We invite you to join a Foresight Talk with Sophie Howe, the world’s first Future Generations Commissioner (2016–2023), to explore how to embed long term thinking and the interests of future generations in policymaking.
Appointed in February 2016 under Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015, Sophie Howe was mandated to act as a guardian of the interests of future generations and to support public bodies in achieving the Act’s well-being goals. Described by The Guardian as the “world’s first minister of the unborn”, she led high-profile interventions holding government to account and contributed to major shifts in areas such as transport planning and education to make them fit for future generations.
She has also advised two Welsh First Ministers and the UN Secretary-General on intergenerational equity, influenced similar initiatives in other countries, and continues her work through global advocacy. Drawing on this experience, she will share practical lessons on integrating foresight and long-term considerations into public decision-making.
The discussion will also examine what this means for institutions at local, regional and European levels, particularly in strengthening strategic foresight and intergenerational fairness, and will invite participants to reflect on how to apply these approaches in practice.
The event will be opened by Jelena Drenjanin, CoR Member and Foresight Coordinator, and moderator by Bert Kuby, Deputy Director responsible for Foresight.
Registration is required for all participants. If you have an access badge (CoR, European Commission, European Parliament, Council, etc.), please proceed directly to the Jacques Delors Building (JDE), Room 70, Rue Belliard 101, Brussels. If you do not have an access badge, please use the visitors’ entrance at Rue Belliard 101, next to the main entrance, and go to the main reception for accreditation. Please bring your ID card.