Foresight Talk with Wales’ first Commissioner for Future Generations

On 24 June, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) hosted a Foresight Talk with Sophie Howe, the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. The event brought together regional representations in Brussels, institutional partners, and CoR staff and trainees to explore how long-term thinking can be better embedded in public decision-making.

The discussion forms part of the CoR’s Foresight Talks series, connecting policymakers and practitioners to exchange approaches for more resilient and forward-looking policymaking.

The session was opened by Jelena Drenjanin (SE/EPP), CoR Member and Foresight Coordinator, who highlighted the need to balance present demands with the interests of future generations across areas such as housing, mobility, climate and public finances. She underlined that advancing intergenerational fairness requires stronger use of strategic foresight to support informed decisions at local and regional levels.

Sophie Howe presented key lessons from her 2016-2023 tenure, a role established under Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act. While lacking decision‑making powers, the Commissioner can influence policy by publicly challenging proposals misaligned with long-term goals.

Framing her intervention around “governing with future generations in mind”, she emphasised that integrating long-term perspectives is not only strategic but practical. This includes embedding foresight into day‑to‑day policymaking and exploring alternative futures. Examples from Wales showed tangible impacts, including waste reduction and transport changes, notably opposition to a new road project with unequal territorial benefits.

The discussion confirmed strong interest in applying these approaches across the EU, alongside recognition that the EU Intergenerational Fairness Strategy (IGF) should translate into more concrete action. It also highlighted that IGF is not yet widely perceived as a truly strategic framework and should be further positioned and operationalised as such.