The inside story behind Wales' unprecedented Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and its potential as a model for policy makers worldwide
This is the era of future generations demanding action to halt the climate emergency and the sixth great extinction of earth's abundance and diversity of life. In Wales, the 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations Act has created a platform to bring teeth to this demand and it's revolutionising how public business is conducted. The Act is the first piece of legislation on Earth to put future generations at the forefront of public policy making. The Act places regenerative and sustainable practice at the heart of government, and requires long-term, collaborative and systemic solutions to complex issues including poverty, health, ecology, environment and meaningful employment. Such is the ambition and importance of the law in Welsh public policy that governments, municipalities and civil society organisations the world-over are following the experiment closely. As the UN Assistant Secretary General, Nikhil Seth, commented at the launch of the Act, "What Wales is doing today, the world will do tomorrow".
Jane Davidson inspired and nurtured the Act from concept to legislation. The duties outlined in it are the touchstone at the heart of all future government policy making. In #FutureGen Jane reveals for the first time how and why such ground-breaking legislation was forged in Wales, and explores the opportunities it is now creating for individuals, communities and governments worldwide to think and act differently.