We have been working with the Welsh Government to develop a practical tool to help people working in public services to apply the Well-being of Future Generations Act ways of working to the design and delivery of services.

Recently the Future Generations Commissioner called for the Welsh Government to instil the value of “kindness” at every level of government and public policy in order to meet the requirements of the Well-being and Future Generations Act.

The world recently mourned the loss of one of our greatest scientific minds, Stephen Hawking. A man who famously said, ‘intelligence is the ability to adapt to change’.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed deep structural inequalities in our economy and society including wage poverty, health inequalities, racial disparities, food poverty, job insecurity and imbalances in quality of housing. At the same time climate and ecological breakdown is escalating, and we risk exacerbating all of these challenges if we go back to the way things were.

The international community faces huge challenges of climate change and dwindling resources. The Well-being of Future Generations Act (Wales) argues that if we hope to tackle those big questions, engaging in a sustainable way with local policy will be critical. I want to shine a light on how some of those local and global policy challenges link together through the lens of community transport.

Guest blog on planning

Art is good for mental well-being

How do public services support people and keep them well at home?

Over the last few months, we have been collecting good case studies of how the Act is being implemented on the ground across Wales.

At Nesta we have spent a lot of time over the last few years thinking about the future of the world of work.

As I write, President Trump looks set to pull the United States of America out of the Paris global climate agreement. Climate change denial is gaining traction and dismissing the views of experts and scientists who have studied these things for many years is common place.

Wales should explore paying everyone a basic income to study how it could improve lives for generations in the future, the First Minister is being urged.

What I’ve learnt about climate change since becoming Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, earlier this year, is quite simply frightening. There is no doubt that it’s the greatest challenge facing future generations and action is urgently needed across the public sector to reduce our emissions and its impacts.

One of the early conversations I had when I first joined Samaritans was with an organisation with which we were working in partnership to train staff and raise awareness.

After the success of the 2020 pilot academy, the Future Generations Leadership Academy has returned in 2021 to inspire the next generation of Welsh leaders.

“What role do you think young people could play in shaping Cardiff Capital Region?” I asked twelve of the city region’s leaders and chief executives in my research interviews.

Cowshed has joined forces with Wales’ Future Generations Commissioner’s Office to offer more paid opportunities for people experiencing barriers to starting a career in communications because of race, religion, age, sex or social background.

Fuel poverty could be eradicated in Wales by 2030 if Welsh Government commits to a long-term plan to improve the efficiency of our homes, says the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales.

Stories about climate events are becoming more common across our news channels. Floods, migration, crop failures, public health – the impact of climate change is wide and varied. Perhaps this incremental increase in climate change activity will lead to more coverage where environmental stories compete for air time on our radio and tv news outlets and in newspaper columns.

Cardiff is a really exciting place at the moment. We have a young and fast-growing city, with jobs being created, houses being built and a billion pounds worth of regional rail infrastructure on its way. There’s a real buzz about the capital city.

Welsh Government must focus on planning for the long term, setting the standard for involving people in the decisions that affect them if they are serious about improving lives, says Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe.

Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has welcomed the new Planning Policy Wales, which she along with her team worked with the Welsh Government to ensure that the policy embodies the Well-being of Future Generations Act and contributes to each of the seven well-being.

Culture is a powerful tool for fighting climate change, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales will say today at COP 26.

I am pleased that the Welsh Government’s declaration of a Climate Emergency echo’s the urgency of the Committees recommendations but we now need to see clear action and allocation of resources to match this commitment

In 2018/19, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales trialled a method of monitoring and assessing progress towards the well-being objectives set by public bodies – one of her duties according to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

People working for the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales will be able to receive cash support to escape an abusive relationship, it is announced today.

11 years……. 11 mlynedd……. That’s the amount of time that the intergovernmental panel on climate change have estimated we have to change our ways to prevent a potentially catastrophic global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees.

‘the leaders, the people, they rolled over like spent dogs, yawned above the warnings’

Embedding public value within the heart of the activities of Cardiff Business School, is a unique feature of the school.  

To nurture a tree, is to nurture your own sense of environmental responsibility, whilst reconnecting us to our immediate natural environment, wildlife, nature, and to all future generations.

A new easy-to-use guide will help public bodies to think and plan better for the long-term, by keeping a clear vision and taking future trends into account.

Supporting community climate action is essential if local councils are to help Wales cut climate-warming carbon emissions and reach net zero, the Future Generations Commissioner said today. [Tuesday, March 5.]

During the Summer, we hosted our first event at the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff Bay. The subject of debate was, 'Should robots speak Welsh?' Here are the reflections of Meilys and Indeg who sat on the panel. 

Sometimes when we talk about housing, we get very caught up in the technicalities, the regulations, planning and specifics, that we forget that we're really talking about is home.

The UK’s first 'guardian of the not-yet-born’ is encouraging other countries at COP27 this week to protect future generations from the climate, nature and cost of living emergencies by law. 

The Future Generations Commissioner role, was established by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 - a pioneering piece of legislation which is unique to Wales

People making a positive difference to Wales’ present and future are being spotlighted by the first Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe, as she comes to the end of her seven-year term.

The importance of mental health for our future generations

We are all devastated by the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine and it’s imperative we do everything we possibly can to help those that have been put in such a perilous and heart-breaking situation. 

As part of our series of blogs in response to the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ new strategy, Cymru Can, Eleri Williams from Building Communities Trust, explores the link between community resilience and inequality. Here, she looks at what can be done to ensure that Cymru Can achieve well-being for people now, and generations yet to be born, no matter where they live in Cymru.

A future-fit curriculum for our children, solar panels saving a hospital £1m a year in electric bills, a road building freeze and hundreds of people receiving a basic income – these are just some of the changes Wales is making thanks to its world-leading Well-being of Future Generations Act.

We’re celebrating Black History Month #proudtobe with stories from Black people across Wales on lessons Black history can teach us about the future.  Here, Jessica Dunrod, 32, author, translator, and education and inclusion consultant, from Cardiff, talks about the importance of representation and why complacency is one of the biggest threats to future generations... 

“I’ve always had a love for nature, and I gravitated towards it. Nature taught me what society wasn’t willing to."