We made it to the Summit of the Future!

Posted in Blog on Sep 24, 2024.

Author: Leonie Hoffman

We made it! At the Summit of the Future at the United Nations in New York, I had the privilege of speaking at the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition side-event, with the title: From Idea to Action and Impact: mobilizing the Outcomes of the Summit.

A highlight was my conversation with the renowned author ๐Š๐ข๐ฆ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ฅ๐ž๐ฒ ๐‘๐จ๐›๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐จ๐ง, who wrote the book "๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐…๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž".

Here are some key takeaways from our talk:

๐Ÿ”Ž ๐…๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž-๐…๐จ๐œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐†๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž:

As I read his book, I started to think about what would happen if every country followed Wales's example, which set up a "Commissioner for the Future" in 2015. Robinson highlights the need for political parties that support long-term plans. While these "Ministers for the Future" may face some resistance at first, their role is crucial for creating a sustainable vision and guiding the government with strong values.

๐Ÿ”Ž๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐ž ๐›๐š๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐๐ข๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ -๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ ๐จ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ? Robinson underscores that the climate crisis is not a distant threat, it is a reality we are confronting today. While urgent technological solutions are necessary and may take time to develop, this is only part of the equation. He argues that for meaningful, lasting change, we must reflect on our values and integrate them into the innovations we envision for the future.

๐Ÿ”Ž ๐๐ข๐  ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž๐š๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ:

His key message to global leaders was powerful: โ€œThe people of the future are already among usโ€”and we need to give them a voice.โ€ He highlighted that I - and everyone who will live in the world in 2070 - are part of that future. He said that it is our responsibility to take agency and pave the way for meaningful change in the decades to come. He urged us to challenge unsustainable policies and redefine success, moving beyond GDP to genuinely reflect the well-being of our planet and its people.

Lastly, he left me with a lot of food for thought:

"Change isnโ€™t easy, and weโ€™ll face resistance in many different ways. For a better, more sustainable future, persistence is key." As he pointed out, โ€œWe are the future.โ€ And heโ€™s so right. ๐ˆ๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐›๐ฅ๐š๐ฆ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ž ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฆ.

Thank you Steven Hartman for trusting in me and this role. And also a huge thank you to all the inspiring panelists: Derek Walker, Ellen Dixon, Garry Jacobs, Gabriela Ramos, Mamphela Ramphele, Nolita Thina Mvunelo, and Peter Schlosser.

For those who couldnโ€™t attend in person, you can catch the event online at UN Web TV: From Idea to Action and Impact: mobilizing the outcomes of the Summit of the Future (Side Event, Action Day 2, Summit of the Future) | UN Web TV


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