Future Policy Award 2024: Peace and future generations

World Future Policy Award 2024

Peace & Future Generations

The World Future Policy Award 2024 celebrates top policy solutions for us and generations to come. We raise global awareness for exemplary laws and policies, accelerating policy action toward a common future, where every person lives in dignity on a healthy, sustainable planet. As the world’s premier policy prize, we internationally showcase inspiring and effective policies rather than people. Each year we focus on one topic where progress is particularly urgent and receive nominations from across the globe.

Enduring peace is perhaps the most critical component for the sustainable development of societies and protecting people and planet. Our global community is in desperate need of creative and inclusive policy solutions at all levels to resolve conflict, prevent war and foster a culture of peace.

We need effective peace policies now. The world is facing the largest number of armed conflicts since 1946, with a quarter of the world’s population living in conflict-affected areas (UN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 and Global Peace Index 2023). More than 170,000 lives were lost to war and violent conflicts last year (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, US News, January 2024) and a record 114 million people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution and human rights violations (UNHCR, October 2023). Armed conflict impacts both combatants and non-combatants including women, children and other vulnerable groups (indigenous peoples, elderly, disabled, people of low-income, internally displaced people and refugees). Currently, one in every five children worldwide (approximately 468 million) reside in armed conflict zones (UNHCR, November 2023).

Militarism and armed conflict have devastating impacts on the environment including military pollution, resource use/depletion, explosive damage and over 5% of global carbon emissions (Conflict Environment and Observatory, November 2022). The global economic impact of armed conflict and violence has risen to over $17 trillion per year (Global Peace Index 2023). Pressing global issues such as militarisation, extremism and climate change threaten to further exacerbate these figures in years to come.  

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We welcome Nominations from representatives of international organizations, academia, non-governmental organizations, parliaments, governments, government agencies, and others.

Laws, policies and frameworks can be national, subnational, regional or local in nature. They may originate from various sectors including education, environment, development, foreign affairs, defense, democratic governance, policing, constitutional reform, economic management and human rights including women, children and minority rights.

We encourage nominations of policies that…

…are effective in reducing or resolving conflicts and building peace in ways that are identifiable or measurable and that meet the needs of current and future generations.
…address the root causes of conflicts to ensure the development of solutions that are sustainable over time.
…align with the World Future Council’s 7 Future Just Principles.
…have been in existence for at least 2-3 years, demonstrating effective implementation and impact.
…reflect diverse and inclusive approaches to peace and security, including policies addressing gender & peace, ‘Sustainable Development Goal 16’ and the perspectives and rights of indigenous peoples, vulnerable groups, children/youth and future generations.
…are replicable in similar contexts.
…are transformative, innovative, and inspiring.

"We have inherited this world and our societies
from previous generations. We are trustees of it
for future generations. The World Future Council
advances policies to protect this future."

Alyn Ware

Councillor of the World Future Council
Co-Chair Commission Peace & Disarmament

Process

Call for Nominations
Nominations are now closed
Selection Process
The research team will apply the World Future Councils ‘Future Justice Policy Principles’ and other indices to the nominations. We will then provide a shortlist of laws, policies, and legal frameworks to our international jury of experts.
The Award Ceremony
The winners of the 2024 World Future Policy Award will be celebrated at a high-level award ceremony on the 27th of November 2024 at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva, Switzerland.