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.

Preparing our leaders of the future: What is the academy?

The Future Generations Leadership Academy recruits young people aged between 18-30 from across Wales’ public, private and voluntary sectors – and trains them in the Well-being of Future Generations Act and in developing their leadership skills.  

Our 8 month virtual programme programme includes a series of interactive and practical workshops and projects that will focus on building the skills needed to implement the vision of the Future Generations Act. These sessions will be supplemented by guest speakers and an opportunity to become a reverse mentor with one of Wales’ top leaders. 

The programme involves the Future Generations Commissioner and office’s work as part of a movement for change and this year’s it will run until June 2022. 

We think it is important to put the skills our cohort learn into practical advice for their organisations and communities. So this year’s Academy cohort will identify a topic in their organisation, sector, or community around which to design a Well-being of Future Generations Action Plan. Supported by our Change Makers, our cohort will create a tailor-made plan for their organisations to work towards the well-being goals. 

Importantly, the new cohort will feed into the Future Generations Commissioner’s roadmap for the year and beyond – giving essential insight into the values and opinions of young people in Wales. 

Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, said: “This is not a typical academy programme where you get your certificate and say goodbye – you become part of the Future Generations team – and together we grow the movement of change, and leadership drive, that Wales needs to transform itself into a well-being nation.” 

Since graduating from the 2020 academy, our alumni have been busy making change, including speaking at COP 26, sitting on Welsh Government advisory boards, joining the Wales-Ireland inter-ministerial forum, becoming elected officials, and making waves by representing Wales on the UK Future Generations Commission. 

Meet the cohort – Who’s involved in our 2021 Leadership Academy? 

Engineers, feminists, marine biologists, artists, students, graduates, retail workers, environmentalists, civil servants, lawyers and many more, make up a brilliant cohort of 34 young, diverse Welsh delegates and we’re delighted to welcome them.  

Each delegate brings something new to the table and we are excited to learn from and challenge each other to do better for our people and our planet.  

The faces of the future!  

So far, we have only met our cohort virtually. We are hoping to meet up in person across Wales throughout the year.  

Participants of the Academy in a Teams meeting
Participants of the Academy in a Teams meeting
Mindmap of words which the participants created to best describe themselves
In our first session with our new academy, we asked how they would best describe themselves...
Mindmap of words which the participants created about what they're most passionate
And the issues they were most passionate about...

A Big Thank You

This programme would not be possible without the unwavering support of our sponsors and partners. Thanks for helping develop young leaders for a better tomorrow. 

A big thank you to the following:

  • Arup  
  • BBC Cymru  
  • Capital Law  
  • Costain  
  • Cwm Taf Morgannwg  
  • Natural Resources Wales  
  • Police and Crime Commissioner, South Wales 
  • Public Health Wales  
  • Transport for Wales  
  • UpRising 
  • University of South Wales  
  • Wales Millennium Centre  
  • Welsh Government  
  • Race Alliance Wales  
  • Disability Wales  
  • Urdd Gobaith Cymru 

 

The 2021-2022 Cohort:

Sophie Jones – Arup  

Josh Hughes – BBC Cymru  

Danielle Brag – Capital Law  

Manuel Cortes Moreno – Costain  

Nokhuthula Nyoni – Cwm Taf Morgannwg  

Arpana Chunila – Natural Resources Wales  

Hannah Evans-Price – Police and Crime Commissioner 

Ibrahiem Osman – Public Health Wales  

TBC – Transport for Wales

Jia Wei Lee – University of South Wales  

TBC – Wales Millennium Centre

Lloyd Harris – Welsh Government  

Jessica Ward – Welsh Government  

Philip Löf Jillesjö – Welsh Government  

Phil Nelson– Welsh Government  

Laura Truelove – Welsh Government  

Fiza Rahman– Welsh Government  

Nirushan Sudarsan – Race Alliance Wales  

Megan Thomas – Disability Wales  

Gwenan Mon Williams – Urdd Gobaith Cymru  

Samuel Guy – FGC 

Alice Horn – FGC  

Ameerah Mai – Academi Heddwch Cymru (hosted by WCIA) 

Catherine Pearson – Mentor Mon 

Daniel Mapatac – UpRising Leadership  

Ffion Mitchell – Marine Conservation Society 

Huw Williams – UK Government Civil Service  

Judith Musker-Turner – Arts Council of Wales (Wales Arts International) 

Kira Evans – Student 

Lisa Tomos – National Lottery Community Fund 

Sabiha Azad – Welsh Women’s Aid  

Samer Karrar – Project Centre  

Sion Sleep – Natural Resources Wales  

Thomas Morgan – Waitrose 

 

We’ll be sharing the academy’s stories over the year. Watch this space for more details.