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

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.

Sophie Howe, will join Prince William, Pope Francis, Al Gore, and over 50 notable speakers at the first ever free TED conference this Saturday.

Alternative models for improving health and well-being is one of the priority areas for the 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thousands of new ‘future-fit' jobs could be created if the new Welsh Government embraces a radical vision for Wales, according to the Future Generations Commissioner.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“I grew up in Conway in St Lucia, and I had the most wonderful childhood - growing up in the Caribbean - playing ‘Ticky Tock’ with these nice little stones, going on the boats and by the beach."

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.

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

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.

The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe, has asked Welsh Government to explain how decisions are being made on Wales’ road-building freeze exemptions.

Wales is leading the way to protect future generations, the United Nations has said.

Friends of the Earth Cymru, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and other environment, development and trade union groups are calling on all public sector bodies in Wales to stop investing in climate-wrecking fossil fuel companies. 

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. 

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. 

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.

Wales is one of the only countries in the world to place value on cultural well-being and as the Welsh cultural season begins, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, will be highlighting how the Welsh approach can be life-changing for the nation.

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.

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?

Commissioner urges Government create a system focused on well-being by investing in preventative care

"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

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.

“Public services, as the largest employer in Wales, have a huge contribution to make in developing and enhancing cultural well-being. Culture is the lifeblood of a vibrant society, expressed in the many ways we tell our stories, celebrate, remember the past, entertain ourselves, and imagine the future. Our creative expression helps define who we are, and helps us see the world through the eyes of others."

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

As a country not only have we led the way by becoming the first Fair Trade nation the Well-being of Future Generations Act make us the first nation to legislate and place the sustainable development principle at the heart of decision-making to improve our economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being. 

We are very pleased to see the Welsh Government publish this important report today accepting the recommendations of the Roads Review Panel which we supported. We thank them and Dr Lyn Sloman for their evident commitment to transforming the way we will move around Wales.  

Art is good for mental well-being

A catalyst for wellbeing of future generations in Wales - a special report by Wildlife Trusts Wales

Wales Council for Voluntary Action have created a series of resources for the third sector to help maximise their contribution to the seven well-being goals.

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

Following Welsh Government’s publication of an update to the Welsh Infrastructure Investment Plan, Monday, 4th November, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has called on the Welsh Government to publish its carbon impact assessments to evidence how they are taking steps to tackle the climate emergency.

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.

In response to the Welsh Government’s detailed draft budget published today, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales said:

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.

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.

Given the unprecedented challenges we’ve faced over the past couple of years, I want to acknowledge the commitment Public Services Boards (PSBs) have demonstrated in working together to prepare their 2022 well-being assessments.

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.

Stronger, more focused action is needed to protect communities in Wales from the risks of Climate Change, says Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales.

Climate change is the greatest threat facing future generations. On 29 April 2019 Welsh Government declared a climate emergency, shortly after publishing their plan “Low Carbon Wales” which contains 100 policies and proposal but not detail on how these will be funded.

The Commissioner is required to monitor and assess the extent to which such public bodies are meeting their well-being objectives are being met. This duty seeks to ensure public bodies are moving closer to their objectives and contributing to the national well-being goals. Every five years, the Commissioner must publish an overall assessment and recommendations for improvement in a Future Generations Report.

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.

In response to Cardiff Council's Transport Green Paper, published Wednesday, 21 March and the start of a city-wide conversation on big ideas that could shape the future of Cardiff's transport system.

The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and Cardiff University have formally joined forces to work on shared strategic goals.

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.

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

“The debate around the future of the chronically congested M4 has been too much about the needs of the car and not enough about the needs of the people of South East Wales and our environment.

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.  

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.]

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

A new transport vision for Wales’ future that prioritises public transport and active travel is a positive step towards shifting the nation’s travel habits, says Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe.

To mark International Women’s Day, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has announced a new staff policy that provides support and paid leave to staff who are victims of domestic abuse so that they can leave the abuse and secure safe accommodation.

For centuries we have learnt and understood the world around us through the ancient art of storytelling.

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.

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