SOIF’s Long-Term Governance Hubs span countries across Europe, Latin America, Africa and Australia. Each hub works to bring future generations thinking, intergenerational fairness and foresight into national political culture — from how policy is delivered, to how politics is practised, and how citizens participate. As SOIF launches new hubs in Norway and Germany, we reflect on the original pilot hubs as they conclude the first phase of their work.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
The hubs create space to explore how the UN Declaration on Future Generations and, in Europe, the EU’s Intergenerational Fairness Strategy can be implemented in practice. Through policy engagement, public dialogue and cross-sector collaboration, they are helping translate long-term governance into action.
Ireland: Building foundations for long-term governance
Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency, growing awareness of economic vulnerability across both jurisdictions, and expanding conversations around a ‘Shared Island’ are creating new openness to embedding long-term thinking into national and European policy.
When the Future Generations Bill stalled in the Oireachtas following the November 2024 election, the hub adapted, widening its strategy across institutional anchors, foresight capacity and participatory futures methods. Membership grew to include University College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast and the Environmental Justice Network of Ireland, forming a cross-sectoral, cross-island coalition spanning all three dimensions of SOIF’s Foresight Governance Prism.
Two national activation events in early 2026 convened leaders from politics, government, business and civil society. This work culminated in a public-facing Roadmap for Long-term Governance — a concrete advocacy tool identifying interventions beyond the Bill and advancing a whole-of-society approach to long-term governance and participation.
Portugal: Catalysing a national movement
Portugal’s hub reached a major milestone earlier this year with the country’s first Future Generations Summit. Hosted at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and organised by SOIF, Futura Foundation and ZERO alongside partner organisations, the Summit brought together over 60 representatives from government, academia and civil society.
Messages from the UN Secretary-General’s Office, the European Commission and partner hubs reflected growing international momentum around long-term governance. Four working sessions generated collective intelligence captured in a published summit report.
A key outcome was the launch of Expanding the Portuguese Hub for Future Generations: A Roadmap — a co-designed strategy shaped by what participants shared, debated and imagined together. The Summit helped galvanise Portugal’s long-term governance movement, build public support and expand the hub community.
Finland: Mainstreaming intergenerational fairness
The Finland Hub has focused on bringing an intergenerational lens into public and policy conversations — building on Finland’s strong foundations in futures and foresight while exploring what long-term governance means in practice.
An early milestone was the publication of Towards Long-Term Governance: From Future Awareness to Action, co-created with government actors, researchers and NGOs. The report identified three routes beyond short-termism: embedding foresight in decision-making, expanding futures literacy and strengthening future generations’ rights.
Hub convenings in Finland and Brussels have brought together MPs, UN youth delegates, academics and NGO leaders. On Finland’s Independence Day eve, a cross-party panel of MPs hosted by the hub asked: what will future generations remember us for? In April 2026, Finland’s Parliamentary Committee for the Future proposed an intergenerational responsibility law.
SOIF also has funded national hubs in Spain, Norway, Germany, Brazil, Kenya and Australia. If you’re interested in connecting with your local hub’s work, please reach out to Sonia Arakkal.