Introduction
Please forgive this standard introduction to people who are coming new to my blog for the first time. I intend to use my website as a repository for information linked to my #futuregen book, so hopefully it will become a resource for campaigners and activists as well as policy professionals and parliamentarians. The book itself contains the links to documentary resources covering the journey from the start of the National Assembly in 1999 to the passing of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act in 2015 and its subsequent implementation.
In Blog 9, we heard from David Thorpe, author of The One Planet Life, and One Planet Cities, Co-founder and Patron of the One Planet Council and Director of the One Planet Centre also lectures on the Postgraduate Certificate in One Planet Governance at UWTSD. David’s expertise has enabled him to write excellent reference books which I would advocate to anyone wanting to live a one planet life. He would like to see further legislation to deliver as a statutory requirement, ‘periodical ecological budgets that would force public bodies to improve biocapacity and reduce our demands on nature for supplying the resources we use and absorbing our pollution’. Professor Richard Owen, social welfare lawyer and director of a pro-bono clinic at the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University, also wants to see further legislation ‘to further strengthen the voice of subordinated communities within local service boards and the formulation of local well-being plans. Paul Allen, Zero Carbon Britain Project Coordinator, at the Centre for Alternative Technology, has made a massive contribution to this agenda over many years. He rightly identifies climate change as a wicked problem requiring a wicked solution and ‘perhaps the most powerful element of this wicked solution is that delivering a zero-carbon future also holds the potential to be one of the most exciting opportunities in human history, offering us the chance to simultaneously resolve many other problems.’ Lyn Cadwallader, CEO of One Voice Wales (the Voice of Community and Town Councils in Wales) says that ‘community and town councils could and should play a transformative role in democratic renewal with additional provisions to the Well-being of Future Generations Act.’ Simon Wright, food writer, broadcaster and restauranteur is lyrical, ‘As a statement of intent, the Act is a very beautiful thing, especially if we view it as the fertile soil in which we will grow our future.’ but steely, ‘It must be a line in the sand from which we can only go forward. This theme is a common one; it must change behaviour in the interests of future generations – and this is robustly taken up by Patrick Holden, who explicitly wants to address the commoditization of farmers, noting ‘that the health and well-being of future generations is completely dependent on rebuilding re-localized and resilient sustainable food systems from the ground up’. Thanks to you all.
This month, we have a real treat - young voices from Wales, all passionate about their future. I asked each of them what kind of Wales would they want to see in the future and what the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act could do in helping them achieve it.
First up is Becky Ricketts, now president of the National Union of Students in Wales, who was one of my INSPIRE interns at the University of Wales Trinity St David before she was elected president of our university student body. She took that passion to the top of the institution encouraging the university governors to declare a climate emergency and take commensurate action. She will be a powerful force for change unleashed on all the students in Wales. Her call ‘to include real climate education and education of the Act in our schools, colleges, universities and even workplaces – the well-being of our future generations depends on us all’ is a clarion one and needs to be heard as the new Welsh curriculum is finalised in advance of full roll-out in 2022.
Next up is Joe Stockley, a passionate advocate for including young people in decision making, who is demonstrating daily the worth of his input through the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Diverse Cymru and the British Youth Council. Joe is clear that ‘the Wales I want is a place where voices at all levels are involved and engaged.’ An important call for collaboration and involvement, two of the five ways of working enshrined in law through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act.
The third contributor is Evan Burgess from the Welsh Youth Parliament. The Parliament is the latest and most enduring of a number of initiatives to enable the voices of young people to be heard in the political corridors of power. From Llais Ifanc/Young Voice in the earliest days of the National Assembly, to Funky Dragon in its middle period, now that Wales has a Senedd/Parliament with primary law-making powers in the areas for which it is responsible, it is only right – particularly in a country committed to future generations - that it should also have a youth parliament. Evan believes that ‘the most important thing for the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act would be to protect the climate for present and future life on Earth’. It is really heartening to see climate feature so strongly in the contributions and Evan’s call for radical action to stop pollution and to ‘make it easy for Welsh citizens to make good decisions for the climate, so that Wales can lead the world in protecting the climate’ is a call I hope politicians elected to government in the next Welsh General Election in May 2021 will hear.
Kian Agar is also making clear his credentials for the Welsh Youth Parliament in his contribution. The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act has 7 goals and 5 ways of working. The Act was designed for inter-connected delivery against as many goals and ways of working as possible whilst also linking to the Sustainable Development Goals. However, some choose to interpret the Act as permission to tackle an individual goal in an individual silo in order to foster a treasured, but usually unsustainable, outcome. Kian rightly calls this ‘yesterday’s thinking out, saying, ‘Each of the goals play a vital part in the development of a new Wales and, if addressed properly, may solve all social and environmental issues that we face today and most definitely will in the future, directly affecting myself, my generation and many generations to come.
I was delighted to meet Chris Roscoe, One Young World delegate (Wales), when I accompanied the Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe and members of her young leadership academy from public sector services in Wales travelling to London by train to participate in a massive international celebration of young leadership. Just prior to the main event, they (and I) were invited to work with Lord John Bird of Big Issue fame to encourage participation in his #Today4Tomorrow campaign to take the Welsh Future Generations Act and promote it as a UK opportunity. Chris works for Natural Resources Wales and is passionate about the need to ‘empower citizens with the skills of lifelong learning and developing within them an openness to change’, thus ‘future generations will be equipped with the fundamental tools to address current and future challenges. Education is key as promoted by Becky Ricketts earlier and I love Chris’ proposal to ‘weave lifelong learning unequivocally though the fabric of our communities’ as ‘it would improve the adaptability of citizens to manage change, thereby reducing the cold-water shock of future difficulties.’
Emily Rose Jenkins was also a One Young Wales delegate, one with a passion for nature- based solutions – working with nature for greater interconnected benefit. She recognises the importance of tackling infrastructure issues, calling for ‘infrastructure to work with the natural environment, enhancing biodiversity, reducing flood risk and providing green growth for Wales.’ In construction, perhaps more than anything else it is important to establish a level playing field so her proposal for the implementation of ‘legislation to consider infrastructure as a multi-disciplinary ‘building for the future’ function’, needs to be considered ‘to ensure that we, the future generations, have access to a safer and fairer world’.
Dan Tram is passionately anti-waste - as I am, reflecting ‘We’ve become so accustomed to having things when and where we want them, without recognising the potential detriment imposed on our planet’ and that ‘this linear approach of resources is directly linked to our oblivion of waste.’ He is absolutely right! His sensible proposition for a law that charges for waste has already been tried and tested in Wales at local authority level when I introduced mandatory recycling targets in 2009/10 which led Wales from being one of the worst countries in the world to one of the very best. But as he emphasises, the focus now needs to be on need and re-use to break these negative habits of consumption. With recycling story demonstrates that Wales can lead the way; time for the next squeeze. Thanks Dan.
Mishan Wickremasinghe, President of the Students’ Union at the University of South Wales is another strong advocate of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which the student body used to underpin its ambition for a mental health project ‘to fully embody and encapsulate our passion for improving the lives of people living in Wales’. ‘This programme of ‘social prescribing’ is a holistic approach to allow an individual who may have a mental-health condition to be ‘prescribed’ community work, volunteering or activities in their local community that endeavours to have a positive impact on their well-being.’ I love the easy way in which young leaders immediately see the relationship between the individual and the community – a relationship at the heart of the Act’s ambition to create safe and cohesive communities, where incomes are built on low carbon, decent work; where such communities celebrate the languages and cultures of Wales, while living within environmental limits and tackling the causes of ill health.
Last, but very much not least is Vashti Miller, a highly intelligent and motivated young woman who did her Master’s degree on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act as she loves its ‘holistic approach to policy which I believe to be imperative if we are to tackle climate change and social, economic and health inequalities’. Focusing on health in a communications company, she recognises ‘resources are strained in both an economic and natural sense, and a collaborative approach to policymaking not only provides a solution to this issue but preserves what is left for future generations.’ The current focus on COVID and behaviour change is teaching us all about what works in different settings and increasingly identifying that Vashti’s proposition ‘For me, this is not only logical from a moral perspective, but also an economic one. Policies designed for short-term gain can be detrimental to society and to the planet.’ The great thing for me at the moment is that there are huge numbers of people across the world who are also waking up to the fact that policies designed for the short term push the wicked issues down the generations and we have no right to saddle generations as yet unborn with problems we either refuse to pay for or cannot solve.
So here in the contributions from the next generation of leaders in Wales, we see concerns and solutions about climate, nature, waste, health, education, drawing on legislation recognising the interconnectedness of outcomes and the necessity for leadership, collaboration and involvement. I’m delighted and hugely grateful to them at the breadth of this input and wish them all well in contributing further on these important issues. At the next Senedd elections in May 2021, young people aged 16 and 17 will be able to vote for the first time. Unbound by the real or imagined constraints that older politicians experience, I hope they and their peers will challenge parties of all political persuasions to raise their game.
I will notify the specific contributors when your contribution is published, and feed back to you directly if I receive any comments linked to your contributions.
The Contributions
Becky Ricketts, Trinity Saint David Students’ Union Group President/NUS Wales Women’s Officer 2019–2020
As a newly qualified teacher of primary education, a leader of young people and a member of the ‘Millennial’ generation, the Act has been one of the biggest commitments to the enhancement of young people in Wales since time immemorial.
From implementation in our Foundation Phase through to higher education and beyond, we are embarking on one of the most rapidly accelerating journeys in modern history. We are preparing the next generation for careers that do not yet exist, using advanced virtual education platforms and global opportunities for success and cohesion.
However, though the developments have been fluid and adventurous, my question to you is this: why are we preparing our children for a world that may not be able to support life as we know it? If I were to have the power, my primary decision would be to include real climate education and education of the Act in our schools, colleges, universities and even workplaces – the well-being of our future generations depends on us all, and we have an obligation as a ‘globally responsible Wales’ to contribute only positively to this crisis.
At the time of writing, an area the size of Belgium is burning through Australia, killing half a billion animals and displacing thousands of people. It was recently stated that we could see over 100 million people displaced and declared ‘climate refugees’ from their homes around the world by 2050 due to climate decline and the inability to live and survive where they once did. The Act encourages us to wholeheartedly aid those in need to grow our ‘cohesive communities’.
We have accountability as a ‘more equal Wales’ to do what we can for those that cannot, for those for whom the effects of climate change have already been too great. With the success of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, I genuinely have hope for Wales and the future of its people.
Joe Stockley leads on Communications for Diverse Cymru and is a trustee with WCVA and the British Youth Council
A more equal Wales – passing on the baton (responsibly)I am passionate about and for young people and the difference they can make. I have seen this first hand with the British Youth Council and their consultation of just under a million young people with Make Your Mark 2019. I see it with the newly appointed Welsh Youth Parliament and their first report ‘Life Skills in the Curriculum’.
I think the Future Generations Act gives Wales the chance to develop responsible and ethically sound ways of developing talent and tackling apathy. To genuinely understand the voices of the long term.
A more equal Wales demands genuine listening.
A more equal Wales demands voices aren’t comfortable to hear.
A more equal Wales demands more young people in decision making.
Just in the charity sector alone, young people make up roughly 0.5 per cent of trustees, despite making up 12 per cent of the population.
In the public sector then, how many young people take public appointments? And how is that process made simple for them? Where are young people on Public Service Boards?Young people feed into the Future Generations Commissioner and her work – that is a learning to present across the world. I wait with anticipation to see the potential of the National Assembly-backed leadership academy.
The Wales I want is a place where voices at all levels are involved and engaged.
Evan Burgess, Welsh Youth Parliament Member for Aberconwy
The most important thing for the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act would be to protect the climate for present and future life on Earth.
This means taking radical action to invest in renewable energy and sustainable transport infrastructure like electric rail and cars. To discourage polluting industries and boost and protect the environment through expanding and protecting green areas. To make it easy for Welsh citizens to make good decisions for the climate, so that Wales can lead the world in protecting the climate.
Kian Agar, Welsh Youth Parliament member for Aberavon
The Well-being of Future Generations Act is essential to ensure that my generation grow up in a safe, stable and sustainable Wales. It encourages many public bodies within Wales to ensure that the decisions they make are made with future generations in mind and is in correlation with the Act’s seven well-being goals. I believe that all the well-being goals are equally as important as each other and that they should all be addressed accordingly. Each of the goals play a vital part in the development of a new Wales and, if addressed properly, may solve all social and environmental issues that we face today and most definitely will in the future, directly affecting myself, my generation and many generations to come.
Chris Roscoe, One Young World delegate (Wales)
Building on the foresight instilled into public bodies by the Well-being of Future Generations Act, I would look to encourage the same within the wider populace. This would be achieved through weaving lifelong learning unequivocally though the fabric of our communities. It would decouple education from the Victorian classroom and, through the promotion of ongoing personal growth, it would improve the adaptability of citizens to manage change, thereby reducing the cold-water shock of future difficulties. By empowering citizens with the skills of lifelong learning and developing within them an openness to change, future generations will be equipped with the fundamental tools to address current and future challenges.
Emily-Rose Jenkins, One Young World delegate (Wales)
The implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Management Act 2010 was a great step towards a sustainable future; however more needs to be done to influence a culture change in the way we plan, design and build Welsh infrastructure. Infrastructure needs to work with the natural environment, enhancing biodiversity, reducing flood risk and providing green growth for Wales. Infrastructure plays an essential role in our day-to-day life and has the potential to make the biggest difference. Legislation to consider infrastructure as a multi-disciplinary ‘building for the future’ function, needs to be implemented to ensure that we, the future generations, have access to a safer and fairer world.
Dan Tram, One Young World delegate (Wales)
The biggest challenge facing future generations is the culture-shift required to reverse the effects of climate change. Our consumerist attitude towards food, clothes and gadgets demonstrates a lack of interest about materials, processes and delivery methods. We’ve become so accustomed to having things when and where we want them, without recognising the potential detriment imposed on our planet. This linear approach of resources is directly linked to our oblivion of waste. Therefore, a law that charged for waste, both domestically and commercially, would challenge us all to consider the actual ‘need’, becoming far more economical and considering reuse, rather refuse.
Mishan Wickremasinghe, President, Students’ Union, University of South Wales
As the President of the University of South Wales Students’ Union, my team and I have bid for funding for a new mental-health programme, designed for students, that has wider benefits to the local community. This programme of ‘social prescribing’ is a holistic approach to allow an individual who may have a mental-health condition to be ‘prescribed’ community work, volunteering or activities in their local community that endeavours to have a positive impact on their well-being.
We decided to use the vision of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to fully embody and encapsulate our passion for improving the lives of people living in Wales. The project aims to provide long-term, sustainable support for students, which will not only benefit the individuals but the wider Welsh economy through improved individual resilience and well-being.
Vashti Miller, Graduate Health Communications Consultant, MHP Communications
As Jane has made clear throughout her book, it is vital to consider future generations when developing policy. Legislation designed for short-term gain can have a detrimental impact on society and on the planet. Solutions need to work for the present, but also the future. For me, this is applicable across sectors.
The Act encourages a holistic approach to policy which I believe to be imperative if we are to tackle climate change and social, economic and health inequalities. Resources are strained in both an economic and natural sense, and a collaborative approach to policymaking not only provides a solution to this issue but preserves what is left for future generations. For me, this is not only logical from a moral perspective, but also an economic one. Policies designed for short-term gain can be detrimental to society and to the planet. In the context of health, public-health systems across the world are on the verge of crisis point as they face the issue of ageing populations coupled with the rapid increase in diagnosis of long-term debilitating illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes and heart failure. For me, a holistic, preventative approach to policy development provides the most effective solution. In the simplest sense, by ensuring the collaboration between budgets, public bodies and organisations, preventative health care can be introduced. This does not only benefit the patient, but also reduces the physical and monetary pressures placed on the NHS. Simple switches like this could have a significant impact on society and public services for those living today and for future generations.
If you have any comments on this blog, or would like to get in touch, please use the contact form. I’m keen to enable guest blogs on the site, so let me know if you’d like to do one, or to review the book for the site. The contact form also works for the growing number of followers of my husband Guy for his reflections on growing and wildlife in his blog, Patch Work which he updates regularly – unless the slugs get the better of him!
#futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/futuregenerations-lessons-from-a-small-country/
Jane Davidson 13/10/20