IPANZ and Taituarā have secured the opportunity for you to engage in conversation with Jane Davidson (the former Minister for the Environment and Sustainability in Wales who proposed what is now the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015) and Jacob Ellis (Lead Change Maker for Public Affairs and International at the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales).
- 29 Sep 2020
- 08:00 - 09:30
- Save to my Calendar
About this event
The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner was established under the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (see https://www.futuregenerations.wales/about-us/). The legislation was enacted to help safeguard the interests and wellbeing of future generations and encourage long-term policy thinking within the Welsh Government, public bodies and local government. It requires public institutions to contribute to seven specific wellbeing goals and have regard to five particular ways of working.
This webinar brings together political and administrative perspectives and provides an opportunity to learn about, and draw lessons from, the Welsh experience. We will explore the history – how did the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act come about? What was the political context which drove this new approach?
We will also explore the issues of implementation – how is the Act working and what difference is it making? What are the practical problems and barriers, and how are they being addressed? What are the enablers and ways of driving progress? Above all, what can we learn from this landmark legislation about how to improve the quality of long-term governance and better protect the wellbeing of future generations in Aotearoa New Zealand?
These are critical issues for public sector professionals in local and central government, in our shared worlds where embedding effective, systemic, long-term thinking and action is of utmost importance.
Register here for the free webinar: Securing the well-being of future generations
Presenters
Jane Davidson
Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of Wales Trinity Saint David Read ProfileJane Davidson
Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of Wales Trinity Saint DavidJane Davidson is the author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country, the story of why Wales was the first country in the world to introduce legislation to protect future generations.
Jane is Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at University of Wales Trinity Saint David which has embedded the Well-being of Future Generations’ Act into all its activities. Jane has won a number of UK wide awards for this work.
From 2007- 2011, Jane was Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales where she proposed legislation to make sustainable development its central organising principle – the Well-being of Future Generations Act which came into law in April 2015. She created a Welsh Climate Change Commission and Future Generations Commissioner, the 800 mile Wales coastal path,.
Before going into national politics in Wales, Jane was an elected local government councillor for 10 years (1987-1996) and then 3 years (1996-1999) as Head of Social Affairs (Housing, Health and Social Care) for the Welsh Local Government Association.
Jane introduced the first UK charge on carrier bags, leading the way for similar charges across the UK. She is a patron of the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and Tools for Self Reliance Wales (TFSR Cymru). She holds honorary fellowships from WWF, CIW (Chartered Institute of Waste), CIWEM (Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management). She is Chair of the RSA in Wales and an associate faculty member at Harvard University.
She lives on a 10 acre smallholding in west Wales where she tries to live a low carbon life, growing organically as much food as possible.
As a Welsh learner, Jane welcomes messages in Welsh.
Jacob Dafydd Ellis
Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales Read ProfileJacob Dafydd Ellis
Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for WalesJacob is the Lead Change Maker for Public Affairs and International work at the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. His main responsibilities include working with politicians and senior stakeholders, advising on the implementation of the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Jacob also leads on the international work of the office and looks for new ways to bring innovation to Wales and share the learning of our world-leading legislation with others. Jacob manages the delivery of the Future Generations Leadership Academy and the Commissioner’s ‘Manifesto for the Future’.
Jacob is also a Non-Executive Director of Literature Wales and a Trustee of Scouts Cymru. Jacob is a former BBC Wales Journalist and a graduate of Aberystwyth University and Cardiff University.