The three day symposium on ‘Ethics of Sustainable Prosperity
for All’ held at the
Magdalene College in Cambridge from the 11th to the 13th of September 2018
turned out to be an engaging, rich and intellectually stimulating forum to
deliberate and discuss the implementation of the Well Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, 2016. Participants
from England, Ethiopia, Kenya (myself) South Africa, Sweden, Sydney, the USA,
Wales, WWF, and the World Bank spent the three days interrogating specific
concerns related to sustainable development so as to practically inform the
implementation of the Act. Panel presentations unpacked the parameters within
which sustainable development was to be planned for within the health,
education, security, environment and digitalization sectors. Discussions
centered around the role of the state in ensuring ethics, justice and equality
towards progress in sustainable development in Wales and around the world. The First Future Generations Commissioner
for Wales was also present and gave an overview of her
role towards working tirelessly to ensure that all local
authorities and public bodies within Wales apply the Seven Well Being Goals (see below) he Act towards achieving
sustainable development. An excellent practical step by step approach to
implementing the SDGs is outlined in the Act.
I had the wonderful opportunity to engage with
Sophie Howe (pictured below - right), the First Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
appointed under the Well Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, 2016 - It was
a privilege to meet this Wonder Woman and discuss with her how to better
enforce the Act and streamline accountability procedures. We also discussed how
Kenya can benefit from drawing lessons from the Welsh Act in taking Article 10
of the Constitution on sustainable development a step further. Importantly, on
aspects of governance I made mention of how the Council of Governors
established by the Kenyan government to streamline policy planning and law
making across the 47 devolved counties in Kenya could provide a good example
for Wales in setting up a similar body at the national level to engage the
local authorities in a systematic and uniform manner in implementing the Act
holistically across Wales.
Further details and video clips from various participants including myself reflecting on the symposium is available at: https://www.learnedsociety.wales/2018-international-symposium/
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