School of International Futures (SOIF)

The UN #SummitoftheFuture and the Wellbeing of Current and Future Generations present a powerful framing and a once-in-a-generation opportunity that is inspiring hope, energy and agency. The Declaration on Future Generations (DFG), due to be adopted at the Summit, signals widespread recognition that short-term crisis management is insufficient to address today’s challenges. It invites governments and multilateral organisations to instead prioritise long-term thinking in policy and planning. But how do we turn this ambition into concrete action and impact? ✨📘 So today, SOIF is launching the Implementation Handbook for the UN Declaration on Future Generations! 📘✨ There are many innovators around the world who are already making visible changes in governing for the long term. We've drawn on research and interviews with hundreds of changemakers across more than 50 countries to produce an Implementation Handbook, outlining a practical roadmap for national-level champions—policymakers and civil society—to embed intergenerational fairness and long-term governance principles into their national strategies. Read and share the Handbook today: https://bit.ly/47zCiSK United Nations The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales Cat Tully Sophie Howe Andrew Jackson Fátima Fernández Fernández Caroline Star Peter Glenday Felipe Bosch Claudette Salinas Leyva Diyana (Ishak) West Nancy Muigei #futuregenerations #intergenerationalfairness #globalgoals #OurCommonFuture #innovation #longtermgovernance #policy #ActNow

We’re hiring a Finance Lead to join our team at SOIF. This is a pivotal role supporting our Senior Management Team in driving financial sustainability and decision-making. Key responsibilities: ✅ Overseeing financial strategy, forecasting and cash flow management ✅ Supporting grant-funded and contract-based financial processes ✅ Collaborating with senior leadership to drive impact Ideal candidates have experience in overseeing forecast and budget processes, grant management and working in non-profits. Remote work flexibility available. Apply by 16 February. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/49VIXXa #hiring #jobopening #financejobs #nonprofitjobs #remotework

With political leadership changing across the world, 2025 presents a crucial opportunity to focus on intergenerational solidarity. This moment calls for a new intergenerational social contract, one that explores how to prepare for major transitions ahead and ensures the costs and benefits are shared fairly between generations. 2025 must be the year where the UK government commits to all generations—both present and future. But how do we make this happen? Read more in the blog post by Cat Zuzarte Tully, Stephen Burke and Will Snell: https://bit.ly/4hmQlit United for All Ages Fairness Foundation #intergenerationalsolidarity #futuregenerations #UKPolicy #democracy

My #2025 #Week3 Update #networkexperiment #appreciatinginformalexchange #thepowerofongoingconnection #makingtheinvisiblevisible 📖 My first of nine essays was published, responding to the great feedback to the preview of my book #playingwithtime. This first week, I respond to the following question: 📖"Help me understand this broad issue as a non-expert – or indeed someone who has never come across the field of foresight.  What do terms like “futures” or “intergenerational fairness” or “future generations” mean – and why did you settle on “Future-Inspired Transformative Stewardship”? How are they connected and why are they so relevant today?" 📖Read it here: https://lnkd.in/etc8PMsr ❤️ Catherine Day - exploring #nationalstrategy #foresight #participation in the #UKCabinetOffice ❤️ Aleema Shivji - Systems-level change-maker - how can foundations activate and support authentic #Horizon2 innovations? ❤️ Luis Lobo Xavier from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation - discussing effective #incentives for #knowledgesharing and #coalitionbuilding in #IGF ❤️ Steven Hartman - UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition - collaboration around 2025 and especially at #G20 ❤️ Massimiliano D'Amico - BE-COME - learning how the #socialimpactcommunity works and opportunities for connecting on key agendas and people like #FutureGens and #NGFP ❤️ Ruby Gropas - European Commission - embedding #IGF across the Commission's work ❤️ Raya Bidshahri - School of Humanity - NGFP2020 #mainawardwinner and part of informal advisory group for #SOIF - two way learning exchange on growth, resources and governance ❤️ Adam Day (he/him) and Daouia Chalali - @un university - collaboration around showcasing innovative #DFG implementation countries ❤️ Sarah Davidson - Carnegie UK - preparing for our session including a focus on narratives, advocacy and political influencing ❤️ Thomas Pogge - Academics Stand Against Poverty - celebrating his Office of Health Economics 2024 Innovation Policy Prize Award ❤️ Hamish Forsyth - OneLeap - comparing notes around #networkweaving in private sector versus more public focused groups ❤️ Simon Webb - The Nichols Group - connecting the major projects and infrastructure community endeavours to #longtermgovernance and #DFG ❤️ Stephen Twigg - Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - exploring the role of parliamentary networks in sharing good practice around #IGF, #Futuregens ❤️ Hareth AlHashmi - network weaving and opportunities to build #DFG implementation in #UAE ❤️ Kizito Byenkya - Open Society Foundations - global advocacy on #futuregenerations 📖 Also Will Snell - Fairness Foundation and Stephen Burke - United for All Ages and I wrote a blog "2025: a year to focus on intergenerational solidarity" https://lnkd.in/eJiMreFT Tell us what you think! Thank you for inspiring me - and being so generous with your time and insights as we share, explore and build together!

You know I'm so excited about using the techniques of Future Design to change our mindsets and actions today to make the world better for future generations. It's an approach that unlocks empathy for future generations and bolder decision making in the present. Tatsuyoshi Saijo has been pushing the boundaries of this work in Japan and beyond and built a large body of academic work around it. One of his most recent papers and the key concepts in future design are brought to life in an accessible audio presentation acted out by two AI characters. I highly recommend it to better understand Future Design's foundations. If you want to go deeper, check out the paper Karthick Ramakrishnan and I wrote for the School of International Futures (SOIF) last year (https://lnkd.in/e8HTb2wQ) This approach really offers much promise and can be adapted to a range of bureaucratic and public processes and settings to unlock creativity and agency. Karthick and I list many of those in our paper. It's a dark time full of disruption, but we can all embody the roles of good ancestors. And that we must. https://lnkd.in/e6dssedg #betterfutures #governance #governancefutures #futurability #roleplay Lisa Kay Solomon Cynthia Selin Elders Climate Action Julia Roig School of International Futures (SOIF) Apolitical Apolitical Foundation Lisa Witter Marci Harris Aditi Juneja Robert Ricigliano Cat Zuzarte Tully Ari Wallach Kathryn Murdoch Brooke Alden Russell Claudia Chwalisz Philip Lindsay Forrest Sparks Linn Davis Marjan Horst Ehsassi Chelsea Mauldin Tarsi Dunlop Lonny J Avi Brooks Matt Leighninger Nick Vlahos Nancy Grove Jayden Wan Hélène Landemore Thorsten Sterk Gideon Lichfield James Plunkett

✨ Young foresight: children grasping the future in the present! How can children develop the skills and confidence to face and shape the future? From the New Perspectives on Childhood project at OECD Education and Skills, our latest flyer explores this emerging area, sharing key facts, knowledge gaps, and promising practices. 📊 Did you know that anticipatory thinking skills start developing as early as 18 months of age? 💡 What if teaching futures consciousness could empower children to make better decisions, reduce anxiety, and increase their sense of agency? Join the conversation with Darragh and me on how we futures thinking in children develops to help them navigate a rapidly changing world! Special thanks to Lourdes, Peter, Erica, and the teams at Teach the Future and School of International Futures (SOIF) for inspiring and supporting this piece! #FuturesConsciousness #FuturesLiteracy #StrategicForesight #EmpoweringChildren #Education #FutureSkills

A culmination of some of the insight we at School of International Futures (SOIF) gained here working with Demos Helsinki as part of a pilot approach to supporting countries to implement the United Nations Declaration on Future Generations Turning the words of the declaration into action requires deep work in country and strong links to multilateral commitments - even in countries who are already more advanced. We’re supporting this across a range of different countries thanks to support from European Climate Foundation and others but there’s much more to do. Get in touch if you can help!

We’re delighted to share ‘Towards Long-Term Governance: From Future Awareness to Action’, a publication from Finland’s hub for long-term governance. Developed as part of a European pilot to implement the UN #DeclarationonFutureGenerations, this report captures insights from our work supporting countries to turn future commitments into action. We worked with Finnish partners to build coalitions, assess governance structures and conduct self-assessments using the Implementation Handbook and Governance Prism. This helped identify governance gaps, set priorities and develop a joint theory of change and long-term objectives. Even future-aware systems face challenges, from short-term pressures, institutional constraints to futures literacy gaps. Funded by the European Climate Foundation, this project explores how to bridge the ‘impact gap’ and effectively embed long-term thinking into decision-making. How can countries strengthen their long-term governance? The report shares key insights. Read more below. #foresight #futures #SummitoftheFuture #longtermgovernance

With political leadership changing across the world, 2025 presents a crucial opportunity to focus on intergenerational solidarity. We've just published a joint statement with the School of International Futures (SOIF) and United for All Ages calling for action. https://lnkd.in/eahHCPeh

How do we create hopeful, long-term futures in a world that feels increasingly uncertain? SOIF MD Cat Zuzarte Tully explores this challenge in her upcoming book, Playing with Time. She reflects on how futures thinking–shaped by her own experiences and insights from changemakers and innovators worldwide–can help us steward transformation by being inspired by the future and take bold action in the face of complexity. Cat writes: “Today, we stand at a tipping point. With the adoption of the UN Declaration on Future Generations and a world grappling with polycrisis, the need for unified, long-term stewardship has never been more urgent. Yet, this movement remains fragmented and vulnerable to co-option by entrenched interests. These ideas and practices could be misused for superficial 'future-washing' rather than true transformation. But this critical moment calls for action and I take this risk with purpose – inviting each of you to apply these tools with integrity and intention.” She introduces futures-inspired transformative stewardship, a practical approach designed to help communities navigate uncertainty and build the capacity to create hopeful, long-term futures. Read a preview of this practice on the SOIF blog: https://bit.ly/4asxX5b #foresight #futures #longtermgovernance #summitofthefuture #uncertainty