The Council works to identify, develop, examine and disseminate “future-oriented solutions to current challenges that humanity is facing.” Founded in 2007 by Jakob von Uexkull who established the Right Livelihood Award (or ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’), the World Future Council has long received support from the city of Hamburg in Germany where it has its headquarters.
The fifty “outstanding global change makers” from all continents that make up the Council assemble every year to inspire and guide the thinking and set the agenda. Programmes are conducted by specific commissions or project teams led by Council members.
Ever since its earliest days the Council has focused on the rights of future generations. As the Founding Document states: “We promise to do everything in our power to help sustain life with all its beauty and diversity for future generations.” While politics are often driven by a focus on the next election and economics on short-term profits, the Council advocates for future-just law making which draws on science as it paves the way “for a safe, just and equitable world.”
The Council is playing a leading role both in civil society and amongst national parliaments in preparations for the UN Summit of the Future in September. It is especially advocating for a Summit agreement to establish a Representative of Future Generations at the UN as well as national, regional and local levels, charged with the authority to design and review policies safeguarding the rights of future generations. The Council is also prioritizing the importance of the Summit lifting the ideas of intergenerational equity and trusteeship in legal and political systems and processes. “Our vision of Future Justice is to change unsustainable trends and create fair conditions for future generations – starting today.” A methodology based around 7 principles has been developed for analyzing policies to ensure that they are ‘future-just’. This provides a practical tool to help legislators and policy-makers design, amend or evaluate laws.
As part of its focus on future generations, the Council annually presents Future Policy Awards. Every year governments and professionals are invited to nominate laws and policies for the Council’s Future Policy Awards. Nominations are reviewed in the light of seven principles for future-just lawmaking.
