through a ten minute rule motion—backed by MPs from every major party—Caroline Lucas MP introduced the “Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill” to the House of Commons. “It is essential to deal with coronavirus as it is—a global emergency—but it is...
by kultur.work | Oct 14, 2019 | News and Comment
Our politics is too short-term. Our democracy seems unable to deal with long-term challenges. But change is at hand. With support from FDSD and other partners, The Big Issue founder, Lord Bird, has introduced the Future Generations Bill in the UK Parliament, and is...
by kultur.work | Oct 13, 2019 | News and Comment
“When they go short-term, we go long-term…” FDSD trustee Andrea Westall recently joined Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd for their Reasons to be Cheerful Podcast, to discuss the urgent need for representation of future generations in today’s politics....
by Cat Tully | Apr 8, 2019 | Blog, News and Comment
Great to see Wales continuing to lead the way on embedding long-term thinking and foresight in public policy at last week’s #FuturesCymru2019 ‘Shaping the Future’ conference. Building on its Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015 and its unique appointment of a...
by kultur.work | Jun 15, 2018 | Blog, News and Comment
The Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development has proposed that the House of Lords establish a Committee for Future Generations to review legislation. It is hoped that such a body would reduce the short-termism that can creep into legislative and executive...
by Andrea Westall | May 6, 2018 | News and Comment
On 19th April 2018, FDSD jointly held an event with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries to ask “Will the Future Blame Us?” and how do we bring future generations into today’s politics. The audience, a mix of actuaries, academics, policy-makers and civil society,...
by kultur.work | May 6, 2018
For the first time in 25 years, the House of Lords Liaison Committee is reviewing the structure and function of committees in the second chamber. FDSD is making the most of the opportunity to propose a new Committee for Future Generations to bring long-term...
by Graham Smith | Apr 6, 2018 | News and Comment
For the first time in 25 years, the House of Lords Liaison Committee is reviewing the structure and function of committees in the second chamber. FDSD is making the most of the opportunity to propose a new Committee for Future Generations to bring long-term...
by Andrea Westall | Apr 6, 2018 | News and Comment
A new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Future Generations, launched in January 2018, aims to raise the profile of future generations amongst UK parliamentarians and others. Chaired by Daniel Zeichner, MP, the new group will “raise awareness of...
by kultur.work | Apr 5, 2018
Where there are tensions between short-term gains and long-term security, the interests of people alive today almost always triumph over those alive in the future. But they don’t have to. This workshop will explore the options for overcoming the short-termism of...
by kultur.work | Feb 26, 2018
The FDSD and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries are delighted to invite you to a joint evening event on 19 April 2018 in London. Bringing together experts from the policymaking community with academics and those from the actuarial profession and elsewhere...
by kultur.work | Feb 10, 2018 | News and Comment
The FDSD and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries are delighted to invite you to a joint evening event on 19 April 2018 in London. Bringing together experts from the policymaking community with academics and those from the actuarial profession and elsewhere...
by Andrea Westall | Dec 17, 2017 | News and Comment
An All-Parliamentary Group for Future Generations has just been set up in the House of Commons with the aim to “raise the profile of issues affecting future generations in Parliament and explore ways to institutionalise representation of future generations.” It is...
by kultur.work | Jul 7, 2017
In response to the provocations by Peter Davies and Sándor Fülöp at the FDSD event ‘A Future Generations Commissioner for the UK’, Andrea Westall argues that we need to think beyond institutions in isolation. While Commissioners may have an important role...
by kultur.work | Jul 7, 2017
In this provocation, Peter Davies offers personal reflections on his role in the development of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales within the broader story of the journey of devolution – a journey that started with the duty to promote sustainable...
by kultur.work | Jul 7, 2017
The imminent ecological crises and our consumer society’s lack of receptivity to this bad news mean that an independent, authentic voice is needed to represent the interests of future generations. In this provocation, Sándor Fülöp draws on his experience as...
by kultur.work | Jul 7, 2017 | News and Comment
Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, reflects on her first year in office. The United Nations has said, “What Wales is doing today, we hope the world will do tomorrow – action more than words is the hope for our future generations”. Listening and...
by kultur.work | Jul 7, 2017 | News and Comment
The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales was established just over a year ago. We talked to Anne Meikle, Head of WWF Cymru, to reflect on this novel institution. What role did WWF Cymru play in establishing the commissioner? WWF and other members of the...
by kultur.work | Jul 7, 2017
In response to the provocations by Peter Davies and Sándor Fülöp at the FDSD event ‘A Future Generations Commissioner for the UK‘, Victor Anderson reminds us that there are a variety of approaches to safeguarding the interests of future generations. Our focus can be...
by kultur.work | Jun 25, 2017
The Commission for Future Generations was established in Israel in 2001 and lasted for one term of office until 2006. The Commission had a specific focus on the practices of the Knesset: the Commissioner was empowered to examine any parliamentary bill and secondary...
by kultur.work | May 5, 2017 | News and Comment
On April 11th, FDSD, in collaboration with the the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), organised an event to discuss the potential to establish a UK-wide Commissioner for Future Generations. We...
by kultur.work | Mar 14, 2017 | News and Comment
+++ The video of the event is available here. +++ FDSD, in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity is organising an event on Tuesday 11th April to explore the potential to establish a...
by kultur.work | Feb 16, 2017
Government decision making is often short term, failing to account for the impact on future generations. In policy areas such as climate change, social care, infrastructure and pensions, long-term considerations are often overlooked as short-term political...
by John Lotherington | Jul 18, 2016 | Blog, News and Comment
As everyone woke up to Brexit on 24 June, there was a dawning realization that we were in uncharted territory. The campaign was focused on what we were trying to avoid, not where we wanted to head. That was true of the Remainers, with their increasingly...
by kultur.work | Nov 4, 2015 | News and Comment
Following the adoption of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act in April 2015, the Welsh Government has appointed its first Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe, currently Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales. “Public bodies in...
by John Lotherington | Jul 7, 2015 | News and Comment
The National Assembly for Wales will appoint a Future Generations Commissioner as early as December 2015, says Peter Davies, the Welsh Commissioner for Sustainable Futures. The announcement came during his keynote speech at the FDSD relaunch event on 29 June. Speaking...
by Andrea Westall | Jun 22, 2015 | News and Comment
In her new Provocation, Cat Tully argues that there is an opportunity now for the Government to learn from the comprehensive Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act and establish an early form of a Future Generations Commissioner for the whole UK by October’s...
by Cat Tully | Jun 22, 2015
There is an opportunity now for the Government to learn from the comprehensive Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act and establish an early form of a Future Generations Commissioner for the whole UK by October’s Budget. The danger is that in the forthcoming...
by Andrea Westall | Jun 21, 2015 | News and Comment
John Lotherington audits the election campaign to find how far discussion about future generations and sustainable development could be heard above the electoral din. Future generations were important in the election if all that mattered was the national debt. The...
by Andrea Westall | Jun 21, 2015
John Lotherington audits the election campaign to find how far discussion about future generations and sustainable development could be heard above the electoral din. Future generations were important in the election if all that mattered was the national debt. The...
by Graham Smith | Apr 23, 2015
An Office for Future Generations is an independent institution designed to promote long-term interests in the political process. A small number of examples exist in countries such as Hungary – and very soon Wales. This report, first published in 2015, supports the...
by Andrea Westall | Apr 16, 2015
FDSD is speaking at this event and facilitating a workshop on Responsibilities and Impact. “This conference, co-organised by the World Future Council, the Office of the Commissioner for Sustainable Futures, the Welsh Government, Cynnal Cymru – Sustain...
by Derek Walker | Mar 1, 2024 | Blog, News and Comment
Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act is about improving lives now, next year, in 25, 50, 100 years into the future—and beyond. By Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner, Wales Imagine the youngest person you know. Now picture the quality of...
by Ariella Shalev | Feb 22, 2022 | News and Comment
The focus on the crisis of party-political democracy has diverted attention away from the role of wider institutions of governance. In his book, Towards a New Civic Bureaucracy: Lessons from sustainable development for the crisis of governance, Matthew Quinn redresses...
by kultur.work | Jan 15, 2019 | Blog, News and Comment
Bethan Smith is Goal Convenor for Involvement, Office for the Future Generations Commissioner, Wales. . . . Through the 2015 Well-being of Future Generations Act, all devolved public bodies in Wales are legally required to put sustainable development first; that is,...
by kultur.work | Jan 7, 2019 | News and Comment
Sara Parkin is Principal Associate of The Sustainability Literacy Project, and Founder-Director of Forum for the Future. Her 2010 book The Positive Deviant: Sustainability Leadership in a Perverse World has become a course book in many countries. Its sequel What Does...
by Sian Lewis | Jul 7, 2017
Does the United Kingdom need a Commissioner for Future Generations? What would that role look like and how could we set it up? Participants at an event on 11 April 2017, hosted by FDSD in partnership with the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity and...
by Jetske Germing | Mar 21, 2017 | News and Comment
Jetske Germing, Open Government Wales Officer at WCVA*, was at the launch of the new Open Government Pioneers project in Wales and in this guest blogs shares her insights. (The report first appeared on the WCVA blog page.) — Only a short while into the project...
by kultur.work | Nov 28, 2023 | News and Comment
by kultur.work | May 21, 2023 | Blog, News and Comment
The following is an extract from ‘Can Democracy safeguard the Future’—By Graham Smith, Polity Press, 2021. Participatory democracy would appear to be a counterintuitive approach to long-term governance. The short-sightedness of the public is widely viewed...
by Andrea Westall | Feb 2, 2023
Full paper → Introduction The grand challenges of our time – climate change, biodiversity loss and excessive inequality – are proving difficult for our current liberal democracies to tackle effectively. The inability to address them will not only negatively affect...
by Ariella Shalev | Feb 7, 2022
In June 2021, an Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide produced a definition and proposed a draft amendment to the Rome Statute. This amendment identifies ecocide among the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes,...
by Paul Bradley | Nov 18, 2021 | Blog, News and Comment
Living in Glasgow has been a somewhat surreal experience in recent weeks. The sounds of megaphones, police horses, and helicopters have been prominent in daily life. World leaders have come and gone, having spent an evening at my local museum. Hundreds of police lined...
by John Lotherington | Dec 18, 2020 | Blog, News and Comment
This blog is drawing on a conversation between Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation with FDSD trustees Peter Davies, John Lotherington, Graham Smith, and Andrea Westall. The views contained in this blog are however those of the author alone. A...
by kultur.work | Oct 14, 2020
How can we nurture visions of the good life that preserve nature and protect the interests of future generations? Can new institutions help us to re-invigorate democracy? Can creativity inspire us to conserve what we love? How can we become the ‘good ancestors’ we...
by kultur.work | Aug 25, 2019 | News and Comment
Philosophical essay by Simon Caney on the morality of prosperity, intertemporal politics and a re-imagination of our political life. Political life is dominated by ‘presentism’ and a focus on the short-term. This political myopia is harmful in two important ways....
by kultur.work | Apr 4, 2019 | News and Comment
Together with the FDSD, the School of International Futures (an organisation that helps policy-makers, business leaders and communities make strategic choices, manage risk and become future-ready) is hosting a Round Table on Intergenerational Fairness taking place on...
by kultur.work | Apr 4, 2019
Together with the FDSD, the School of International Futures (an organisation that helps policy-makers, business leaders and communities make strategic choices, manage risk and become future-ready) is hosting a Round Table on Intergenerational Fairness taking place on...
by Peter Davies | Feb 19, 2019 | Blog, News and Comment
The 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act requires public bodies in Wales to incorporate public involvement in their decision making. The explicit emphasis on engaging the public reflects the strong views expressed in the national conversation of 2014 that...
by Graham Smith | Apr 6, 2018 | News and Comment
Sophie Howe, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, has published her Strategic Plan to cover the period 2017-2023. We are delighted to find that we are on the same wavelength: the plan explicitly highlights the importance of effective partnerships and...
by Victor Anderson | Jul 6, 2017 | News and Comment
Victor Anderson is a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity. What do the election manifestos and Queen’s Speech tell us about the state of the constitutional reform debate in the UK and its relationship to sustainable...
by Peter Davies | Feb 16, 2017 | Blog, News and Comment
Peter Davies is an FDSD Trustee and Chairs Welsh Water’s Customer Challenge Group. Where I was born in Pembrokeshire in south west Wales, 61 years ago, our water came from a well. Piped water arrived only after my father dug a ¾ mile trench to connect to the mains....
by Dimple Roy | Feb 16, 2017 | News and Comment
Dimple Roy is Director, Water, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). When it comes to safeguarding the future of our natural habitats, natural resources, livelihoods, and economies for future generations, we now have the guidance of the...
by kultur.work | Feb 2, 2017 | News and Comment
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has launched the first in a series of bulletins on intergenerational fairness. Focussing on the risks to financial stability posed by climate change, it seeks to raise risk awareness among decision makers of not...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 27, 2016 | News and Comment
In September 2016, FDSD submitted our thoughts to the UK’s Environmental Audit Committee in response to their Inquiry into the domestic implementation of The Sustainable Development Goals in the UK. We argued that the SDGs provide a timely opportunity and useful...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 14, 2016
In September 2016, we responded to the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry: The sustainable development goals in the UK. You can find our submission on the EAC website. We argued that currently Whitehall is not publicly stating, acknowledging or realising the...
by Andrea Westall | Jul 22, 2016 | Blog, News and Comment
Amongst many other things, the UK’s vote to leave the EU was a cry for recognition from people with very different lives and opportunities across the UK. It was also a stark reminder of ‒ or, for some, a sudden insight into ‒ different priorities and viewpoints...
by Peter Davies | Jul 22, 2016 | News and Comment
“What we need are conversations about the future we want,” says the FDSD in response to Brexit, citing the Wales We Want conversation as precedent. As a new FDSD Trustee and the former Commissioner for Sustainable Futures in charge of leading that conversation, which...
by kultur.work | Jun 22, 2016 | News and Comment
FDSD is delighted to announce the appointment of two new trustees: Peter Davies and Sándor Fülöp. Both are well known for their outstanding contributions to sustainability and democratic reform. As Welsh Commissioner for Sustainable Futures, Peter was a key figure in...
by Graham Smith | May 25, 2016 | Blog, News and Comment
Graham Smith is Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster and a specialist in democratic innovation and citizen engagement, with a particular interest in climate politics and the representation of future generations. He...
by kultur.work | Feb 5, 2016 | News and Comment
John Lotherington is delighted to announce that his successor as Chair of FDSD’s Board of Trustees is Graham Smith, Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster. Graham is a specialist in democratic innovation and citizen...
by Andrea Westall | Jan 20, 2016
This report summarises and updates the analysis and practical implications of previous FDSD work on the The Future of Democracy in the Face of Climate Change. It investigates the links between democracy and climate change, as well as the drivers of change that might...
by kultur.work | Nov 20, 2015 | News and Comment
The Environmental Audit Committee, a Select Committee in the UK Parliament, has published the transcript of its first conference, held on 10th November 2015, on the Government’s Approach to Sustainable Development. Following the EAC’s public inquiry from July 2015, to...
by kultur.work | Nov 16, 2015 | News and Comment
With their latest report “Five headline indicators of national success – a clearer picture of how the UK is performing”, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has launched a campaign to end “short-term obsession with narrow economic measures and … flawed conception(s) of...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2015 | News and Comment
The UK Government hasn’t yet involved the public or any other stakeholder in discussions about the relevance of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for domestic application in the UK. According to BOND’s report on Bringing the Goals Home: Implementing the SDGs in...
by kultur.work | Aug 9, 2015
FDSD’s first programme of work, 2009 to 2013, culminated in a Manifesto for Democracy and Sustainability, the guiding principles being: We cherish sustainability: meeting the needs of people now without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own...
by Andrea Westall | May 29, 2015
Peter Davies, Welsh Commissioner for Sustainable Futures, spoke at the re-launch of FDSD about the innovative 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act and how it can inspire action and change not only in Wales but across the rest of the UK and beyond. The...
by kultur.work | Nov 10, 2014
Welcome to the FDSD newsletter archive We produce a regular bulletin for our network—bringing together rigorous thinking and practical examples in partnership with others, to help inform and create change. Please get in touch at info@fdsd.org if you or your...
by Andrea Westall | Nov 7, 2014
We are currently highlighting six inter-related themes: Constitutions, rights and law embedding nature, the long-term, future generations and sustainable development principles. Political institutions and policymaking that incorporate sustainable development and the...
by Andrea Westall | Nov 6, 2014
Our work often gets reported in the media. We have listed some of the links below so you can see the range and impact of our activities. Sürdürülebilirlik için demokrasi şart Didem ERYAR ÜNLÜ, 4 July 2014, DÜNYA Online Report in Turkish on the Manifesto for Democracy...
by Andrea Westall | Nov 6, 2014
FDSD staff and trustees write articles for mainstream and specialist media. You can find examples below. ‘The Tools For Democracy’ Halina Ward, September 25 2013, SGI News “In order to overcome the short-termism that plagues the practice of...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 22, 2014
Democracy rests on the idea that people engage as equal participants in the political decisions that affect their lives. But it is a democratic right that is rarely fully realised in practice. Participation is critical to sustainable development both as a...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 22, 2014
New political institutions and major reforms of existing institutions are likely to be necessary for democracies to be able to take a longer-term perspective or tackle complex multi-faceted challenges. There are existing examples around the world that are part...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 22, 2014
National and regional constitutions, as well as legally enforceable rights and specific laws, could all underpin sustainable development within democracies. Constitutions set out the purposes and objectives of government, as well as the rights and responsibilities of...
by kultur.work | Oct 20, 2014
The Manifesto for Democracy and Sustainability, was launched on 20th March 2013, with 81 individual founder signatories and initially 16 organisations. It includes six Principles and associated commitments whose purpose it to transform democracy to become a powerful...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 20, 2014
AVIVA set up the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Coalition which includes financial institutions, NGOs, investors and professional bodies to promote long-term value by “incorporating long-term sustainability considerations into their business strategy and by fully...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 16, 2014
The 2013 Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations’ Now for the Long Term comprehensively analyses short-termism in society, politics and business and calls ‘for a radical shake-up … to deliver progress on climate change, reduce economic inequality, improve...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 16, 2014
The idea of ‘sustainable development’ became widespread with the 1987 publication of ‘Our Common Future’, a report from the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission). Its definition of “development which meets the needs of...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 16, 2014
Democracy has long been a deeply contested idea and set of practices. We offer the following as a working definition of both the principles of democracy and its institutional manifestations. Democracy’s value rests on the core principle of political equality: all...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 16, 2014
Our Supporters FDSD’s work arose from an endowment given to the Environment Foundation (the forerunner of FDSD) in the 1980s by the international insurance industry. We have supplemented this resource with individual grants. FDSD has been awarded three-year...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 16, 2014
The Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development (FDSD) is led by a group of trustees who are also directors of the company. The Chair of the board of trustees is Peter Davies. Trustees Paul Bradley Paul is Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Scottish...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 16, 2014
FDSD started life as the Environment Foundation in 1983 with funding from the international insurance industry. It was probably the City of London’s first major initiative to address the environment. Today, that start-up funding forms part of our modest endowment....
by Andrea Westall | Oct 15, 2014
Enabling democracy to better tackle sustainable development requires changes to many aspects of our democratic practice and political systems (see The Challenge). To more easily consider the innovations required, we are currently working on five themes: Participation...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 14, 2014
Since 2009, FDSD has considered, debated and offered proposals on how to resolve the tensions between existing liberal democracies, and the challenges of sustainable development, such as climate change, biodiversity loss or excessive inequality This challenge has...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 14, 2014
FDSD is a UK-based think tank that explores and helps build the relationship between flourishing democracy and sustainable development. Our work takes three forms: Research. We identify, document and share governance innovations to support the development of practical...
by Andrea Westall | Aug 28, 2014
FDSD submitted a response on 1st September 2015 to the Environmental Audit Committee’s consultation on The Government’s Approach to Sustainable Development. The EAC’s consultation aims to stocktake the current UK Government approach to sustainable...
by Andrea Westall | Jun 15, 2012
FDSD co-organised a workshop session in Rio de Janeiro as part of a two-day event Fair ideas: sharing solutions for a sustainable planet hosted by IIED and the Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC) The event was held at the (PUC) together with The...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2011
Following the suggestions of Intergenerational Foundation’s report Hoarding of Housing: the intergenerational crisis in the housing market, Halina Ward argues that the UK Government has no consistent approach to future generations, and that ‘future generation’...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 21, 2011
FDSD warned about “signs of erosion in the overall global political commitment to sustainable development” and recommended urgent action to accept the reality of planetary boundaries, address political short-termism and create institutions to ensure that...
by Andrea Westall | Dec 21, 2010
This report suggests ten governance options for the UK to embed a more future-oriented approach in UK politics, including an Office for Future Generations to an annual Congress of the Future and a new parliamentary chamber. Peter Roderick highlights some of the UK’s...
by Andrea Westall | Jun 21, 2009
Halina Ward believes that if we take the concept of ‘one world’ thinking, developed by Peter Singer in One World: The ethics of globalisation, our democracies have not responded to the challenges of interconnectedness. While the tools of one world thinking are well...
