World Future Council

World Future Council Foundation (WFC)
Legal form:	charitable foundation
Purpose:	International understanding , sustainable development, environmental protection, " ethical voice for the needs and rights of future life ", political advice
Chair:	vacant
Managing directors:	Alexandra change
Consist:	since 2004, since 2005 foundation
Founder:	u. a. Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg , Michael Otto
Number of employees:	about 25
Seat:	Hamburg Germany (General Secretariat)
Website:	worldfuturecouncil.org

Annual general meeting of the World Future Council in Hamburg 2011

The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation . It sees itself as the "voice of future generations" . Its purpose is to raise the awareness of decision-makers about the rights of future generations and to promote a policy of sustainability and justice. The organization has existed since 2007 and is headquartered in Hamburg.

history

In 2000 Jakob von Uexküll founded the " Foundation for the Promotion of the World Future Council " by him together with Herbert Girardet in 2004 ; The principles of the Earth Charter served as inspiration. In 2005, the WFC was approved as a legal foundation under civil law. The headquarters have been in Hamburg since 2006 . The current statutes have been in effect since 2007 with a framework for a globally active non-profit foundation with members from all parts of the world. Further offices and representations are located in London , Geneva and Windhoek (as of 2020). The council was convened for the first time in Hamburg in May 2007 on the initiative of Jakob von Uexküll. The basic funding was secured by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg as well as donations from the entrepreneur Michael Otto and numerous other donors.

Field of activity

The foundation regards itself as a global advocate for the interests of future generations in international politics, with a focus on environmental and climate protection , sustainable energy supply , urban development and agriculture, and the rights of children and young people. The council, with its up to 50 voluntary members, meets once a year and determines the work program. The decisions and recommendations of the council are prepared and disseminated in coordination with expert commissions and external consultants.

The Foundation believes that the solutions to many global future problems are already in place. The Council calls on decision-makers around the world to overcome the shortcomings in action that hinder a sustainable and peaceful future for humankind and to break new ground. The main focus of the WFC's work is policy advice . The WFC is guided by the principle of demanding what it believes is necessary, and not just what appears politically possible at a certain point in time. The organization works for a global community based on the values ​​of non-violence , sustainability , respect and justice .

Future Policy Award

Future Policy Award

The Future Policy Award , which is sometimes referred to as the "Political Oscar", honors laws that promote better living conditions for present and future generations. According to the organization, the award honors future-oriented politics at international level. The first award in 2009 went to the food security program of the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte . The 2010 award honored laws for the conservation of biodiversity at the 10th Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) . The 2011 award honored three exemplary forest conservation policies. The award ceremony took place in New York together with the United Nations Forest Forum ( UNFF ) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FAO . In 2013 it was awarded to the Tlatelolco Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean for the sustainable disarmament associated with it. In 2017, the best laws that successfully combat the spread of deserts were honored.

In 2018, awards were given to the best laws and measures that strengthen agroecology and thus promote sustainable development and environmental and climate protection. The Indian state of Sikkim won the Future Policy Award in gold, further prizes went to laws from Ecuador , Brazil , Los Angeles ( USA ) and Denmark . In 2016, Sikkim was the first country in the world to switch completely to organic farming .

Sustainable Law Database: FuturePolicy.org

On the website FuturePolicy.org, the foundation compiles recommendations and practical examples for sustainable, future-oriented legislation (in each case according to their opinion) in English. The online database contains around 80 laws on 7 subject areas, such as "Equity & Dignity", "Climate Stability" or "Healthy Ecosystems".

Children's rights

In 2015, the foundation honored the best political initiatives that help protect and strengthen the rights of girls and boys. The Future Policy Award 2015 on the subject of children's rights was presented jointly with UNICEF and the Interparliamentary Union . Gold went to Zanzibar 's Children's Law, which prevents (sexual) violence against children and protects the victims. An international child protection conference was held in December 2017, which ended with the "Zanzibar Declaration on Safeguarding Children's Rights". The declaration was signed by representatives from Ghana , Indonesia , Liberia , Nigeria , Seychelles , Somaliland , South Africa , South Sudan , Sudan , Tanzania , Tunisia and Zanzibar as well as international experts on children's rights. The concept is now to be disseminated in other countries, for example in Ghana. After a WFC workshop with representatives from Ghanaian ministries, state institutions and child protection actors, the aim is now to develop a roadmap for a pilot program in Accra .

Promotion of renewable energies

On the subject of climate and energy, the foundation has published studies, books and short films and organized workshops with experts from more than 50 countries and advises governments, parliamentarians and international organizations such as IRENA , the United Nations Environment Program ( UNEP ) and the United Nations program for human settlements (UN habitat). The WFC also attributes the fact that more than 140 countries have passed legal measures to promote renewable energies to its expertise and information work on effective feed-in laws to promote renewable energies.

In 2018, the foundation is working harder to promote a change to 100% renewable energy. For this purpose, exemplary laws and political initiatives are identified that lead to an expansion of renewable energies and higher energy efficiency and thus contribute to sustainable social development. These include a project that works towards the implementation of 100% renewable energies in Tanzania for poverty reduction and sustainable development, as well as the campaign “Global 100% RE”.

Financing of climate protection

Another work area of ​​the foundation is sustainable economy. The WFC formulates proposals on the future role of central banks to the global warming be limited to below 1.5 ° C, and to finance a comprehensive energy policy . In 2018, analogous to the bank bailout in the global financial crisis of 2007 , the foundation brought the term "climate bailout" into play with the argument that the fight against climate change falls under the mandate of the central banks, since the stability of the climate is similar to the system - is as relevant as that of the banks. At the beginning of November 2018, Benoît Cœuré , member of the Executive Board of the ECB , made a similar statement during a conference.

African Alliance for Renewable Energy Network

The African Alliance for Renewable Energy (African Renewable Energy Alliance, AREA), which was established in October 2009 at the initiative of the organization, including 1,400 members from 90 countries (February 2014). The network wants to improve the exchange of experiences and thus the framework conditions for the spread of renewable energies in Africa. In order to promote renewable energies in Africa, AREA has co-organized international conferences and meetings on the subject of "Renewable energies for sustainable development in Africa" ​​in South Africa, Ghana, Cape Verde, Nigeria and Morocco.

Methodology for future-oriented legislation

The foundation has developed a methodology for future-oriented legislation that supports legislators in the conception, evaluation and amendment of laws. The methodology is based on the seven principles for sustainable development presented by the International Law Association and adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. The principles are intended to help ensure that important general standards of sustainability and justice, human rights and freedoms and respect for the environment are taken into account. The methodology is also used in evaluating the laws submitted to the WFC's Future Policy Award.

criticism

Critics accuse the organization of not working in a practical manner. The effectiveness of the activities is also difficult to measure and therefore difficult to prove.

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Evidence is missing

Council members

(As of November 2018)

Hafsat Abiola-Costello Helmy Abouleish Ibrahim Abouleish (deceased 2017) Charlotte Aubin Maude Barlow Dipal Chandra Barua Ana Maria Cetto Shuaib Chalklen Tony Colman Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger

Thai Corral Hans-Peter Dürr Scilla Elworthy Anda Filip Sándor Fülöp Rafia Ghubash Luc Gnacadja Neshan Gunasekera Hans R. Gentlemen Ashok Khosla

Rolf Kreibich Alexander Likhotal Rama Mani Julia Marton-Lefèvre Wanjira Mathai Jan McAlpine Frances Moore Lappé Cherie Nursalim Auma Obama Anna Oposa

Katiana Orluc Sirpa Pietikäinen Vandana Shiva Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Alyn Ware Not so Wijkman

Honorary council members

Patrus Ananias Walter Cronkite (deceased 2009) Ahmed Djoghlaf Riane Eisler

Olivier Giscard D'Estaing Herbert Girardet Jane Goodall Wangari Maathai (1940-2011)

James R. Mancham Gertrude Ibengwé Mongella Pauline Tangiora Michael Otto

Arthur NR Robinson Judge CG Weeramantry (deceased 2017) Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker Barbara Woschek

literature

• Herbert Girardet, Miguel Mendonca (Eds.): A Renewable World , Greenbooks, London 2009, ISBN 978-1900322492
• Herbert Girardet (Ed.): The future is possible. Ways out of the climate chaos. European Publishing House , Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-434-50606-5
• Jakob von Uexküll , Herbert Girardet (ed.): The tasks of the world future council. World Future Council, Shaping the Future Kamphausen, Hamburg 2005
• Jakob von Uexküll (Ed.): We owe that to our children . European Publishing House (eva), Hamburg 2007, 1st edition

Web links

Commons : World Future Council  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ World Future Council founder Jakob von Uexküll resigns
2. ↑ https://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/mbstaff/
3. ^ World Future Council. Retrieved November 27, 2018 . 
4. ^ World Future Council. Retrieved November 27, 2018 . 
5. ^ Structure and organization of the WFC ( Memento of April 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 26, 2014.
6. ^ World Future Council / Future Policy Award. Retrieved November 20, 2018 . 
7. ^ ZDF - First the "planet e." - documentary on ZDF, then the "Polit-Oscar". Retrieved November 20, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Hamburg Foundation awards international prize in China for successful measures against desertification. Retrieved November 20, 2018 . 
9. ↑ “Polit-Oscar” for sustainable agriculture: The “100% organic” law from Sikkim, India, wins Future Policy Award. In: worldfuturecouncil.org, October 12, 2018, accessed on October 15, 2018.
10. ↑ FuturePolicy.org. Retrieved November 11, 2018 . 
11. ^ World Future Council - Future Policy Award 2015. Accessed November 11, 2018 . 
12. ^ Zanzibar Declaration on Safeguarding Children's Rights. Retrieved November 28, 2018 . 
13. ^ World Future Council - Child Protection Working Conference in Ghana. Retrieved November 28, 2018 . 
14. ↑ Ghana on the way to make its child protection system more effective. In: World Future Council. December 3, 2018, accessed January 24, 2019 . 
15. ↑ World Future Council - our successes. Retrieved November 11, 2018 . 
16. ↑ World Future Council - 100% renewable energy and poverty reduction in Tanzania. Retrieved November 11, 2018 . 
17. ↑ campaign website "Go100RE". Retrieved November 11, 2018 . 
18. ^ World Future Council - Sustainable Economy. Retrieved November 11, 2018 . 
19. ↑ Tagesspiegel - Viewpoint: Bailout for the climate. Retrieved November 27, 2018 . 
20. ^ Speech by Benoît Cœuré on the ECB website. Retrieved November 27, 2018 . 
21. ^ African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA), accessed January 27, 2014.
22. ^ World Future Council - Seven Principles of Future Just Law-Making. Retrieved November 11, 2018 .