| CYM
Whenever I’m feeling hopeless, I’m grateful for the time I get to spend with our Future Generations Leadership Academy.
This group of 18-to-30 year-olds are helping reimagine a future Wales where we’ve realised our nation’s ambitions as manifested through the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
Since we launched the programme in 2019, the alumni has spread to taking places in organisations from the British Council to appearing at Gen Z: My Life My Say, and speaking in London and Brussels, and across Wales.
The FGLA is a group of young people putting the WFGA into action, creating future generations plans for their workplaces, mentoring Welsh leaders and informing my office’s work, including the recommendations I will make to Welsh Government and public bodies in my major report being published this year.
Our unique law in Wales means we must act today for a better tomorrow – protecting people now and those born in the future, so we have what we need to thrive for our whole lives, and leave behind a livable planet. The young people who go through this programme every year are taking steps to get us closer to this future. They play a significant role in making sure this law works harder, the biggest mission in my strategy, Cymru Can.
Crucially, the academy represents a proudly diverse Wales.
A total of 32% of participants identify as Black, Asian, or from an Ethnic Minority background; 25% identify as being LGBTQ+, four participants identify as disabled, and four have caring responsibilities . Thirty three per cent are participating in Welsh, 69% of participants are the first in their family to go to university, and 60% of participants are at entry level with their career.
In March 2025, the FGLA will celebrate a milestone of 100 young leaders having come through the programme, excelling across sectors.
This year, 46% work in the public sector, 34% in the voluntary sector, 11% in the private sector, and 9% in other areas.
Principality Building Society has committed £40,000 annually for the next three years to the academy, enabling one of their colleagues and four individuals from diverse backgrounds to participate.
The organisation says it’s seen the transformative power of the programme, encouraging others to support it and apply the WFGA in its work.
To better invest in tomorrow’s leaders, we need more investment in youth development and decision-making spaces.
As we prepare to mark 10 years of Wales’ commitment to the well-being of Future Generations (in April, it will be a decade of the Act), I welcome further collaboration with Welsh Government, public bodies, and all sectors in Wales, so we can strengthen opportunities for young people to thrive.
More collaborations will support them to access high level leadership training, gain the trust and skills needed to lead and create innovative solutions for a sustainable and inclusive future.
I invite all sectors to align their decisions with the Well-being of Future Generations Act, involving young people and allocating budgets that empower youth-led initiatives.
Safe educational spaces where young people can sharpen their leadership skills, boost their confidence, and meet the right people so they can design and deliver the changes needed for their ideal future, are vital. Together, let’s continue to connect, and challenge the decisions made today, so we protect the future where the young people of Wales can thrive.
Esther Obafemi shares her experience of being a part of 2024’s Future Generations Leadership Academy EU Summit in Belgium, where the team met with European institutions and grassroots enterprises.
“I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Brussels with a group of inspiring young leaders from Wales as part of the Office of the Future Generations. Our goal was to explore and discuss the Well-being of Future Generations Act with various institutions.
At a roundtable discussion at the European Foresight Unit, we shared insights about the Well-being of Future Generations Act, a pioneering piece of legislation that has placed Wales on the global map for long-term policy planning.
We also learned about the EU’s plans to establish a Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness—a concept that aligns deeply with the Act’s core values. It was empowering to see our work recognized as a model for global inspiration.
We visited the European Parliament, met with Leuven MindGate, an organisation that strengthens the local ecosystem by organizing networking events and collaboration initiatives enabling young people, both locally and internationally, to work together and improve the city. Meeting with Leuven University’s Green Office, a team of students working to integrate sustainability into university operations, was inspiring, and it mirrored the grassroots momentum we’ve cultivated in Wales.
Meeting with the Welsh Government team in Brussels highlighted how deeply connected our nation is to European partnerships, particularly in sustainability and public health.
Wales has made incredible progress in these areas by taking a proactive approach. Initiatives aimed at reducing loneliness and isolation, increasing physical activity, and addressing mental health challenges have become benchmarks for public health policy.
I was reminded of how young people have driven change in different areas like tackling climate change and reducing inequalities, when meeting the European Youth Forum and at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), we shared best practices and explored collaborative solutions for sustainable development.
It was humbling to see how Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act resonated with others and served as a blueprint for innovative thinking. I was able to share my work in social care and some of the ways public health has improved in Wales as a result of the Act at the British Residence and how through preventive strategies and a holistic approach, Wales has made strides in addressing the environmental and social determinants of health, proving that small nations can lead the way in creating healthier, more equitable societies.
Representing Wales, sharing our progress, and learning from others affirmed the global importance of long-term thinking and the need to prioritize the well-being of future generations.”
* To find out more about joining or sponsoring the Future Generations Leadership Academy, contact korina.tsioni@futuregenerations.wales
