18 March 2024 — It’s that time again: the third episode of the Intergenerational Fairness Day Podcast is available online! Since the first Intergenerational Fairness Day on 16 November 2023, host and FRFG project manager Lena Winzer has been releasing a new episode of the English FRFG podcast every two months. In line with the current IGJR double issue of 2023, the discussion will centre around a whole new aspect of intergenerational (un)fairness and long-term consequences: “Young Carers.” Once again, Lena has invited some very interesting and high-profile guests for this episode. Among them are Krista Cartlidge, CEO of MYTIME Young Carers from the United Kingdom, Benjamin Salzmann from the Young Carer Center Windschatten Berlin, Tristan Stecker from the Steering Group for Young Carers of the German Professional Association for Nursing Professions from Germany, and FRFG head and speaker of the board Luise Roither. The discussion includes topics such as the effects of caregiving on physical, emotional, social, and academic well-being, as well as approaches that affect the entire family.
All podcast episodes are available online. In the first episode, “Introducing Intergenerational Fairness: A Global Movement,” Lena introduced the topic of intergenerational justice, the action day, and the IFD partner organisations. In the second episode, she invited the FRFG to a discussion on long-term thinking and the work of this NGO. The topics of this episode included intergenerational justice, Walkshops, the Intergenerational Justice Review, and the path to a just world for all generations.
26 January 2024 — On September 22nd and 23rd, 2024, the first UN Summit of the Future will take place. The summit is a high-level event where leaders from around the world come together to forge a new international consensus for a better future. On the one hand, the summit aims to accelerate efforts to meet our existing international commitments, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, and on the other hand, it is about taking concrete steps to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.
The proposal for a Summit of the Future originated in the “Our Common Agenda Report”, a response by the UN Secretary-General to a call from Member States for ideas on how better to respond to current and future challenges. The report called for a renewal of trust and solidarity at all levels – between peoples, countries, and generations. It advocated for a fundamental overhaul of our political, economic, and social systems to make them more just and effective for all generations. The report also recommended a corresponding renewal of the multilateral system, with the Summit of the Future seen as a crucial moment to agree on the necessary improvements through a Pact for the Future. The overarching purpose of the summit and the pact is to reaffirm the UN Charter, strengthen multilateralism, promote the implementation of existing commitments, agree on solutions to new challenges, and restore trust.
The Summit of the Future represents a unique opportunity to restore eroded trust and demonstrate that international cooperation can effectively address current challenges. However, we believe a one-time summit will not be enough to implement long-term decision-making effectively. We need a clear commitment to intergenerational fairness to come together regularly to reassess progress and policies and consistently propose changes. Germany is one of the co-facilitators of the summit. Therefore, we have approached the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York. We urge joint advocacy for an annual “Intergenerational Fairness Day” as an official UN day to think about future generations and reaffirm our commitments to them. The UN has already proclaimed various similar days (e.g., World Children’s Day, Human Rights Day, International Women’s Day, World Water Day, etc.). An “Intergenerational Fairness Day” is a gap that needs to be filled in light of the Summit of the Future.
In January 2023, the FRFG had the idea that an International Day of Action could serve the important function of raising awareness about future generations. This “Intergenerational Fairness Day” should be officially recognised as a UN holiday. Now – a year later, it is not just us, but a whole network of non-governmental organisations advocating for the protection of the rights of succeeding generations. To learn more about the “Intergenerational Fairness Day”, you can find our other contributions to the IFD below and our podcast on the project here. Follow us on Instagram @gengerecht and @intergenerationalfairnessday!
16 January 2024 — Even though the first Intergenerational Fairness Day has already passed, we are pleased to say that we will continue to provide you with international content on the topic of intergenerational justice. To bridge the time until the second Intergenerational Fairness Day, we are going to release a new episode of our Intergenerational Fairness Day Podcast every two months on one specific topic of intergenerational justice. On January 16th, it’s time again: the second episode on “Longterm Thinking with the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations” will be available online!
In the first episode, our project manager and host, Lena Winzer, introduced the topic of intergenerational justice, the day itself, and our partner organisations in “Introducing Intergenerational Fairness: A Global Movement.” If you haven’t listened to the episode yet, you can do so here. In the second episode, the FRFG joins Lena in a conversation about Longterm Thinking and the work of FRFG. Joining the discussion is scientific director Jörg Tremmel, head of the board Carl-Georg Luft, board member Grace Clover, as well as ambassadors Milena Weber and Jonas Hohenforst. Join us as we discuss the Intergenerational Justice Prize, Walkshops, the Intergenerational Justice Reviews and of course, the road to an intergenerationally just world itself.
To read more about the Intergenerational Fairness Day, click the link here. Follow us on Instagram @gengerecht and @intergenerationalfairnessday, and to learn more about the other organisations of the Intergenerational Fairness Day, simply visit their respective websites linked below and keep an eye on their social media!
16 November 2023 — We are excited to announce that today is the first worldwide Intergenerational Fairness Day and exciting things are coming your way! Go to your favourite podcasting platform and listen to the first episode of the Intergenerational Fairness Day Podcast – Introducing Intergenerational Fairness: A Global Movement. Next to the Podcast, the organisations have also collaborated on a worldwide blog week, which the Intergenerational Foundation has coordinated and will host in the week following 16 November on their website. There are around 15 articles to look out for, which will be shared over the course of the week, including an article by the FRFG, on the topic of intergenerational fairness.
On a more national level, our partner organisations also have exciting things planned for this year’s Intergenerational Fairness Day, that you should look out for. The Next Generation Fellows have created an Instagram/X campaign, with inspirational videos and quotes, contributed by young people from the Global South, on why intergenerational fairness matters, which can be found @OurFutureAgenda. The Partnership for Future Generations in Africa will send letters to African heads of state to demand more intergenerational fairness in government decision-making.
The Berkeley Institute for Young Americans will also launch a social media campaign in collaboration with the @intergenerationalfairnessday Instagram account and the other organisations. They also plan to write an Op-ed for a US news outlet.Generation Squeeze from Canada have been active about the day on their website, but they are also planning some local activities. They are hosting a media event at the national press theatre on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on the 16th, are planning to attend several meetings with federal politicians over the week and their community network is calling for a national Generational Fairness Task Force. Think Forward in Australia will be meeting with politicans in Canberra on 14 November and youth peak groups on 15 November, while also launching a report on young people’s perspectives on tax reform, highlighting intergenerational fairness on 16 November.
To find out more about the organisations just find the links at the bottom of the page and keep an eye out on their social media! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @intergenerationalfairnessday!
On 16 November 2023, the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations, along with eight other organisations from England, the USA, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, Nigeria, and a UN Foundation initiative, will proclaim the “Intergenerational Fairness Day.” On that day, the FRFG has planned to release the “Intergenerational Fairness Day Podcast.” This podcast will feature discussions with FRFG project manager, Lena Winzer, and partner organisations on topics related to intergenerational fairness. The trailer and the first episode of the podcast, titled “Introducing Intergenerational Fairness: A Global Movement,” will introduce the day and the participating organisations. The subsequent episodes will be released monthly, and in Season 2, Lena will invite partner organisations to discuss specific topics related to intergenerational fairness, their activities, and their visions for these issues in more detail. You can join the conversation on 16 November by listening to the podcast here and by following the Instagram account @intergenerationalfairnessday.
A worldwide day of action has been proclaimed by an international network of non-partisan organisations that exist to protect the rights of younger and future generations. In early 2023, the FRFG proposed the idea of creating an international day of action for intergenerational justice. The objective was to raise awareness for future generations and create an official UN holiday. The UN has already established various similar days, like World Children’s Day, Human Rights Day, International Women’s Day, World Water Day, etc. However, there was still a gap that needed to be filled, and that was a day dedicated to intergenerational justice.
16 November 2023 will see organisations from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Nigeria, Australia, and the UN Foundation, come together to call for greater intergenerational fairness so that the interests of younger and future generations are better protected both nationally and internationally.
Accelerating global warming, escalating (nuclear) arms races, the loss of biodiversity, unaligned artificial intelligence, and human-made pandemics are just some of the new risks experienced by today’s youth and future generations that lack adequate government intervention.
Within existing public policy, rapidly growing national debts, the cost-of-living crisis, high housing costs, and eroding pensions, are some of the policy areas where young people are losing out.
In a nutshell, in too many areas of life, society is acting at the expense of young people and future generations. A joint and intensive effort to secure the existence of humanity beyond the next decades is required.
The organisers argue that many of these problems are not just national, but global. While the specific context may differ from country to country, the general trend is that governments worldwide focus on solving short-term problems with little regard to long-term sustainability, whether it be natural resources, government spending or investment in the futures of younger and future generations.
Intergenerational Fairness Day wants to encourage people to think about this essential topic and to draw attention to its importance. Government decision-makers must be reminded of their responsibility towards future generations and work together to create a future that is fair and sustainable for all generations.
Intergenerational Foundation: https://www.if.org.uk
Berkeley Institute for Young Americans: https://youngamericans.berkeley.edu
Milliongenerations: https://www.milliongenerations.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
Generation Squeeze: https://www.gensqueeze.ca
Think Forward: https://www.thinkforward.org.au
Partnership for Future Generations in Africa: https://ourfutureagenda.org/2023/02/partnership-for-future-generations-in-africa/
Next Generation Fellows: https://ourfutureagenda.org/nextgenerationfellows/
Future Design: https://www.ri-futuredesign.com