At this time of year, there is a lot of pressure on us to buy gifts for those that we love, and we want to make it special. But have you ever thought that when you are buying something, that there are two people in the transaction? The person you are buying it for, and the person you are buying it from - the producer, farmer or worker.

Since the bike-sharing scheme launched in Cardiff earlier this year, I was one of the people that took advantage of the scheme and began travelling using the nextbike for my everyday travels across the city. After using them a few times, I started raving about it to my friends and family, or anyone who would listen, and getting them to use it too.

Proposals to build a £1.1bn road to ease congestion on the M4 fail to set out how it will meet the needs of our future generations who will be burdened with paying for it,” says Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales.

Failing to put low carbon as a central pillar of the Cardiff City Deal programme would be both environmentally and economically irresponsible,” says Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales.

During Fairtrade Fortnight, we, sixth form pupils from Llanfyllin High School were the audience of a Fairtrade assembly ran by Ffion Storer Jones of Montgomeryshire Federation of Young Farmers Club (YFC) and Nimrod Wambette; a Fairtrade coffee farmer from Uganda.

Over the last few months, the leaders of public services across Wales have been using the recently published local well-being assessments to understand how they can contribute to the social, environmental, economic and cultural well-being of people in their areas. 

“The issue of whether we have the Wales we want, has to be answered through a two-way dialogue with the public,” Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner has said at a speech at the Welsh Local Government Association Annual Conference today.

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.

Wales’ new champion for the future of the nation is using his first day in the job to call for “urgent and transformational change” to improve people’s lives now and in the future.

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.

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.

The deadline for responses to the Welsh Government on the status of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification is TODAY and you can find more information here.

The voices of some of Wales’ most under-represented communities have been put at the heart of a new way to create climate and nature emergency policy to benefit future generations.

The announcement back in March this year that the UK was going into lockdown was a shock to us all and created significant challenges as we navigated a new world which largely required us to stay at home.

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.

Foresight and whether we could have predicted Brexit

The world’s first Commissioner whose role it is to act as guardian for future generations, Sophie Howe (Future Generations Commissioner for Wales) will be highlighting how Wales’ is leading the way on safeguarding the interests of future generations when she addresses the United Nations High Level Political Forum in New York this week.

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

A record number of online delegates joined the recent Cardiff Business School Breakfast Briefing to hear how the Well-being of Future Generations Act provides an opportunity to transform the way procurement is delivered in Wales. By moving towards an outcomes-based approach, we can ensure the £6 billion spent annually delivers the best outcomes across all four elements of well-being and helps to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being for current and future generations.

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.

Wales’ political parties must act now on the urgent priorities of the nation’s young people, the world’s first Future Generations Commissioner has warned.

Ten years ago the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) launched a pioneering report – Zero carbon Britain – showing that we have the technology and solutions to reduce our carbon emissions down to zero.

Education fit for the Future A White Paper For discussion Produced by Professor Calvin Jones in collaboration with the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales says the Well-being of Future Generations Act should be used to future-proof against further cost of living emergencies.

Here, he explains the next steps and why he believes Cymru Can use the Well-being of Future Generations Act to make Wales a better place to live for now and future generations.

Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act is a law that puts a duty on Welsh Government to protect the interests of future generations while meeting the challenges of today - the law requires the Government to set milestones they are seeking to achieve on their way to meeting each of Wales’ seven well-being goals.

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.

This report sets out my assessment of progress made in implementing the Act within the first reporting period, i.e. the last three years

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

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.

My wife and I drove UP to the Farm Shop for breakfast in Cross Hands- half the charge had gone-will we be able to get home.... What have I done?

When MAGOR was launched on 14th March 2013, the group realised from the outset the enormity of the tasks facing them. The first challenge was to get the walkway concept and business plans agreed and funded by governments and the rail industry.

Poverty in Wales would be halved if Welsh Government commits to a progressive Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to a major study commissioned by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe.

“When I look at my life it feels like I really take after my mother."

Art is good for mental well-being

I’m fortunate to have a job where I see lots of people doing lots of amazing things (occasionally the reverse too) but a project that I visited whilst in Austin Texas as part of the US Embassy’s International Visitor Leadership Programme last week has got to be up there with one of the best

Like many parents, I supply my family with vitamins as we try to prevent the inevitable latest strain of winter cold or even flu. GP waiting rooms fill up and media outlets report the annual surge in waiting times or demand for hospital beds.

The best business is when people, planet and profit intertwine

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.

Almost a quarter of people are living in poverty in Wales, only 1% of apprenticeships in Wales are filled by disabled people and future working trends suggest that 65% of jobs at risk of becoming automated are those done by women.

On March 9th, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales triggered a Section 20 Review into the procurement practices of nine public bodies in Wales.

Public bodies in Wales spend over £6 billion each year procuring a range of goods, services and works; this represents nearly a third of total devolved Welsh annual expenditure, and it is estimated that over the next decade Welsh public services will spend over £60 billion.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. It is a common phrase that we use in our office where the second-hand office furniture and ‘no plastic cup’ signs welcome visitors.

More than two thirds of the public want the Government to consider future generations in policy-making – according to new research - and the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales is backing a campaign for a UK-wide law that protects tomorrow from the actions of today.

At this year’s COP28, the world’s nations have for the first time agreed that we must all transition away from fossil fuels. While this is a historic moment for us as global citizens and for our planet, it has failed to capture the urgency of the situation. 

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.

Involvement is at the heart of the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Since the creation of the Future Generations Commissioner in 2016, our office has involved thousands of people to support and inform our work. Some of the involvement projects we have undertaken to date include

As we start the new school year, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a very special upcoming date in the global calendar, which will provide you with an opportunity to introduce the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to children and young people and unite them in action with others around the globe

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.]

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.

Cymru Can: Here's why we think it will... Rob Ashelford, Head of Nesta Cymru, on why 2024 might be the year Wales shifts towards real change that benefits people now and protects the future.

The Well-being of Future Generations Act requires a new way of thinking about how our public services are delivered in Wales. Public Bodies must work in a way that improves the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales.

People in Wales should be able to access nature four minutes from where they live, the Future Generations Commissioner is announcing during National Tree Week.

“Welsh Government’s new Programme for Government is a reminder of the severe inequalities and injustices facing current and future generations, exacerbated by key events of the last year."

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 needs to up the scale and pace on delivering its future generations law, says the Future Generations Commissioner, as he launches his new strategy, Cymru Can. 

This Sunday my daughter and I will be taking part in something significant. We will be joining thousands of women across the country marching to commemorate the brave women who came before us 100 years ago who marched, campaigned, starved and even died to get us the vote. 

The Commissioner has also published advice to Welsh Government with 10 recommendations for they should build on the progress they have made in the draft budget this time around to take more ambitious and transformational steps from 2019 onwards.

With £1bn of Pension Funds investment in Wales being spent on fossil fuel based companies, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales calls on Local Authorities to demonstrate how climate risk is being incorporated into their current and future fund's investment strategy.

Just over a year ago, not long after taking up my post as Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, I was approached by the American Embassy to ask if I would be interested in participating in their International Visitor Leadership Programme.

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.

Sophie Howe says we have  a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to reset Wales’ economy and is calling for “visionary ideas and transformative investment” in the nation’s recovery plan. 

My role is to act as a guardian for the interests of future generations in Wales. I will challenge and support public bodies to think about the long-term impact of the things they do. My draft strategic plan sets out how I intend to do this.

In response to the Supplementary Budget announced by Welsh Government today, I recognise there is an enormous challenge to face in dealing with the immediate COVID-19 crisis.

Refugee Ali joins Wales’ leaders of tomorrow as he graduates from Future Generations Leadership Academy   A former asylum seeker will become one of Wales’ leaders of tomorrow after graduating from a transformative programme run by the Future Generations Commissioner.   Ali Al-Anbaki, 27, from Cardiff, said he wants to raise awareness of the mental health struggles of people seeking sanctuary, after completing the Future Generations Leadership Academy, which supports young people to bring about lasting social change under the Well-being of Future Generations Act.  

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

We have the opportunity to create a better Wales for current and future generations.

We provide advice, assistance and support to people on the Well-being of Future Generations Act in a variety of ways.

We will make it our mission to help transition Wales to an economy that puts people and planet first. As a result, governments at all levels, communities and business are making this happen.

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

"Public Services Boards must rise to challenge of decision-making for future generations and the Welsh Government must raise their level of support and ambition for them to do so", said the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

The Well-being of Future Generations Act gives us the encouragement, the permission and the statutory obligation to make the changes needed to improve our social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being

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.

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.

  The 'Art of the Possible' is one of the Commissioner's main programmes of work. It is a partnership approach to shining a light on great work that is improving well-being in communities across Wales.

Should robots speak Welsh?

Wales has a huge story to tell at COP26 – our Well-being of Future Generations Act.

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.