Reflecting on the incredible insights and passion from the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition's "Bridging Futures: Connecting Today’s Decisions to Tomorrow’s Needs" event at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea, which took place just over a year ago.
Looking back at the Bridging Futures General Assembly event and more specifically, in this account, the inaugural Bridging Futures Lecture. At the heart of the programme was a deeply moving and widely praised lecture by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Phan Thị Kim Phúc. Known internationally as the ‘Napalm Girl’ from the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the Vietnam War, Kim has since become a powerful advocate for peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David recently played host to an extraordinary two-day gathering that brought together some of the world’s most thoughtful voices in sustainability, peacebuilding, and intergenerational dialogue. Organised by the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES International Programme Office (IPO) at UWTSD, the inaugural Bridging Futures: Connecting Today’s Decisions to Tomorrow’s Needs took place at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea on 16 July 2025. The event welcomed a diverse audience of policymakers, young leaders, Indigenous representatives, educators, and members of the public.
Author: Sophie Spooner. At the Bridging Futures event, Kogi Ambassador, Jose Manuel Sauna Mamatacan, Translated by Paula Rodriguez, delivered a special cultural address, sharing Kogi wisdom about relationships with the natural world, and a powerful ritual which captured the presence of all who came together and experienced this as One.
Author: Sophie Spooner. Earlier this month UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition came together in Swansea, Wales for the second General Assembly and third Governing Council meetings of the coalition. On 16th July, at the Dylan Thomas Centre our public programme ‘“Bridging Futures: Connecting Today's Decisions to Tomorrow's Needs”’ kicked off three back-to-back days of exciting activities, public events, film screenings, lectures, panel discussions and participatory workshops, as well as planning and launching of new initiatives.
